Side of the Rhode: Who’s hot and who’s not in RI politics?

Friday, November 05, 2010

by Matthew Jerzyk

 

Read Side of the Rhode every Friday at GoLocalProv.com.

WHO'S HOT

Terry Hassett  ->  This courageous Providence councilman was ruthlessly run down on Friday night on Atwells Ave: another victim on an increasingly dangerous stretch of roadway on Federal Hill.  The entire Providence community immediately came together and offered their thoughts and prayers for Hassett and his family.  His strength and the support of the community will undoubtedly steer his ship through these dark waters.  

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Linc Chafee  ->  Even with 36% of the vote, this Indy candidate made history on Tuesday night, becoming the state's first Indepenent Governor.  Running as the true Democrat in the race, he cobbled together an impressive campaign of moderates, environmentalists, progressives and people of color.  Kudos to him for stating his first act will be to rescind the Governor's terrible executive order targeting immigrants.

Angel Taveras  ->  The Mayor-elect of Providence ran a disciplined and spirited campaign that won plaudits for its fundraising, ground operation and innovative use of social media.  Taveras' campaign manager Lauren Nocera is certainly a hot commodity after leading this first-class operation.   And their transition is off to a hot start too!

Gina Raimondo  ->  Who got the most votes of any candidate on the ballot in Rhode Island on Tuesday night?  Gina Raimondo.  She cleaned house: winning over 200,000 votes.  And she did so by mastering the three Ms of running for office: money, messaging and mobilization.  The state's next General Treasurer has a limitless future based on this performance. 

David Cicilline  ->  Despite the constant drone of the Cianci spin machine, Cicilline pulled out an impressive Primary win and a tough 6 point victory in the General Election.  Now, Cicilline will go to Congress and join only 3 other freshman Democrats in 2011.  This will give him a huge opportunity - to work hard in the Minority Party and fly up through the ranks. 

John Robitaille and John Loughlin  ->  These two Republican Johns had great nights at the polls - despite the fact that both of them lost.  Robitaille lost the governor's race to Chafee by 2 points and Loughlin lost the CD-1 race to Cicilline by 6 points.  Still, both of their campaigns were under-funded and their numbers were over-achieving.  They deserve props for that.  However, it should be noted that both of these guys get a "not hot" for lying on TV on election night.  Both claimed that they were proud to hold their heads high because they ran a positive campaign and never ran attack ads.  Never ran attack ads?  Really?!?  What about here?  And here?

Seth Yurdin  ->  This East Side Councilman - known for his intellect, his public policy innovation and his environmental advocacy - just won election as Providence's next City Council Majority leader.  With the city in dire financial straights, the people of Providence ought to rest assured that Yurdin will provide a steady hand of leadership in a legislative body tackling critical issues and filled with newly elected members.

Gordon Fox and Teresa Paiva Weed  ->  With a red tidal wave sweeping the nation, the super-majority of Democrats in the House and the Senate barely suffered a dent as only 1 incumbent senator and 3 incumbent representatives lost on Tuesday.  This solid night should solidify the leadership teams in the House and the Senate and allow the legislature to avoid the partisan battles that accompany fights for leadership posts and allow them to get down to the people's business.

Scott Avedisian  ->  Not only did he cruise to re-election on Tuesday night, winning 80% of the vote in Warwick, but his ears undoubtedly perked up when hearing about Chafee's victory.  Reason being, a Warwick Mayor looks at a 2012 US Senate race much more earnestly when his friend occupies the State House.  

Jim Riley  ->  This UFCW leader was a man on a mission in working to defeat Doug Gablinske in the House.  His efforts paid off with a huge Primary and General Election win for Richard Morrison.  This, on top of supporting Angel Taveras very early on in the Providence Mayor's race, puts Jimmy Riley on the en fuego list. 

Ralph Mollis  ->  The buzz among the chattering class in the week prior to the election was that Mollis was the most likey Democrat to lose among the General Officers.  That speculation wasn't that far off as Mollis squeeked by with a 4 point victory.  Kudos to the Secretary of State and his team for turning up the volume enough in the final week to get across the finish line.

Catherine Taylor -> Despite flying under the radar for most of the fall, this Republican candidate for Secretary of State almost pulled off a major upset on Tuesday night. In fact, she won more votes on election night than any other Republican on the ballot: by almost 50,000 votes. If the RI Republican Party were smart (and that's saying alot), they would find a leadership position for this rising star.

The Moderate Party of RI  ->  Despite underwhelming performances by their General Assembly candidates, both Ken Block and Chris Little won a healthy amount of respect and votes.  The latter is more important as their candidacies surpassed the 5% marker and won the Moderate Party ballot status for the next election cycle.  Now, with their first hurdle passed, the real test will be whether this fledging party can build a real ground-up operation: running candidates for local office that can sustain a party in the long run. 

Elizabeth Roberts  ->  Did anybody predict that she would beat Healey by 18 points?  Certainly not me!  A great election night for the Roberts campaign.  And, with the Caprio defeat, Roberts stays as the most powerful general officer in the Democratic Party.

Pat Crowley  ->  This nemesis of the right and newly minted political director of the NEA set his sights on a handful of races, trained and mobilized his members and won in a huge way: Chafee, East Providence, Gablinske, Shallcross Smith to name a few.  Of the great group of young organizers in Rhode Island, Crowley is undoubtedly sitting at or near the top.

Peter Kilmartin  ->  This Attorney General-elect ran a disciplined campaign and his communications team should be commended for their job in ensuring that Kilmartin's message was constantly being heard in the media.  With a tough primary win under his belt, a 14 point general election win was a solid victory for this former State Representative from Pawtucket. 

Jim Langevin  ->  It's not easy grinding out primary and general election victories every two years.  But, this is precisely what Congressman Langevin has done and he has done so in impressive fashion.  With so many of his colleagues going down in flames on Tuesday night, it will be interesting to see if he shoots up the leadership chain of command in the House.

Harry Reid  ->  Not only did this Senate Majority Leader win big on Tuesday night, but he maintained control of the Senate - winning a stunning 53 Democratic seats.  This bodes well for continued resources for Rhode Island through the good work of Senators Reed and Whitehouse.   

WHO'S NOT

Frank Caprio  ->  This one comes as no surprise.  Every other Democrat who ran for general office or Congress in Rhode Island won on Election Night.  But this "democratic" gubernatorial candidate decided to abandon every major constituency of the Democratic Party - women, LGBT, Latinos, African-Americans, labor, progressives - and he suffered the consequences -- winning a paltry 23% of the vote.  And, yes, Bob Healey got almost 50,000 more votes than Caprio. Did I mention ShoveItGate? 

The Tea Party  ->  Nationally, the tea party ensured Republican senatorial defeats in Colorado, Delaware and Nevada.  Locally, tea party candidates failed to win the enthusiasm or the vote in their races for local office.  It's time to put this tea on ice!

Los Tres Amigos  ->  The trio of sore losers - Al Gemma, Doug Gablinske and Mary Ann Shallcross Smith - all attempted to run write-in campaigns after losing primary elections for State Representative to progressive candidates David Bennett, Richard Morrison and Jay O'Grady.  And, they all lost miserably.  The lesson here is graciousness in defeat.  

Buddy Cianci  ->  Scott MacKay is correct in wondering whether support from Buddy Cianci is the kiss of death for a candidate.  All of Buddy's candidates went down in flames in 2010.  As did his old-school politics of pay to play.  In science, they call it evolution.

Charlie Baker  ->  Baker was presumed to be the favorite to win this race against an unpopular incumbent in Deval Patrick, but his anti-working class and anti-immigrant platforms turned off a majority of MA voters and he suffered a stinging defeat with only 42% of the vote.

Anthony Carcieri  ->  The reckless actions of the leader of the East Providence School Committee came back to bite him as his entire leadership team in the City was thrown out.

Gio Cicione  ->  This leader of the Rhode Island Republican Party lost big time in the General Assembly and General Officer elections.  With the most friendly environment imaginable for Republicans in the Ocean State, he failed to raise the money and build the organization to win elections for the GOP in 2010.  Next!

Send me your ideas to mjerzyk at gmail dot com.

 

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