Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Rhode Island Politics
Friday, September 10, 2010
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WHO'S HOT
Peter Kilmartin, Steve Archambault, Joe Fernandez -> All three Democrats in the Primary in the AG's race once again get top billing for their aggressive and contentious race. Just look at that WPRI debate! is the most entertaining race of the Primary election. With Kilmartin, Fernandez and Archambault each lobbing attacks against their opponents on TV and via the mail, the large amount of undecideds in this race will determine which candidate breaks away from the field.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLinc Chafee -> This Republican turned Independent continues to ride a good wave of press about his early opposition to the Schilling boondoggle and has just released a hard-hitting ad against his Democratic opponent Frank Caprio. However, with Caprio's massive fundraising lead, the question becomes whether Chafee can keep up the fight by dropping his family money into this race.
Julie Zito -> This co-founder of the Pastry Gourmet in Cumberland and School Committee member in Lincoln is seeking to do what many others have tried and failed in the past to do: take out 22-year incumbent Rene Menard in the House District 45 Democratic Primary. Sources say that her campaign looks strong and ready for an incumbent upset.
Chris Fierro -> When this Democrat first won a tightly fought election in 2008, many political observers expected another fight this year. But, Fierro has won over many of his opponents, has gained an important seat on the House Finance Committee and seems ready to prevail in Tuesday's primary against Bob Phillips.
Angel Taveras -> From receiving big endorsements from SEIU, the Phoenix and a founding member of the Uncaucus to a large TV buy with his hard-hitting ad, Taveras seems well-situated for Tuesday's primary (disclosure: I am a supporter). Adding to this reports that former Cianci supporters are lining up with financial support and political assistance for Lombardi and Costantino (including Costantino reimbursing Cianci's daughter for throwing a fundraising bash for Costantino at Cianci's building - the 903) and Providence voters have a clear choice about whether to move backwards with the old school or move forward with a new voice.
Richard Morrison -> This first-time candidate for office is picking up on a wave of anti-incumbent voter anger in his bid to unseat Rep. Doug Gablinske. Morrison has the support of the state's many labor and community groups and is asking Bristol and Warren voters to toss out an incumbent for voting to decrease funding for schools in his district. This will be a close one!
The Providence City Council -> With five retirements, the City Council will have quite a facelift in 2011. Tight battles are emerging in Ward 2 (Zurier v. Trafton), Ward 8 (Tejada v. Lopez v. Jennings), Ward 9 (Luna v. Cuervo v. Jose), Ward 11 (Vaughn v. Maynard v. Buchanan v. Sanchez), Ward 13 (Meresi v. Principe), Ward 14 (Salvatore v. McKendall) and Ward 15 (DiRuzzo v. Matos). At the forefront of most voters' minds are what each candidate will do about creating jobs, dealing with underperforming schools and the recent tax increase. Also at stake is the Council Presidency with Michael Solomon and Luis Aponte both looking to rack up the votes to lead the next Council.
WHO'S NOT
Lou Raptakis -> This long-time State Senator and supposed good government advocate is in some hot water for missing more than 25% of the Senate's votes since 2008. According to the nonpartisan Rhode Island Votes organization, Senator Raptakis has one of the worst attendance records in the Senate. In the 2010 session alone, Senator Raptakis missed more than 30 percent of the votes and when challenged during a debate on WPRO, Raptakis explained that he had to skip sessions of the Senate to travel out-of-state for fundraisers. What happened to putting the people's business first?
Kernan King -> After reports surfaced that this Republican candidate for General Treasurer has been receiving a homestead property tax break at his home in Florida reserved for permanent residents, King has stated that he will pay the back taxes that he owes. When you are running to take control of the state's checkbook, shouldn't you at least be able to handle your own?
John Robitaille -> This Republican gubernatorial's latest ad takes on the "career politicians" but seems to forget that Robitaille is a "career politician" himself in many ways: a former top staffer for Gov. Don Carcieri and a failed candidate for the General Assembly.
Marcus Huffman -> Justice has been swifty and righteous in handing down a 40-year to serve sentence for this former Providence cop who was convicted of raping a girl in a police substation. This was a massive violation of the public trust and Judge Vogel was absolutely correct in throwing the book at this disgraced cop.
Frank Caprio -> Even after the release of a hard-hitting ad against Chafee and receiving good news from the well-regarded Nate Silver (now at the NYTimes), Caprio had a tough week from battling accusations that he scheduled a meeting with the RNC to an accusation from Republican gubernatorial candidate John Robitaille that Caprio operatives offered "anything" to get Robitaille out of the race.
Joe Trillo & Peter Palumbo -> With Rhode Island's economy in the tank, why is this Republican and Democrat In Name Only (DINO) on national FOX News promoting their anti-immigrant legislation when similar legislation has been struck down in Arizona and Pennsylvania?
Leo Medina -> When you thought that things couldn't get worse for this House Democratic candidate, it does. He appeared on a subpoena in front of RI Family Court and pled the 5th Amendment regarding accusations that he has been illegally practicing law.
Anthony Gemma -> For a candidate who promised nothing but "hope" in his campaign, Gemma has quickly become the politician that he was supposedly running against. Gemma's latest ads against current Providence Mayor David Cicilline - while hard-hitting - are over the top and are more likely to turn voters off than to convince them to vote for Gemma. Perhaps after several poor debate performances, sagging poll numbers and shoddy fundraising, this ploy was the last option for Gemma in the CD-1 race. And then there is the "hope" associated with 32 labor violations at his company...
Republican Primaries -> Can anybody tell the difference between the Republicans facing off in primaries for CD-2, Governor and Lt. Governor? Does it even matter?
Send me your HOT and NOT tips to mjerzyk at gmail dot com.
