Side of the Rhode: who’s hot and who’s not in RI?
Friday, June 04, 2010
Read Side of the Rhode - Who's Hot and Who's Not in RI Politics - every Friday only at GoLocalProv.com!
WHO'S HOT
Frank Caprio -> The current general treasurer and aspiring Democratic gubernatorial nominee has not been winning very many friends on the left of the Party, but his well-disciplined campaign continues to push his poll numbers higher. In the monthly Rasmussen tracking poll (from 5/27), Caprio trails Chafee by only 3 points with Robitaille in the race and Caprio leads Chafee by two points with Moffitt as the Republican in the race.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTJorge Elorza -> This Law Professor from Roger Williams University not only made history recently by being sworn in as a Housing Court Judge thereby becoming the first Guatemalan-American Judge in Rhode Island history, but his recent Op-Ed on the importance of an Education Funding Formula that truly tackles the student achievement gap is a must read.
David Segal -> This State Representative and candidate for Congress in District 1 had a solid week. First, he united environmental groups around the state and successfully pushed an amendment to the State Budget to restore the $1 million that House Chairman Steven Costantino planned to take from the State's renewable energy fund. Sec0nd, he successfully pushed language into the Budget that will put a Bond on the ballot for the voters to decide whether to invest in making a public marina at the Shooters site (next to the new I-Way bridge) and investing in Rocky Point as well as other Open Space initiatives. Third, Segal sponsored high-profile legislation that would make Rhode Island the first state in the country to call for a federal constitutional convention to rid Congress of special interest money.
Richard Walton -> This longtime social justice activist is hosting Part III of his 80th Birthday Party this Sunday, June 6th starting at 2:00 PM and lasting throughout the day. It is a potluck benefit for Amos House and The Providence-Niquinohomo Sister City Project. Liberals and progressives and environmentalists are urged to come and check it out: party is at 1 & 5 Grenore Street in the Warwick section of Pawtuxet, just off Narragansett Pkwy
Anthony Gemma -> Time will tell whether this Lincoln-based businessman made the right decision to announce a bid for the Democratic nomination for Congress so late in the political season. People say that he's got $1 million of his own personal fortune to put into this race, but he's only got 100 days until the election. But, considering his successful campaign roll-out via social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, he definitely is hot this week!
Allan Fung -> Fung announced his re-election campaign for Mayor of Cranston this week. The Republican has impressed people with his open, honest and transparent government. Victims of the March floods also found City Hall to be very responsive. Fung has also won plaudits for his ability to sit down with union workers, show them dignity and respect and negotiate in good faith - as opposed to his predecessor - Laffey - who only chose to negotiate through the media.
Bruce Reilly -> This former inmate turned community organizer has gained a reputation as a pointed interrogator at the various Drinking Liberally forums featuring candidates for Governor and Congress. Now, his efforts at accountability in the criminal justice system are being recognized by an "Extraordinary Everyday People's Award" this coming weekend. This is well deserved recognition for a rising star in Providence.
Michael Fine -> Very few successful private-sector doctors, with a flourishing literary career, would give that up and turn to running a health care system in a prison. But, that's precisely what Dr. Fine recently did in accepting the job as the ACI's Medical Director. Dr. Fine is to be commended for using his exceptional talents to tackle one of the worst problems in our society: health care in our prisons.
Luis Mendonca -> The Providence Police were caught on video tape beating Mendonca, a handcuffed suspect. Yet, despite being the victim of police brutality, authorities pressed to have Mendonca deported. Problem was that Mendonca was a LEGAL immigrant and, this past week, the Immigration Court refused to deport him.
Teresa Paiva-Weed & Daniel Connors -> Kudos to the Senate President and Majority Leader respectively for their refusal to play ball with Sen. Marc Cote's bid to have the E-Verify senate bill heard without going through the typical legislative hearing process. Cote had sought to circumvent the process by bringing the bill straight to the floor and bypassing a committee vote. Not a very democratic move from a supposedly democratic state senator.
WHO'S NOT
Steven Costantino -> The House Finance chairman once again proved how difficult it is to run for higher office (Providence Mayor) after being a legislative leader. Under his stewardship, the House Finance Committee passed a budget that infuriated environmentalists because $1 million was raided from the Renewable Energy Fund and pissed off city and town mayors and councils because over $100 million was cut in local aid and the House urged the cities and towns to make up the money by raising taxes on car taxes (for example, if you own a car worth $6,000 in Providence, you currently pay $0 - under the new proposal, you would pay an addition $525 per year in taxes!!!) In addition, fiscal hawks were upset that the Budget relied on $100 million in federal money that the US Congress explicitly rejected in a recent vote. That's like me telling my mortgage company to wait until the end of the year and Santa Claus will cover the tab! In addition, Costantino appears poised to pass yet another tax break for the richest of the rich in Rhode Island.
Patrick Lynch -> Say it ain't so! Even little-known Republican Victor Moffitt is beating Lynch in recent polling! As if the scandal brewing in Central Falls wasn't enough, this democratic gubernatorial candidate's numbers keep plunging in the monthly Rasmussen tracking poll. In the polling (from 5/27), Lynch trails Chafee by 18 points and Republican Robitaille by 10 points. In a poll with Moffitt as the Republican instead of Robitaille, Lynch trails Chafee by 11 points and Moffitt by 4 points. Pro-Lynch democrats are definitely concerned that the 2-term Attorney General is in 3rd place in general election polling at this point in the race.
RI Right-Wing, Anti-Union Conventional Wisdom -> Ted Nesi at the Providence Business News had a story this week showing that Rhode Island had fewer non-federal government workers than 90% of the other states in the nation. Only PA, NH, CO, NV and IN had fewer government workers as a percentage of their workforce. Interestingly, as one blogger pointed out, Rhode Island has fewer government workers (53,185) than the total number of unemployed (72,319).
Sen. Marc Cote -> One of the DINOs in the Senate, Cote tried to have his E-Verify senate bill heard without going through the typical legislative hearing process. He sought to circumvent the process by bringing the bill straight to the floor and bypassing a committee vote. Considering that this legislation is fraught with errors - especially targeting women who change their name after getting married - it is good that the legislature will study this legislation more.
President Barack Obama -> Supporters from the left, center and the right of the President have been critical of the Administration's handling of the worst environmental crisis in our history. While the Administration has picked up its efforts in recent weeks - including delivering a $69 billion tab to BP yesterday - decisive action should have been taken much, much sooner.
Israeli Security Forces -> Killing innocent people - in this case nearly a dozen, including a 19 year old American citizen - is not the way towards peace in the Middle East. Eyewitness accounts of the Israeli security forces' attacks on several passenger boats are particularly chilling - including passengers being shot between the eyes.
Todd Giroux -> This Bristol based contractor is running for Governor as an Independent. Based on the state of his website during the week of his campaign announcement, he's definitely not going anywhere.
Rhode Island Bars -> With one of the world's biggest sporting events ready to tip off next week - World Cup 2010 - you would think at least 1 or 2 drinking establishments would be appealing to that morning crowd of Rhode Islanders who want to watch the 700 AM and 1030 AM games. (NOTE: An astute reader points out that RiRa Irish Pub is hosting World Cup viewers. Info here.)
Central Falls & Woonsocket -> These two Rhode Island cities had the misfortune to be named as 2 of the America's 7 "junkiest" cities by CNN Money. By "junk," they mean that these cities' debt has now been downgraded to junk status - in other words, worthless.
Have a recommendation for Side of the Rhode? Email me here.
