Don Roach: As Davey Lopes Pool Reopens, Mayor Taveras Absent
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Angel Taveras is a popular mayor of the state’s largest city. He’s in the race to become the next governor of Rhode Island and pulls strong poll numbers.
So why in the world has he chosen to be on the wrong side of the Davey Lopes pool closing? Last year he closed the pool due to structural problems and lack of use. Further, he noted “We believe the funds [to deal with the structural issues] are better utilized by providing different programs to the children in that area.” This set off a firestorm with everyone weighing in on Taveras’ decision to close the pool and adversely affect the community.
I’m not going to debate whether or not the pool should have closed. It’s a great discussion to have and it was certainly a topic of discussion last year. What I would like to discuss instead, is how Taveras handled this week’s reopening. How he addressed this can provide us with some insight into how he would likely deal with similar matters as governor.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTNo, to my knowledge the governor doesn’t decide if a pool stays open or not, but how our next governor addresses the challenging issues facing our state is just as important as the answers they present to the masses.
Taveras doesn’t show up
I’m very, very, very disappointed that Taveras didn’t show up to the pool reopening. As GoLocal reported yesterday, the Davey Lopes pool reopened Monday June 30th. At the reopening you had Providence city councilmen, NAACP President Jim Vincent, Police Chief Clements, and of course Taveras’ main Democratic rival in the Democratic primary for governor, Gina Raimondo. Taveras did send his chief of staff to the event, but it’s not the same.
What does this tell the community? It says Taveras will try to save a few thousand (approximately $100k) but when the community pushes back and wins, he’ll be nowhere to be found. That may sound harsh, but imagine if you live near the pool, imagine if you were one of the many who signed the change.org petition to reopen the pool, and imagine if you were an elected official whose concerns were bypassed by an administration looking to save, what would you think about Taveras not showing up?
I think we can only assume that the pool reopening was not a priority for Taveras. Obviously, if Taveras has an emergency or pre-planned to be out of the country that was locked up months in advance, I think we can give him a pass. Barring that, there’s no excuse as to why he was absent at the reopening. None.
One pool closing does not a Grinch make
Let’s back up the truck for a moment. Just because Taveras closed Davey Lopes doesn’t mean he’s a meanie or insensitive to that part of the community. Visit the Providence website and you’ll see a number of initiatives to help people deal with the heat this summer.
No, I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that perception is reality and regardless of Taveras’ efforts across the city, this incident is cause for concern. That so many rallied against the closing so quickly was alarming. Did the Taveras administration ask for input from anyone before going down this route?
Maybe they did and maybe they didn’t, but the fact remains that Taveras cut a program that the community does use and when it was able to be reopened didn’t bother to show up and congratulate the community for fighting to keep the pool open. That reeks of sour grapes and I’m not too sure I want a governor who will: 1 – sweat the small economic issues and 2 – when the community overturns his edict, fails to show up to applaud the community for their efforts.
Don can be reached at [email protected]. Don is also on twitter @donroach34.
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