Jonathan Scott: Providence Can Lead RI out of Recession

Jonathan Scott: Providence Can Lead RI out of Recession

I coached wrestling for almost twenty years and used to tell my athletes that an opponent’s body will always follow his nose. Professional drivers follow the same mantra: they always look ahead in the turn because it helps them balance the car and successfully plot the apex. Rhode Island is no different - the state will always follow its capital city and, right now, Providence is in some trouble.

The property tax rate is through the roof (pun intended) and years of neglect in the neighborhoods have led to a deterioration in housing stock. Insider deals, corruption and the recent problems in the police department are visible indicators that something needs to change. It’s what we don’t see that really has us cruising towards destruction. Unfunded pension liabilities and a politically expedient desire to pawn the debt off on future generations through re-amortization means that we have a crumbling foundation.  We privatize management contracts at a huge cost to the city when privatization is supposed to reduce costs, and we hire outsiders to lead departments in a city where we make being provincial into an art form.

We have so much going for us, though, and there is so much potential in a city that is small enough to be manageable yet large enough to be cosmopolitan. We have incredible colleges and universities. We have the best restaurants in the nation and we have developers who are willing to invest in creating a vibrant down city area. We have top-notch medical facilities and our creative community is second to none. The question then becomes: How do we capitalize on our strengths in order to overcome our weaknesses?

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We do not need to get rid of everything and start over from scratch. That is always the instinct of politicians who want to run against a lame status quo. The answer lies with evolution, not revolution, but it must be done with sunlight shining its disinfectant power down upon City Hall.

We actually need to become more provincial. We need to understand that the city does not follow the state - it’s the other way around. We need to incentivize businesses to open in our city.  We need to foster public/private partnerships with the existing colleges, universities, and medical facilities. We need to demand more from those who get tax breaks but we need to provide them with a well-trained capable work force and, in all cases, we need to stop relying on the state to fix our problems. At a time when RIPTA is cutting back, we need to create a next-generation Providence Public Transit Authority that uses the old hub and spoke set up and runs from a downcity opportunity zone out Broad Street, Elwood Ave, Narragansett Blvd, Smith Street, and up College Hill into the neighborhoods. We need to create a Providence Human Services effort that demands partnerships from medical facilities, entrepreneurs, and non-profits to put an end to homelessness in the city.

We need to be able to stand on our own and lead the state through its recovery. We need to say out loud that we can overcome our problems because we are a great city, with great people and great potential. Mostly, though, we have to work together. It can no longer be acceptable that ideas are generated with a partisan litmus test and deals are made behind closed doors. The people must be privy to every decision made and those decisions should be made without undue influence from anything other than the collective city’s best interests. In short, we need to change the “corporate culture” in Providence. It won’t be easy and we won’t always agree, but, if we can at least respect one another, we can return Providence to greatness once again and hope that the state follows our lead.

Jonathan Scott was the Republican nominee for U.S. Congress in Rhode Island’s First District in 2006 and 2008. He is currently running as an independent for mayor of Providence, serves as President of the Liftline Group, a full-service political consulting and public relations shop, and is an occasional contributor to Politics Magazine online.