Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
Friday, September 16, 2011
Who’s Hot
John Loughlin -> He’s not in the country, but John Loughlin picked a big endorsement this week with House Minority Leader Brian Newberry throwing his support behind the 1st Congressional District candidate. Loughlin has the far right locked solidly (a good sign against Brendan Doherty) but the jury is still out on whether that district will vote for a guy who believes social security is a ponzi scheme.
Organized Labor -> A major victory with Judge Taft-Carter’s decision early in the week. While some in leadership have suggested the ruling will have little impact on the future of pension reform, the unions have clearly won the first battle.
Barry Hinckley -> No one was happier to see the surprising Republican Congressional win in New York this week. If it can happen there, Hinckley, who continues to pick up Republican endorsements in RI, believes it can happen with Sheldon Whitehouse’s Senate seat. Money is still the issue, however. The thought is that $2.5 million will make him a serious contender and with his opponent willing to spend whatever it takes to keep his seat, Hinckley will need every penny.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDennis L. Algiere -> Nice to know the Senate Minority Leader is awake. This week, Algiere said the General Assembly should not hold off on pension reform and he’s right. The answers aren’t all laid out yet, but waiting should not be an option.
Daryl J. Finizio -> Congrats to the former Republican Town Council member in Westerly on winning the Democratic primary for Mayor in New London, CT. No word yet on when he’ll complete the Southern New England tri-fecta and run for a Massachusetts State Senate seat.
Ernest Almonte -> The former Auditor General deserves credit for issuing a critical report on the former management team at the Wyatt Detention Facility. For far too long, all of Central Falls (including Wyatt) has been mismanaged and it’s unfortunate that it might be too late to fix the problems.
Ray Gallison -> Kudos to this State Rep for calling out the Board of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority for wanting new and higher toll rates on the Pell Bridge and the Mount Hope Bridge. The last thing anybody in this economy wants is to pay more for the little things like tolls and parking. it’s nice to see a State Rep. with his eye on the ball.
America's Cup -> It’s a major win for Rhode Island any time an event can create hundreds of jobs and stimulate the economy to the tune of nearly $100 million. Here’s hoping the sailing world will see what a beautiful place Newport is and continue to bring the Cup back to the state for years to come.
Providence Wards 5 & 14 -> In a non-election year, these two neighborhoods turned out nearly 200 residents for a community meeting earlier this week. This shows that these two wards are engaged and much of the credit goes to Councilmen Michael Solomon and David Salvatore for the excellent work they’re doing in their neighborhoods.
Who’s Not
Governor Carcieri -> Nobody is kicking themselves more this week than the former Governor, who watched as a woman he appointed to the bench ruled in favor of unions. Don’t be surprised if Bob Walsh sends a fruit basket Carcieri’s way this weekend.
Governor Chafee -> It’s never a good sign when the people who got you elected (organized labor) are turning their backs on you less than a year into office. Chafee will clearly be in trouble in 2014 without their support.
Brendan Doherty -> There are plenty of reasons to criticize the President’s American Jobs Act, but calling it “partisan” is probably not one of them, especially since virtually every part of the bill has been supported by both sides of the aisle over the past decade.
John Whiting -> Please oh please do not play the mentally unstable card, Chief. Own up to the mistake you made, resign, and we’ll just blame the water in North Providence.
Wyatt Detention Facility -> The massive mismanagement over the past five years was on full display this week, with dozens of violations being pointed out. It’s clear that people at the top were simple there to profit and misleading just about everybody (bondholders, the city, taxpayers) was just par for the course.
Providence School Department -> Shame on the PPSD for still failing to make staffers available to talk about possible instances of city officials pulling strings to get students into certain East Side schools. If there’s nothing to hide, why not allow them to be interviewed?
NOTE: A previous version of this piece incorrectly referred to Dennis L. Algiere as the Senate Majority Leader. He is the Minority Leader.
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