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

Friday, November 07, 2014

Russell J. Moore, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

Hot

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Gina Raimondo: Who else? A win is a win, and Raimondo made history on Tuesday by becoming the state’s first female Governor after running a tremendous campaign in both the primary and the general election. Raimondo has proven a willingness to courageously take on big issues and if she is as bold in fixing the economy as she was with pension reform she will serve Rhode Island well.

Women & Infants Annual Christmas Road Race: The hospital announced that on December 14th, the hospital will host its annual road race to raise money for women’s oncology programs. The race takes place in Newport and features a 5k and 10k run/walk race.

Marcus Mitchell: It’s impossible for a candidate to be more impressive in losing a race than Mitchell was in Providence’s city council Ward-3. Mitchell waged a write in campaign against long-time councilman Kevin Jackson, who irked many of his constituents by supporting former Mayor Vincent Cianci and lost by just a handful of voters. Mark my words: Mitchell will be heard from again.

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Jorge Elorza: Beginning two weeks before the Democratic Primary, the stars began to align for Elorza, who benefitted from Brett Smiley dropping out of the race and the desire of the electorate to vote for new faces. It’s undeniable that Elorza is an incredibly talented and driven individual and if he’s as serious about ethics as he claims to be, Providence will be well-served.

630 WPRO: Buddy Cianci’s loss in the mayoral election is WPRO’s gain as Cianci, a ratings juggernaut, returned to the air on Wednesday, the day after the election. And Cianci’s return could not have come at a better time for WPRO as November is a ratings sweeps month. (Just so you know, that’s why Cianci returned to the air immediately.)

Joe Polisena: The Johnston Mayor not only cruised to victory in his own election with a massive mandate, but more importantly, his endorsement helped his fellow Cranston Mayor Allan Fung win Johnston—traditionally a Democratic City by more than 1,200 votes. Polisena’s ability to cross partisan lines and huge popularity in Johnston signal he has a bright future and a lot of political options going forward.

NOT

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Catherine Taylor: Given Taylor’s strong showing in the 2010 election for Secretary of State as well as her union backing, many thought Taylor could pull off the upset in the race for Lieutenant Governor. But Taylor, a close confidante of Governor Lincoln Chafee, not only lost, but was crushed by Daniel McKee.

The Moderate Party: Ken Block envisioned the Moderate Party as a vehicle to challenge and change Rhode Island. But in the last two gubernatorial elections, however, the Moderates have cut into the Republican Party’s margins and given the Democratic Party the edge--much to Block's dismay.

Scott Avedisian: Yes, the Mayor of Warwick cruised to reelection against some weak competition in his own race, but Avedisian was highly ineffective at helping his friends. Republican gubernatorial nominee Allan Fung only won Warwick by roughly 800 votes and Lieutenant Governor Candidate Catherine Taylor—a close Avedisian ally—was destroyed by Daniel McKee by roughly 3,500 votes. Moral of the story, you don’t need Avedisian to fair well in Warwick.

Constitutional Convention: The campaign to pass a constitutional convention was not well-run, to put it mildly. Supporters never really made the case to voters that the convention could’ve been an effective method to weaken the power of the General Assembly, which would have been an appealing message to voters.

Public sector union influence: The 2014 elections featured a Governor-elect who is best known for pension reform, and a Lieutenant Governor-elect who is best known for education reform—both positions are anathema to the unions. And in the Providence Mayoral race, former Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci was backed by all the city’s public sector unions, but still failed to beat back Mayor-elect Elorza.

RI-GOP: Yes, the state Republican Party nearly doubled its allotment of House of Representative seats from 6-12. But there’s no way to look at this year as anything but a failure for the state GOP given that they were swept completely out of every statewide office during a year that was a Republican wave on the national level.

 

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