Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?

Friday, March 04, 2011

Dan McGowan, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

Who’s Hot

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Angel Taveras -> Make what you want of the controversial decisions the Providence Mayor has made, but at least he’s getting things done and trying to pick up the pieces to the mess he inherited. For those who questioned whether he had the stomach to run the Capital City, the answer became clear this week.

Providence Municipal Finances Review Panel -> Mayor Taveras makes the decisions, but Michael D'Amico, Ernest Almonte, Dennis Hoyle, Alex Prignano and Ken Richardson deserve credit for putting together a comprehensive review of the city’s finances. Their tireless effort helped Providence take its first steps toward solving its fiscal problems.

Brendan Doherty -> After his sudden resignation, Doherty isn’t ruling out the idea that run for office is on the horizon. The question is which office. Many believe he is among the few people who could raise the money to seriously challenge Senator Whitehouse in 2012.

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Gay Marriage -> Appears to finally be heading for a committee vote next week according to House Speaker Gordon Fox. It’s about time. The General Assembly should pass the law ASAP and move on to actually focusing on issues like cutting the deficit and creating jobs.

Ray Sullivan -> Speaking of same-sex marriage, congratulations go out to the new campaign director for Marriage Equality Rhode Island. According to numerous Statehouse insiders, the former state rep and Congressman Langevin aide was the perfect choice for the job.

John Edwards -> It will never pass, but this state rep deserves credit for at least trying to lower the state’s sales tax, which, if you hadn’t heard, is the highest in all of New England. Edwards says his bill will create a climate where consumers can actually afford to shop.

Who’s Not

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David Cicilline -> It’s not just that the former mayor left the city on the brink of collapse or even that he flat out lied about balancing the budget. Now the newly minted Congressman is completely ducking the local media as it attempts to understand just how broke the city of Providence is. Man up and answer the questions, Congressman.

Providence -> The comprehensive review of the city’s finances released today left more than a few people questioning whether bankruptcy was even a possibility for the capital city. On the bright side, at least I know that if I put my mattress on the sidewalk, $500,000 says someone is going to pick that bad boy up.

Lincoln Chafee -> Rough week for the Governor. Slapped in the face by Brendan Doherty in the same week his team refused to allow Board of Regents nominees to answer a survey from that evil RI-CAN group. I mean, why should the public learn anything at all about the people making decisions about our schools?

George Caruolo -> How anyone could believe the state of public education in Rhode Island isn’t saddening is beyond me. Suddenly the Board of Regents is going to make things as difficult for Deborah Gist as most City Councils make it for their Mayor. That’s not what we need at this time.

RIPTA -> It’s going to cost another $1 million to repave parts of Kennedy Plaza despite that huge project that took place last spring. What’s going on over there? Sounds like another reason to raise the prices on bus rides for those of us who enjoy public transportation

Rhode Island’s Future -> On a sad note, the blog where I got my start covering local politics appears to be on its last legs. No matter how you feel about RIF or Anchor Rising, it was the success of these blogs that allowed for something like GoLocalProv to even be possible. Brian Hull is a good guy and hopefully someone can step in and help him turn the blog around.
 

 

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