The announcement on Wednesday that Deepwater will locate its staging area and the next phase of its growth in Rhode Island -- and that it will create hundreds of jobs for construction workers -- is good news for the region.
Deepwater CEO Jeff Grybowski and his team deserve tremendous credit in shepherding the growth of the company over the past decade.
While a number of elected officials appeared at the press conference to share in the announcement about the next phase, over the past decade three elected officials played key roles in making Deepwater a reality.
First, former Governor Donald Carcieri led the fight to push through the legislation to create the opportunity to build an offshore wind industry. Call it what you will — special legislation or market making legislation, but Carcieri had to battle against legislative leaders and Attorney General Patrick Lynch — all who tried to block the effort.
Carcieri’s legacy will always be stained by 38 Studios, but history may reward him sweetly for his vision of the development of an offshore wind industry in America.
Then, when Deepwater’s first phase — the demonstration project off of Block Island was fledgling — Governor Lincoln Chafee blocked out the chorus of naysayers and NIMBYists and pushed forward with key approvals to make the first phase a reality.
Now, Governor Gina Raimondo’s administration is supporting the effort with an atmosphere that is pro-offshore wind and helping to train workers and promote the industry's growth.
Certainly, without the support of these three governors — a Republican, and Independent, and a Democrat — Rhode Island would not be poised to redefine energy production in the region and country.
Kudos to Grybowski, Deepwater, and vision.
Related Slideshow: 2018 Governor’s Race Playbook - May 28, 2018
Mayor Allan Fung wants the appointment of magistrates to be under the purview of the Judicial Nominating Commission, allowing for more public vetting and transparency. This is a winning issue - Raimondo has been trading magistrate appointments with legislative leaders -- a plethora of insiders and staffers have been appointed.
Secondly, Fung wants to eliminate from consideration any family members of current legislators for these positions. And, he proposes extending the current revolving door length from one to two years - for all positions - so that a legislator would not be asking for advice and consent during the same term and (in theory) with the exact same legislators with which they served.
"There is an unusually high correlation between being good friends or family members of legislators, or being a former legislator yourself, and being named a magistrate," said Mayor Fung. "In order to peel back our 'I've got to know a guy' culture, we need to start making profound changes in the way Smith Hill operates."
Losses:
Morgan is scoring wins with GOP insiders. Fung is running a general election campaign. Dangerous strategy.
X-Factor: Fight Raimondo on one front, can let Morgan outflank him on the primary front.
Democratic Governors Association attempt to hit Patricia Morgan for her recent meeting at the White House with Vice President Mike Pence, maybe the type of criticism that will help her in the GOP primary against Allan Fung.
The DGA charges:
Patricia Morgan Rubs Elbows With Trump Administration
Trump Approval Underwater with Rhode Island Voters by 30 Points
Yesterday, Rhode Island’s Patricia Morgan visited the White House and hobnobbed with President Trump and high ranking Administration officials, an interesting campaign strategy for a candidate running in a state where the President’s approval rating is underwater by a whopping 30 points. Photos on Twitter show that Morgan saw President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Secretary Carson while she was there.
Losses:
N/A
X-Factor: Morgan is pilling up conservative wins. White House meetings are a positive to win a GOP primary.
This week's announcement of Deepwater jobs -- win.
Losses:
The constant effort to differentiate from GOP candidates Allan Fung and Patricia Morgan would have a lot more credibility if she returned campaign donations from NRA lobbyist.
X-Factor: Living and dying on the economy, any bump in the road in the economy could be devastating.
Wins: Another active week. Running from event to event and working hard at the State House on some key environmental issues. Had a better week than Matt Brown, but that is not saying a lot.
Feroce's only press release this week targeted Governor Gina Raimondo claiming that her economic development strategies are flawed:
“In a dangerous sign for businesses in RI, Governor Raimondo has created a scenario in which only businesses that engage with Commerce RI (an organization she chairs) and accept state money or tax credits will be given attention,” said Feroce in the press release.
“The Governor wants all the credit for bringing jobs to Rhode Island when in fact she has forced a business climate that cannot succeed without the state stepping in,” continued Feroce. “It is not the United States we grew up in and we are proud of. Her progressive policies have now firmly embedded themselves in her economic policies and it must be stopped immediately,” said Feroce.
Losses:
Still no sign of any viable fundraising to fund a credible campaign.
X-Factor: Hard to see a strategy in which he does not fall into the bottom rung of the candidates.
Not anticipated, but no one has offered more substantive policy papers than Joe Trillo. This week he argued that sports betting should go before the voter in November, "My advice to Governor Gina Raimondo is that instead of ramming this through without letting Rhode Island voters completely digest what they’re signing up for, she works with the General Assembly before it adjourns for this session. A referendum needs to be put on the ballot to ask voters whether or not they approve of sports betting, before relying on anticipated revenue to balance her budget. If she does so, and someone challenges the constitutionality of it, and the state loses, it will be another headache for Rhode Island taxpayers.”
Losses:
Will any Republicans endorse Trillo? Will Trump?
X-Factor: Can he demonstrate he has more than single-digit support?
