Side of The Rhode: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in RI Politics

Friday, May 30, 2014

Dan Lawlor, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

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Every Friday, Dan Lawlor breaks down who's rising and who's falling in the world of Rhode Island politics. Check out who made the lists this week.

Hot

Maya Angelou - The late Angelou, an American poet and literary icon, gave millions of people, including some right here in the Ocean State, reason to ponder, laugh, cry and reflect. As she wrote, "You may write me down in history/With your bitter, twisted lie/ You may trod me in the very dirt/But still, like dust, I’ll rise."

Ken Block - This past Thursday, the GOP gubernatorial hopeful held a rally calling on Senate leadership to follow the House in eliminating the Master Lever, or straight party ticket voting. No other New England state has the confusing Master Lever, which isolates against independent candidates and confuses voters.

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Representative Scott Slater and Senator Betty Crowley- Worcester has essentially ended chronic homelessness- and so can Providence. Crowley and Slater are leading the way- and calling on the state to invest a miniscule (for its purposes) $3.4 million to prioritize and expand rental assistance for the hundreds of homeless families and chronically homeless across our state. 

Angel Taveras -  The Mayor is moving to better connect schools and... farms? The city's Lots of Hope program  - which turns abandoned lots into urban gardens- is moving to partner with city schools for both hands on learning and locally grown cafeteria food.  According to Eco RI, "Since 2004, a similar garden-based school program in Detroit has created programs with 51 schools."

14 - According to Policy Mic, Providence is the 14th most artistic city for twentysomethings in the country. As Elyssa Goldberg writes, "There is no guarantee that these cities will offer surefire inspiration, but they do supply some great ingredients for an artistic life...Providence's artists are proud to be a part of a city that hasn't finished growing yet."

State Senator Daniel DaPonte- Echoing an idea proposed by Governor Chafee, recently the Senate Finance Committee considered Senator DaPonte's bill to reduce the state's corporate tax rate from 9% to 7%, making us more competitive in the region. Daponte's bill, with some big name co-sponsors including Paiva Weed and Ruggerio, will likely figure prominently in budget discussions later this year.

Jobs with Justice - "What if it was your mother?" one speaker asked the Providence City Council this past week. Jobs with Justice turned out an overflow crowd of hotel workers, small business owners, residents and union members at the City Hall to lobby for the Hotel Worker Minimum Wage - a proposal to have all hotel workers in the city be paid a minimum $15. We're not alone- minimum wage debates are happening in cities from Los Angeles to Seattle.

College Visions - Join College Visions on Monday, June 2, 2014 for their annual celebration - "Envisioning Success: 100 Degrees and Rising!" College Visions is a dynamic organization which asserts that "every student should have access to higher education." Support Executive Director Simon Moore and his team as they work with schools, families and youth in "making Providence a place where all teens are supported in creating healthy, viable futures."

Not

Bill Murphy - As GoLocalProv reported, Murphy is "Gordon Fox's Defense Attorney, John Cicilline's Court Appointed Monitor, and so much more." The former Democratic Speaker of the House and -ahem -champion of working people, is now a lobbyist paid $10,000 a month by Twin River's parent company, $5,000 a month from Comcast, $15,000 annually from the Second Amendment Coalition, and $50,000 annually from Advance America, the pay day lender outfit. Maybe Advance America charges such high interest to keep paying Murphy.  

$43 million - If you were the state, how would you invest $43 million? Does building a parking garage behind downtown's J. Joseph Garrahy Courthouse rank in your top 10? Just checking. To gather the state's perspective, check out this report from the "Special Legislative Commission to Study Building Structured Parking at the Garrahy Judicial Complex."

Joe Paolino - As Paolino lobbies for gambling expansion on Aquidneck Island, he'd be wise to ponder what Go Local Mindsetter Didi Lorrilard saw, "The saddest site in Newport is the parking lot of the Newport Grand on a Saturday night."

The Carpionato Group- GoLocalProv's Kate Nagle has raised serious questions about the fitness of the Carpionato Group to apply to redevelop the I-195 land. As Nagle reported, "The Rhode Island Department of Transportation, which had acquired the Fruit and Produce building in 1998 for $14 million, sold the property to Carpionato in 2005 for $4.3 million with the understanding the property would be rehabilitated." As we know, the building wasn't rehabilitated- it was turned into a still empty lot. 

71% - In the Creative Capital, among the 1,848 students who were in the Providence Public School Class of 2013, 71% graduated in four years, with 15% dropping out all together, says the data from RI KIDS Count. Among the remainder, 2% of students completed their GED, and 11% are still in school. 

Richard McAuliffe- Why is this well-connected lobbyist able to recommend who can and who can't be a sitting judge? McAuliffe, who lobbies the legislature on behalf of dozens of groups (from Teach for America to DirecTV), sits on the Judicial Nominating Commission, which is "charged with screening applicants for vacancies on all of Rhode Island's courts."

 

Related Slideshow: 10 Questions Block Has to Answer When Running for Gov of RI

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10. Can Block convince voters he is more than a third party player?

 

To win in the GOP primary, Block is going to need to convince GOP primary voters that his ideals align with the fundamental beliefs of the Republican Party. 

 

He did get a political gift.  As GoLocalProv reported - Blocks opponent in the GOP primary, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung has been a consistent donor for a decade to many of the top Democrats in the Party.

 

Both Block and Fung will be challenged to explain their GOP credentials.

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9. Is Block too much of a techno-candidate?

 

Block, the founder of a software company, love to talk about technology solutions to public policy problems. He is going to have to define his solutions to problems in a tangible way.  Often, voters connect to simple themes, "Hope and Change" or from "Head Start to Harvard." 

 

Block is going to need to be able to show he can connect to all Rhode Islanders - we are a retail political state.

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8. Can Block raise money?

 

Block has demonstrated he is serious about running - he has already invested $500,000 of his own money to win the GOP primary, but he will need an estimated $3 million to win the primary and General Election next November.

 

To date, his fundraising base has been small and while Fung is no Gina Raimondo in fundraising, he does have a modest Republican fundraising base.

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7. Will Block defend the behavior of National Republicans?

 

If 15 months from now Ted Cruz works tirelessly to close the federal government over the implementation of Obamacare, will GOP Governor Ken Block speak out on the issue? 

 

Will Block praise or criticize Cruz? In the primary, conservative voters may want him to praise Cruz and in the General election, the majority of voters may want him to condemn Cruz.

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6. Can Block attract RI GOP leaders?

 

A few weeks ago Fung announced an advisory group of prominent Republicans.  The announcement gave Fung's efforts some momentum. Block would pick up a lot of credibility if he were to peel some Fung supporters over to his team.

 

In addition, a number of leading Republicans have yet to make an announcement - if they break to Block it may create momentum.

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5. Can Block connect with voters in the General Election?

 

Assuming Block beat Fung in a GOP primary and went on to face a progressive Democrat like Providence Mayor Angel Taveras or rising star Clay Pell, can Block work the Greek Festival in Cranston or the Scituate Art Festival as well as these Democrats?

 

Will undecided voters connect to Block?

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4. Will Block's lack of previous elected office help or hinder?

 

It can be argued that never having been elected before could be perceived as a negative.

 

Sure, Governor Don Carcieri was never previously elected to office and Governor Bruce Sundlun had only been elected to the state's Constitutional Congress, but voters may want to be sure that Block will know a federal emergency declaration from a new software version - or will each new storm be deemed Sandy 2.0 and so on.

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3. Is Block the smartest guy in the room?

 

Make no mistake about it, Block is smart. Business smart, policy smart, but could he be too smart and then not be able to connect to voters.

 

Bill Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar (so was Gina Raimondo), but one thing about Bill Clinton was that he could play the role of a good ol' boy as good as anyone. He could make any voter feel right at home.

 

Block will need to channel his intelligence into a language and approach that connects to the CEO he is asking to support his effort as equally as asking a unemployed mom in Pawtucket.

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2. How will he handle the plethora of special interests?

 

This time Block will have to answer the questionnaire from the FOP, the Right-to-Life groups, the Environment Council, MADD, the Teamsters, The Northern RI Chamber of Commerce, NEA-RI, arts advocacy groups, the NAACP, and you get the picture.

 

Consistency will matter. One group's endorsement will spark another groups condemnation. Mr. Block, welcome to the 2014 governor's race.

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1. Can he handle the hot lights?

 

The one thing about being the third or fourth candidate in a race is people remember the smart things you said, but don't pay much attention to the dumb things you said. Heck, you really didn't have a real chance to win so the assessment is not very stringent.

 

This time will be different. He needs to run not one but two nearly flawless races to be the next Governor of Rhode Island. His effort in 2010 will help him, but this time he has a real chance to win and the stakes are much higher

 

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