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

Friday, August 01, 2014

Dan Lawlor, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

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Hot This Week: Allan Fung

Note: Dear readers, as a new chapter begins, this will be my final Side of the Rhode column. Thank you for your support, criticism, and work for our city! May we celebrate those who help, and hold accountable those who hurt. Citizen participation makes or breaks democracy. Building off the good already here, Rhode Island can one day work for all people, not just insiders. 

Hot

Representative Donna Walsh: Contrasting the intrigue and resignations of House Speaker Gordon Fox and Democratic Party Chair David Caprio, South County's Donna Walsh is a consistent and recurring voice for common sense and good government. From her magistrate reform bill ("once again held for further study") to environmental legislation, thank you!

Johanna Harris/Board of Licenses: Harris and the full Board made the right call. As GoLocal reported, concerns about fights and safety on Atwells Ave resulted in the decision to keep the The $3 Bar closed pending further investigation. Let's hope concerns from all the neighborhoods are dealt with this fast.

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Parker Gavigan/I Team: Good job to the NBC's I-Team reporter for exposing potential bidding collusion between the just resigned Democratic Party Chair David Caprio and State Representative Peter Palumbo. Overheard in the Providence Pizza Company: "Caprio and Palumbo are hot ... but not in a good way."

RIPTA Riders Association: On Tuesday, Aug 5 at 5pm, the RIPTA Riders Association will be protesting the Kennedy Plaza redesign plans.  They argue, "Despite the hype from officials and private developers, RIPTA's $2.4 million redesign will make conditions worse for passengers! ...After this year's construction, there will be worse changes later if we don't speak up now."

Allan Fung: The Cranston Mayor called for a ban on lobbyist participation in the Judicial Nominating Committee. Case in point: Richard McAuliffe, a lobbyist appointed with the recommendation of Gordon Fox and Teresa Paiva Weed, helps decide who gets to be a judge (former Senate President Joseph Montalbano, for instance). I'm sure there are some non-connected lawyers with equally good insights. 

Bay State Three: Three environmental advisors to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick have resigned in opposition to their Governor's support of a risky natural gas pipeline expansion. Here in Rhode Island, the Green Party has been leading the movement to halt related pipeline expansion in Burrillville.

Day One, Sojourner House, RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 13,625 helpline phone calls were made to the partners in the anti-domestic abuse coalition. The work of these organizations has a real impact on Rhode Islanders- support their efforts.

Yarrow Thorne/The Avenue Project: This innovative new arts organization collaborates with the city and area businesses to identify venues for mural making and public art by street artists in Providence. Housed in a re-developed car garage on Lockwood Ave, the Avenue Concept is promoting positive programming in the city - check out their work!

Not

Nick Mattiello and Teresa Paiva Weed: This past week, the General Assembly convened the first Constitutional Convention Preparatory Commission meeting... the day after the report from the commission was due. 

Angel Taveras: The Mayor said to judge him based on the schools. When asked by the Hummel Report if all Providence Public Schools were "safe, warm and dry," the city's chief of administration for the schools said, "I wouldn’t say that as of today they’re all there." Will the Mayor's proposed universal Pre-K be housed in sub-standard elementary schools?

David Caprio and Pete Palumbo: Why are political officials allowed to even bid on state contracts in the first place? Insider networking results in a few well-connected families making a lot of money, while tens of thousands of outsiders struggle to find jobs and work. As Tara Granahan said, "Lucky is winning the lottery. Getting this contract? That's your connections."

Gina Raimondo: According to a GoLocal article on Edward Siedle, the state's pension fund is underperforming the market by 10%, raising questions about the Treasurer's hedge fund strategy, which results in high fees being paid to a few firms.

John Carnevale: The former state representative remains a powerful political figure despite a murky history- including repeated domestic assault accusations, and a sexual assault charge that was dismissed only because the woman involved died during the trial. The Pell and Cianci campaigns would be wise to disassociate from him, and the Speaker, instead of seeking to unseat folks like Teresa Tanzi, might want to look at his base.

Bill Murphy, Robert Goldberg and Steve Alves:  Numerous former elected officials- primarily former members of leadership- make a lot of money off their insider connections. These insiders sell their knowledge to powerful interests, ignoring the needs of regular people. Murphy, Goldberg, & Alves: We made the law, pay us to change it.

Vincent Cianci, Jr.: Ask Cianci: A Renaissance for which kids, in which schools? How?

Jim Langevin: The Congressman accepts tens of thousands of dollars from drone manufacturers, but serves on the House Committee that decides if drones should be used or not. Scary. Tell the Congressman to return the drone money.

 

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