EDITORIAL: UNACCEPTABLE

Friday, December 15, 2023

EDITORIAL

 

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“The people I talk to are very pleased with what is going on.” Posts on Governor McKee's own Facebook page.

 

Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti have failed Rhode Island.

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There are functionally four basic minimal services that residents should receive from state government — police, fire, schools, and roads.

Many Rhode Islanders have given up on public education — public schools in too many communities are inferior, and the only students who remain are those with no options. Ironically, when McKee was visiting Mount Pleasant High School in Providence on Wednesday, a female police officer was disarming an 18-year-old student with a gun in another portion of the school.

Rhode Island’s roads and bridges are ranked among the worst in the country. They ranked poorly before Peter Alviti took over nearly a decade ago, and despite endless promises, Rhode Island has barely "moved the needle." Alviti is responsible for the quality and the safety of the infrastructure which people depend on daily. 

House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale's comments are on point when he said, "The Executive Branch in Rhode Island is responsible for maintaining and developing our state’s infrastructure – including the I-195 bridges. The Governor selects department heads and directors and prioritizes the areas where those departments focus. The responsibility for this avoidable disaster is undebatable."

Repeatedly, GoLocal has unveiled that Alviti is dishonest and has intentionally misled the public on issues such as contamination, legal matters, and the costs of projects.

Now, there is a major transportation catastrophe. Alviti’s explanations are inconsistent at best.

Alviti has repeatedly praised himself during this crisis. The self-infatuation is downright creepy. The reality is that for many in the state, their lives have been seriously disrupted, and their children’s education has been impacted.

For thousands who work for the hundreds of businesses that will be damaged by the loss of revenue during the critical holiday season, this failure of the government will severely economically damage many. Restaurants across the East Bay and into Providence have been pounded by the cancellation of dinners and holiday parties.

Unfortunately, this failure of the government is expected to last for months.

The explanation of what caused the failure is highly questionable, and an independent review is needed. According to documents GoLocal unveiled filed by a top Connecticut engineer in 2020 on the stability of the bridge and RIDOT's changes, it raises even more questions about Alviti’s competence and judgment.

The Governor is all in on Alviti. He has refused to take action so far in reaching out for an independent review and has attempted to bully the media to quash questions. When GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle asked about an independent review, he was dismissive.

When WJAR’s Brian Crandall asked McKee about Alviti’s leadership, Crandall was bullied by the Governor, who refused to answer a question that thousands of Rhode Islanders have asked on social media and hundreds of McKee’s own social media pages. Many McKee voters have called for Alviti to be fired.

Most discomforting is McKee’s self-congratulations. After inappropriately chiding Crandall, a solid reporter and by all accounts a decent person, McKee blustered, “The people I talk to are very pleased with what is going on.”

Confusing is McKee's failure to declare a state of emergency and refusal to answer questions about tens of millions of dollars in contracts and contract extensions to favored vendors with no public bidding. The beneficiaries include the Massachusetts-based company Barletta Heavy Division, now working on the Washington Bridge and under indictment for contamination on the 6/10 project. 

McKee and Alviti announced they were engaging a New York company to provide ferry service without a public bid, even though at least two Rhode Island groups offered ferry services. Again, no accountability and no bid. RIDOT and McKee's office refused to answer questions about the engagement.

This bridge failure is not only exposing the grim underbelly of critical infrastructure but also of leadership.

For McKee to build trust during this crisis, he needs to hold his team and his appointees accountable, immediately seek an out-of-state, independent analysis of this cause, and help develop the strategy needed to correct the catastrophe.

Anything else is a failure.

An editorial is the opinion of a publication — specifically, the ownership.

While based on facts and news reporting, it is an opinion intended to discuss critical community issues. Often, the opinion is written with the intention of positive change.

GoLocal editorials have sparked conversations, change, and even the naming of a bridge.

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