Charles Calenda

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Charles Calenda

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of Miami, 2003

Law

University of Miami School of Law, 2006

Personal

Birthplace

Providence, R.I.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Attorney at law

Contact

Campaign website

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Charles Calenda (Republican Party) ran for election for Attorney General of Rhode Island. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Calenda completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Charles Calenda was born in Providence, Rhode Island. Calenda earned a bachelor's degree and a J.D. from the University of Miami in 2003 and 2006, respectively. His career experience includes working as an attorney. Calenda previously worked as a prosecutor in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office before entering private practice.

Elections

2022

See also: Rhode Island Attorney General election, 2022

General election

General election for Attorney General of Rhode Island

Incumbent Peter Neronha defeated Charles Calenda in the general election for Attorney General of Rhode Island on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Peter Neronha (D)	61.5	217,066
		Charles Calenda (R)	38.4	135,471
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	460

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 352,997
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Alan Gordon (Independent)
• Rebecca McLaughlin (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Rhode Island

Incumbent Peter Neronha advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Rhode Island on September 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Peter Neronha	100.0	94,665

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 94,665
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Rhode Island

Charles Calenda advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Rhode Island on September 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Charles Calenda	100.0	18,557

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,557
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Charles Calenda completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Calenda's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Former state prosecutor and current general practice trial attorney, Charles Calenda is a highly-experienced aggressive attorney who prides himself on obtaining the best possible results for his clients and zealously protecting the legal rights of all individuals. He has always taken his oath to protect the laws and Constitution seriously and believes the Attorney General should be the one official that provides an independent check and balance on the rest of the government. Currently Charles is focused on fighting on behalf of his clients’ constitutional rights against the massive government overreach going on in Rhode Island with impressive results. If elected Attorney General in 2022, Charles will take the politics out of the Chief law enforcement office of the state of Rhode Island and always keep the Law Above Politics.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Law Above Politics
• Independent Check and Balance on Government
• Seeking justice for all Rhode Islanders

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Ensuring that the criminal justice system is used only to obtain a just outcome in every case and all decisions made in those cases will be based on the law and facts, not politics.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

In Rhode Island, the Attorney General is like the DA in other states. The AG is the Chief prosecutor for most criminal cases heard throughout the state, which is unusual when comparing the states. Although the election is done on a partisan basis, I think that needs to change because politics has no place in the decision-making process of the cases that come before that office. My personal politics will play no role in the cases that the office handles in my administration.

The National Association of Attorneys General has described the office as being at the "intersection of law and public policy." What does that mean to you?

Unfortunately partisan politics has taken on an outsized role in the offices of the Attorney General. The Attorney General should never be making public policy. They are there to enforce the laws in a fair and equitable manner. There is plenty of discretion in that role but that discretion needs to be used judiciously and cautiously so that the people can be assured that the law applies equally to everyone no matter the optics and politics of the situation.

The attorney general often sets policy priorities for law enforcement. For example, a state's attorney general may decide to dedicate extra resources to combat human trafficking. Are there certain areas of law enforcement that you would emphasize?

An absolute crack down on the rise of violent crime in Rhode Island, particularly Providence. The Office must work with its law enforcement partners as opposed to focusing on prosecuting them based on pressure from many outside political groups.

A state's attorney general has many responsibilities. Which of those do you personally consider the most important?

To be the independent check and balance on all matters related to the law, including checking and balancing the other branches of government. In Rhode Island, the Attorney General is an independently elected Constitutional officer who answers only to the voters, not any other official.

Attorneys general can represent their states in legal conflicts with the federal government. Do you consider this an important part of an attorney general's responsibilities?

To an extent yes. But not to make a political statement and certainly not simply because the federal government may be run by the opposite political party. If there is an issue that adversely affects the best interests of Rhode Islanders due to a policy of the federal government, certainly I would use the office to fight for all Rhode Islanders’ best interests.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for a state's attorney general to have previous experience in government or politics?

Government yes. Politics no.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I’ve always admired President Reagan. While he was demonized by many for being old and quirky, he had the “it” factor that made his charismatic personality respectable to even those who were not aligned with his ideology. I’d like to emulate his eternal optimism in our country because it lifted the spirits of millions of Americans.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

As a former prosecutor, my style was very much like the fictional assistant DA in the first 4 seasons of the original Law & Order, Ben Stone, portrayed by Michael Moriarty. He wasn’t brash like his successor Jack McCoy, but he was out to do the right thing all the time in a rational and thoughtful manner. McCoy was more popular as a character because he pushed the limits of his power, sometimes for questionable purposes, but Stone was more of a man guided by the law and professional ethics that comes with being a prosecutor, even if he didn’t like the results.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, transparency and the willingness to be the voice of the people. Particularly the Attorney General. That person is the people’s attorney.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am a forceful advocate for the rule of law and can make articulate arguments on legal issues affecting our state.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The ability to put one’s personal opinions aside and enforce the rule of law so that justice may be achieved for all involved in any particular case.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I made the Office an apolitical office that returned to its original mission - to do justice in every case all the time.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first event I remember was the Challenger Explosion and President Reagan’s address to the nation following the tragedy. I remember my mother being saddened at the fact that a civilian teacher was going to be the first civilian person in space and she didn’t get there.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working as a “bus boy” at a beach club restaurant when I was 15. It lasted that summer. But my first real job that I kept for years through high school and even parts of law school was that if Ocean State Job Lot, a discount retail store where I started as a cashier and became a front end supervisor during school breaks. Every school break, I would return to Rhode Island and work at Job Lot where I honed my customer service listening skills. While at school, I worked as a referee for club league basketball and soccer.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Find Out Who Your Friends Are

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Learning to prioritize issues that are important to me. I want to go full steam ahead on every issue that comes my way but realistically that is simply not possible.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Calenda’s campaign website stated the following:

“	New Face. New Ideas. Commitment to Justice. It's unfortunate that Rhode Island seems to have the reputation of a state bogged down in political cronyism and scandal. We have so much to offer as a State that often gets overlooked each time we have to see another political personality either prosecuted or penalized for continuing to put their political careers over the welfare of Rhode Islanders. If elected to be the next Rhode Island Attorney General, Chas will ensure that he will uphold his oath to faithfully execute and enforce the laws and constitution of the State of Rhode Island and those of the United States regardless of his personal opinions, political or otherwise. Take the Politics out of Prosecution. As the top attorney for the State, his personal and political opinions will play no role in the everyday decision making process the Office goes through. The actions of the employees of his administration will be dictated by the law, the facts and individual situations in order to accomplish the one mission of that Office - to achieve justice in each and every case. Decisions about cases will be made without consideration of a person's political views, connections to those in power (or lack thereof), or any outside group who wants to influence the actions of the Office. Campaign is NOT a stepping stone to another political office. Chas is not a career politician and has no desire to be one. For that reason, he is not beholden to any political party, donor, nor any other group of people to which career politicians cater. He seeks this Office so he can ensure justice is achieved and the right outcome is sought in each and every matter that comes before the Office of the Attorney General.	”
—Charles Calenda’s campaign website (2022)

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Attorney General of Rhode Island

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