Dan Lawlor: Ghosts of Speakers Past
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
“Who in this place do you need to know to make something happen?”
For many years, there was a simple answer, “Mr. Speaker.”
The Speaker of the House, historically, has been the most powerful position in Rhode Island government. From the 19th Century, up until the Separation of Power Amendment in 2004, the Speaker's Office held primary control over budgets, executive board appointments, judgeships, and political bargaining. Yet, there was a catch. For many years, tradition held that the Speakership was held for no more than two terms.
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In the 20th century, the tradition of stepping aside stopped. Under Republican leadership in the 19th Century, the behind the scenes action was coordinated by unelected Republican Party leaders who worked with elected representatives. In the 20th Century, elected Democratic leaders began exercising power directly. The late Harry Curvin served as Speaker for over 20 years, 1941-1964, establishing a pattern for tight House discipline, leadership, and organization. Subsequent long tenure Speakers included Jospeh Bevilacqua (1969-1976), Matthew Smith (1980-1988) and John Harwood (1993-2002).
A representative compared those who inhabit the office of Speaker to vegetables - “They start off great, but, after a while, they begin to rot.”
From the late 1960s through today, all the long term Speakers have left in scandal. Bevilacqua and Smith became involved in scandals following their tenures. Bevilacqua resigned as Chief Supreme Court Justice for his connections to mob figures, while Smith was later found guilty for misdemeanors and a series patronage hiring practices following his appointment as administrator for the RI court system. Harwood resigned the Office in 2002, following claims of abuse of power and sexual harrassment from State House employee Wendy Collins.
In recent years, former Speaker William Murphy has made tens of thousands of dollars as a lobbyist for pay-day loan interests. The crumbling mill villages in Blackstone Valley still have empty store fronts (from Centerdale to Manville), the polluted ponds in Providence and Cranston still aren't safe to swim in, Gilbert Stuart Middle School is still falling down, and 11% of Rhode Islanders don't have work. Luckily, our former Speakers seem to be doing fine.
As a possible good government initiative, perhaps a limit on the length of office for the Speakership and Senate President should be considered – long enough for an individual and her or his team to accomplish something, not so long that the tentacles and temptations of power corrupt.
Furthermore, speakers, majority leaders – in fact all legislators- should be banned from serving as lobbyists or consultants for significantly longer than the current one year “cooling off” period. An eight to ten year ban sounds fair to me. I don't want to read about former legislators making upwards of $300,000 in lobbying, essentially being paid to use their connections to make things happen faster than they would for the general public. If you want to be rich, invent something.
Fox and Paiva Weed made a good stand with passing the “Transparency in Political Spending Act,” which requires political ad campaigns that receive money from outside groups to reveal the top 5 donors. It's a good first step – it allows the public to follow the money. The next step is cutting off the behind the scenes horse trading that results in 38 Studios, the previous problems at the landfill, and magistrate positions going to relatives and former legislators.
Over the last several decades, long term Speakers, even those who have accomplished positive changes in this state, often resign in scandal or are followed by clouds of disgrace. In the words of Speaker Fox, “If you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig.”
The issue isn't simply any one person – it's the process of power that corrupts. Let's change it.
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