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

Friday, October 01, 2010

by Matthew Jerzyk

 

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Read Side of the Rhode - Who's Hot and Who's Not in RI Politics - every Friday only at GoLocalProv.com!

WHO'S HOT

Lincoln Chafee & Frank Caprio  ->  These two gubernatorial candidates continue to hammer away at each other with some serious negatives: Chafee claiming that Caprio is an insider not to be trusted and Caprio claiming that Chafee's proposal to raise the regressive sales tax is the wrong prescription for Rhode Island's economic woes.  Nate Silver has this race at 60% that Caprio wins.  But with millions left to be spent on an air war, I have no doubt that the 25% of "undecided" Rhode Islanders will decide this important race in the next 4 weeks.

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It's RI's Economy, Stupid  ->  My guess is that the gubernatorial candidate - and those further down on the ticket - who will win in November will address the stark economic reality facing Rhode Island's working families.  The 2009 American Community Survey performed by the U.S. Census Bureau lays the facts bare: nearly 9% of Rhode Island’s families, about 70,000 people, lived below the federal poverty line in 2009 ($21,954 for a family of four); the number of single-mother families living below the poverty level rose from 24% in 2008 to about 27% percent in 2009; the number of children living in poverty increased to 37,731 from 34,816 in 2008; and 29% of Rhode Island households received Social Security, with the average SS income being only about $14k.

James Diossa  ->  This Central Falls Councilman was named in a lawsuit sponsored by Mayor Charles Moreau and his four colleagues on the City Council. Is he being sued for arranging questionable contracts that benefited his friends? No. Is he being sued for engaging in conduct unbecoming of an elected official? No. Councilman Diossa is being sued because he cast the sole vote against the very lawsuit he is named in - refusing to join the insiders in wasting more taxpayer dollars in fighting over the future of Central Falls in Court.. You can’t make this stuff up. You should stop by Diossa's upcoming fundraiser in Central Falls and show some love.

Rhode Island Wieners  ->  Former ProJo writer Dan Barry aptly captured Rhode Island's woes in a NYTimes story titled “Armfuls of Wiener Rolls, Mouthfuls of Coffee Milk And Outstretched Palms.” Here's my question: how could any true Rhode Islander try to shake down a wiener joint?

Angel Taveras  ->  This Democratic nominee for Mayor had a big week capped off with a well-attended event in the North End, which by all accounts, was a smashing success.  Taveras will continue his momentum with a big fundraiser on Tuesday night at the Hi-Hat to retire his campaign debt that he accumulated in building the largest ground game that Providence has ever seen in winning 11 of Providence's 15 ward.  In fact, Taveras is gaining so much momentum it seems that everyone wants to meet up at his campaign headquarters - even late at night!

Citizens for an Accountable Legislature  ->  This group - composed of organizations from the AFL-CIO to Common Cause - has come together for a common purpose: to promote an agenda to make the General Assembly more accountable to the citizens of Rhode Island. Hallelujah! Check out their 10-point agenda here.

O. Rogeriee Thompson  ->  This former Superior Court Associate Justice is the newest addition to the powerful First Circuit Court of Appeals.  She had a tremendous week starting with a public swearing-in at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet that included a who's-who of Rhode Island political, community and business leaders.  Then, Rhode Island Monthly profiled Judge Thompson as 1 of 28 most powerful Rhode Islanders in 2010. 

Sebastian Ruth and Nick Benson  ->  These two over-achieving Rhode Islanders won some well-deserved resources when they were named as recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.  Each will receive $500,000 to continue their amazing work; Ruth teaching low-income Providence youth the power of classical music at Community MusicWorks and Benson exercising his creativity as a stone carver in Newport.

Sheldon Whitehouse  ->  Rhode Island's junior Senator gave a much-needed speech on the Senate floor about the importance of continuing to support Rhode Islanders who are out of work as a result of the recession. Sharing stories of Rhode Islanders from Smithfield and Portsmouth who will soon exhaust their Unemployment Insurance benefits, the Senator called for a further extension of the program to help those who have been hardest hit.

David Scharfenberg  ->  This Phoenix reporter hit the nail on the head with his exploration of the 11 Big Ideas for Rhode Island's Future.  We need big ideas for the smallest state and kudos to this reporter for searching out some of the best ones.

WHO'S NOT

John Loughlin -> This Republican congressional candidate had another tough week.  First, Loughlin audaciously called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" in a congressional district with a high percentage of seniors who rely on Social Security to meet their basic needs.  Second, another poll emerged with Loughlin trailing David Cicilline by 20 points.   Should have stuck to that State Rep. race, John!

Doug Gablinske, Al Gemma, Mary Shallcross-Smith  ->  These three, sore loser, Democrats each lost their Democratic primary elections by a sizeable amounts and yet are going against the will of the electorate and are mounting write-in campaigns in the November 2nd general election.  Good luck with that!

The RI Tea Party  ->  This collection of right-wing conservative activists recently released their list of endorsed candidates and, to nobody's surprise, the list is almost entirely composed of Republican candidates for office.  It is now clear that the RI Tea Party is nothing more than a schill for the moribund RI Republican Party.

Dan Reilly  ->  This Republican State Representative candidate in District 72 has had a tough time explaining first, his flaunting of campaign finance laws, and second, whether he is an illegal candidate.     

Kerry King -> Another bad week for King as this Republican candidate for General Treasurer is now refusing to release his state income tax returns after questions were raised about his Florida residency.  At least he finally surrendered his Florida driver's license.  Where do the Republicans come up with these candidates!

Rob Rainville  ->  Anyone who has to issue a press release stating that he "Says He’s Serious About Winning" should wonder why people think that he's not serious about winning to begin with.

Rahm Emmanuel  ->  Less than 2 years after this Congressional tough guy took over as chief of staff for President Obama - promising swift delivery of Obama's legislative package - he's packing his bags and heading back to Chicago to run for Mayor.  When the going gets tough....

Erik Wallin  ->  This Republican candidate for Attorney General shot himself in the foot this week when he wrongly accused his Democratic opponent, Peter Kilmartin, of voting to reduce sentences of sex offenders. Except it turns out that Kilmartin did no such thing... Whoops! 

Send me your HOT and NOT tips to mjerzyk at gmail dot com.

 

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