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

Friday, August 13, 2010

 

View Larger +

Read Side of the Rhode - Who's Hot and Who's Not in RI Politics - every Friday only at GoLocalProv.com!

WHO'S HOT

David Cicilline  -> This Providence Mayor easily captured the week with the combination of three important events: (1) a commanding lead in the latest Brown poll (a poll ridiculed by the Segal camp); (2) two TV ads that hit the biggest issues in CD-1 - jobs and seniors; and (3) winning the endorsement of the Laborers International Union.    

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Peter Kilmartin  ->  This Democratic candidate for Attorney General received similarly good news from the latest Brown poll which showed Kilmartin with a sizeable lead over his two challengers: Steve Archambault and Joe Fernandez.  And, his latest TV ad trumpets a "tough on corporations and crime" approach to the AG's position.  Kilmartin seems well-positioned to win the establishment primary voters with both of his challengers left to compete over the disgruntled factions of the party. 

Jim Hummel  ->  Hummel's back reporting on some hard political news with troubled former North Kingstown schools superintendent James Halley running for the Republican nomination in House Distrct 31.  Will NK voters respond positively to a man who left his job in a swarm of controversy just three years ago after the Department of Education determined he misspent nearly a quarter of a million dollars in federal special education grant money?  Your call!

Jim Langevin  -> The latest Brown poll shows Rhode Island's 2nd District Congress with an insurmountable 56% to 13% lead over challenger Betsy Dennigan.  While another pro-choice woman Democrat - Jennifer Lawless - drew a respectable 39% in her run against Langevin, it appears that Dennigan's campaign has failed to pick up any steam in the last year.  Meanwhile, Langevin has solidified his base and won over many of his detractors.

Gordon Fox  ->  The new House Speaker has gotten his house in order, sort to speak.  He has installed a top-notch young-blood team at the RI Democratic Party, eliminated a gubernatorial primary and his favored statewide candidates are winning all of the major races according to recent polling.  The Speaker's success will ultimately be judged, though, on his ability to manuever though dozens of difficult primary and general election races in the House so as to maintain his majority.

Elizabeth Roberts  ->  Pundits galore have wondered aloud about the strange matchup pitting Roberts against the Red Sox senior advisor Jeremy Kapstein.  And, now, with just a month to go before election day, the latest Brown poll shows Roberts leading Kapstein by a wide margin of 49% to 18%.  What exactly is Kapstein doing and hoping to accomplish in this race?  Surely he had the money to hire a professional campaign team.  Which he didn't.  So what is going on here?

Angel Taveras  ->  This Providence mayoral candidate, who I am unabashedly supporting, continues to impress with his bold initiatives to tackle the foreclosure crisis and modernize city services.  Time will tell whether city voters are ready to elect the city's first Latino mayor.  But, you can't blame Taveras if they don't.  Competing against two opponents who have been part of a system which has driven up taxes, unemployment and corruption, Taveras has meticulously laid out a plan to get the city moving again.  Will the old way of doing business prevail?  Or will the winds of change usher in a new history-making Mayor?  In 4 weeks, we will know. 

Donald Robbio  ->  You may be wondering who this person is.  I can't help you. What I can tell you is that this no-name Republican is leading the Republican race in the 2nd Congressional district to take on Congressman Langevin according to the latest Brown poll.  Is there any better evidence of Republican disarray in Rhode Island?

Col. Dean Esserman  ->  The current chief of the Providence Police has turned into a political football, but I agree with the paper of record that Esserman has the bona fides to continue to lead the Providence Police.  Esserman has made a point of investing in community policing and community partnerships and simultaneously rooting out decades of corruption - thereby overseeing one of the largest reductions in crime in Providence's history.  The city would be wise to continue on such a path of progress.   

The Primary Voter  ->  Many races in Rhode Island - indeed our state's future - will be decided on September 14th.  Will the voters turn out in this important election?  If you aren't registered, you only have until Saturday to register.  What are you waiting for?

WHO'S NOT

Anthony Gemma  ->  After a dismal 3rd place showing in the recent Brown poll, Gemma got hit with worse news when his campaign manager Chad Radock quit - effective August 2nd.  Now, Gemma, trailing in the polls and without a campaign manager, faces the stark reality of whether to waste his personal fortune on a race that he likely doesn't have the numbers and the organization to win.   

Antonin Scalia  ->  This infamous conservative Supreme Court justice received national press attention during his recent visit to Providence when he took a tumble getting into his car.  Perhaps he was lost in a daydream; longing for the days of Bush rule.  Apparently, something woke him up from that nightmare!

Victor Cipriano  ->  This former Johnston fire chief is getting no love from the candidates for Attorney General when a GoLocalProv investigation found that former chief Cipriano is earning more money from his disability pension that he did on the job. 

Senate Republicans  ->  Shame on this group of Senators who - en masse - left the U.S. Capitol without allowing the nomination of Jack McConnell to the RI federal bench to be continued and considered by the Senate.  For years on end, these same Republicans complained that President Bush's judicial nominees were not being allowed to have an "up or down" vote on the merits.  Now, Senate Republicans are engaged in the same gamesmanship.  McConnell, who has broad support across Rhode Island - including the business, Republican and legal communities - deserves an up or down vote on the merits of his nomination.

The Procaccianti Group  ->  In the wake of unprecedented wage cuts, health care cuts and mass layoffs, the federal government - through the National Labor Relations Board - has issued an unfair labor practice complaint against the Westin hotel.  Now, more than ever, the Rhode Island community should understand the workers' boycott of the hotel and demand that these middle class jobs be restored and treated with dignity and respect.

Steven Costantino  ->  This Providence Mayoral hopeful has some 'splainin to do with a recently enacted state budget that still has a $38 million shortfall despite an infusion of federal cash.  Will the House Finance chairman reconvene a special session to address this massive budget deficit and tackle the hard questions on Rhode Island's structural deficit or will he leave this budget hole for other lawmakers (and future generations) to repair?

Patrick Lynch  ->  One of the stranger emails that many politicos found in their inbox was a request from the current Attorney General and former gubernatorial candidate to support his brother's bid for Congress.  While Lynch, who trailed Cicilline by double digits in the recent Brown poll clearly needs the help, one can't help wondering about the bizarre nature of the request.  Patrick got out of the governor's race to avoid intra-party infighting that could lead to Republican victory but is encouraging people to donate to... intra-party infighting that could lead to a Republican takeover of the House?

Don Carcieri  ->  The current Republican Governor continues to write his journey into obscurity - this time with the major Republican candidates criticizing his two biggest sweetheart deals to date: the $75 million giveaway to Curt Schilling's videogame company and the Deepwater wind deal. Republican house leader Bob Watson rightly called the 38 Studios deal a "scandal waiting to happen."  This Governor would do well to leave the virtual world alone and start focusing on the real one: where Rhode Islanders are desperately looking for leadership on the budget, unemployment and foreclosures crises.

Ken Block  ->  John DePetro rightly wonders about the failures of this Moderate Party to gin up any movement of support for his own candidacy for Governor or his new party.  Despite pumping $350k of his own money (!) into the Governor's race, Block has failed to make any significant gains against the favorites in this race: Caprio and Chafee. Now the question is whether Block will quit the race and endorse one of his opponents. 

Jonathan Papelbon  ->  All I have to say is WTF?!?!

Send me your HOT and NOT tips to mjerzyk at gmail dot com.

 

Related Articles

 

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

 
 

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast

I want to follow on Twitter

I want to Like on Facebook