Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics
Friday, May 13, 2011
Each week, GoLocalProv brings you an insider look at who is on fire and who is cooling off in the world of Rhode Island politics.
Who’s Hot
Brendan Doherty -> The former head of the state police is sizzling after officially throwing his hat into the ring against Congressman Cicilline. Doherty has a nice resume, but he's no lock to be a stellar campaigner, and he’s leaving himself vulnerable by announcing so early. It will be interesting to see how he’ll hold up over the next 18 months.
Deborah Gist -> There is plenty to complain about with the state's Education Commissioner, but the idea that she should apologize to a woman wooed to Rhode Island by her enemies for talking too much during a meeting is outrageous. Kudos to Gist for continuing to defend her policies in a room that probably wasn't too keen on anything she had to say.
Chris Young -> Anyone think Mayor Taveras will call his old pal from the campaign trail to lead the fight against the colleges and hospitals? Taxing the nonprofits is all the rage these days, and to his credit, Young spent most of last summer calling for these institutions to pony up while his opponents danced and dodged the question. For what it’s worth, 25 percent seems a bit steep when you consider where Providence would be without Brown or the hospitals.
John Igliozzi -> It’s worth mentioning that the only time we seem to hear the Providence City Council complaining about city ordinance violations is when it’s convenient for them, but Councilman Igliozzi is spot-on for asking questions regarding the latest cash scam happening in the city.
Larry Valencia -> You want a tax plan that won’t devastate the folks who can least afford it? Rep. Valencia’s plan to tax people making over $200,000 a year might be worth taking a look at. Then again, the state could just mail out an annual appeal to the upper five percent of earners and then publish the names of those too cheap to help the state out when it needs a hand. It’s probably more realistic than getting Valencia’s bill passed.
Rhoda Perry -> It has been a pretty quiet year for Senator Perry, but she managed to get two bills passed last week. One will prevent pregnant prisoners from being cuffed or shackled in the late stages of their pregnancy, and the other bans young people from using tanning facilities. Safer babies and less Snooki lookalikes running around. Well done, Senator.
Don Grebien -> With all the focus on Providence, everyone forgets that other cities and towns have were also screwed over by state cuts over the past eight years. Kudos to Mayor Grebien for submitting a budget that calls on everyone to make sacrifice, but does not include a property tax hike that would be incredibly detrimental to the city.
Paul Jabour -> There are more feds spying on people on the Hill they think are mobsters than there are cops patrolling the streets. That needs to change and Senator Jabour deserves credit for calling for an increased police presence in that neighborhood. Unfortunately, it took a murder for anyone to speak up.GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
Who’s Not
A Republican Primary -> The argument that a Republican Primary helps the Party in 2012 is totally false. Brendan Doherty and John Loughlin are the two strongest candidates the Republicans have and they’re running against each other. Why not give Loughlin another crack at Congressman Cicilline and have Doherty run for Senate or wait until 2014 and throw him at Governor Chafee?
Chris Plante -> Was correctly called out this week for suggesting the people of Rhode Island don’t want same-sex marriage. Of course, there isn’t a single poll out there that would back this claim up and the idea that Speaker Fox not having the votes to get it passed justifies Plante’s statement makes no sense at all.
Diane Ravitch -> Not even Governor Chafee, who won his election thanks in large part to the teachers unions and then immediately rolled out the red carpet for Ravitch, agreed that Commissioner Gist was out of line during their meeting last week.
Joseph Burchfield -> Nice to know the former North Providence councilman has punished himself for violating the public’s trust, but skipping that extra family vacation probably won’t change the judge’s mind much when it comes to sentencing.
Harold Metts -> Before getting rid of the fraudulent voters in this state, maybe we should focus on the fraudulent politicians. All requiring identification at the polls does is make the voting process more restrictive, something Rhode Island simply can’t afford.
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- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
