RI State House Power Shift - 10 Most Powerful
GoLocalProv News Team and Kate Nagle
RI State House Power Shift - 10 Most Powerful
SEE THE LIST OF THE 10 MOST POWERFUL BELOW
Now, organized labor leader Dominick Ruggerio is the new President of the Senate. He will try to make his own mark as a statewide leader and create a pro-development, pro-worker legacy. But Ruggerio is not the only change by far this year at the State House.
Power Shift?
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“I don't see the Senate gaining more power, and it would be hard for me to suggest the Speaker now has more power, because the Speaker is always in control. I don't think the Speaker has picked up any additional authority or clout,” said Victor Profughi, veteran political scientist and pollster.
Coming with Ruggerio is a new majority leader and a new finance committee chair.
The Senate is not the only realm in the marble dome where there has been a shake-up.
In the past few months the office of Governor Gina Raimondo has also seen reshuffling. In the past year, nearly the entire senior leadership has been revamped. "If anything, the Governor has lost an ally, so it would perhaps to be the Governor that lost the most here,” said Profughi.
Mike Stenhouse of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity said that the Senate may not be exactly what people think it will be. “I have one reaction -- the conventional wisdom is [Ruggerio] is pro-labor and more moderate than Paiva Weed when it comes to other issues. But, based on his committee assignments, he's given some positions to known progressive in the Senate, which is concerning to us,” said Stenhouse.
“Labor (Committee) is what labor is, but the progressive policies have potential to become much bigger -- what has more potential for change? Namely the leftist progressive agenda.”
“The issue with labor [and Ruggerio], is that while it's theoretically true [labor] gets more access now, but practically what matters with legislation getting passed, is budgetary and cost concerns. And the State House is still in the same place it was before the shakeup,” said Profughi.
Stenhouse sees that the new Senate leaders in the committees could change the landscape and make Rhode Island less competitive for business, “So I was concerned with the committee assignments. Things we are concerned with are the radical paid leave time [proposal], minimum wage hikes, anti-employer policies being pushed. You can't say you're for job growth and the adopt these types of policies.”
RI State House Power Shift - 10 Most Powerful - 2017
#10
Patricia Morgan
House Majority Leader
So far this session, Morgan has been quiet, but she is a tough partisan who takes on issues and drives the majority crazy - she can be relentless. She could be a dark horse candidate for Governor or Jim Langevin's worst nightmare.
#9
Marvin Abney
House Finance Chair
Came into office under the most difficult conditions - the flameout and criminal demise of former chair Ray Gallison.
Abney is a work in progress, but the position itself carries with it the second most powerful gavel in the building (Speaker's gavel ranks first).
#8
Micheal McCaffrey
Senate Majority Leader
Brand new to a critical position - the grade is incomplete, but his peers are confident in his leadership and slected him over rival Dan DuPont, former Senate Finance Chair.
#7
Robert Goldberg
Lobbyist
More than two decades after leaving the Senate, Goldberg is still a power broker in the Senate. The game may have changed a bit and the fastball may not have exactly the same heat, but he remains one of the most powerful as a result of who his clients are, his institutional knowledge, and connections.
While others have fallen out of favor over time, Goldberg remains the most influential lobbyist.
# 6
Brett Smiley
Chief of Staff to Gina Raimondo
Smiley joined the Governor to bring a more local flavor to the Governor's office. He has brought that, but also stumbled on with late night tweets and business relationships.
Rumors continue to swirl that he wants to run for Mayor of Providence again, but time is ticking.
#5
Dominick Ruggerio
Senate President
It is hard to know how Ruggerio will lead the Senate. He was the perfect counter-balance to former Teresa Paiva Weed's leadership style. Will he be the pro-labor force that some business interests fear?
Or, will Ruggerio surprise everyone and become a force in changing the fate of Rhode Island's last place business ranking?
#4
Leo Skenyon
Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the House
He has played the game at every level in RI politics. His efforts to help Speaker Nick Mattiello through the Ray Gallison and John Carnevale disasters stabilized the House.
He is the loyal, behind-the-scenes staffer that all elected officials appreciate.
Skenyon, a former top aide to Governor Bruce Sundlun and U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell, and once most recently been the Traffic Tribunal Clerk. He is the former Chief of Staff to then-Senate Majority leader Jack Revens in the 1980s.
#3
Gina Raimondo
Governor of Rhode Island
While gearing up for her re-election her strongest legislative ally quits. The departure of Teresa Paiva Weed as President of the Senate is a big blow to Raimondo's legislative agenda.
Can she afford to continue to brawl with Speaker Nick Mattiello?
#2
Joe Shekarchi
House Majority Leader
He was once considered to be Governor Gina Raimondo's biggest cheerleader in the House, but since taking the #2 slot in the House he has shifted to be a House power broker.
He sits on a campaign war chest that is unmatched in the legislature.
As Russ Moore wrote, "Shekarchi has an almost super-human knack and talent for making it seem like he agrees with everyone--even with people who possess drastically different political ideologies, at the exact same time. He employed ultra-progressive Warwick City Councilman-elect Jeremy Rix at his law office. Yet the business-friendly Democrats will also tell you that Shekarchi sees things the way they do as well. We've got to hand it to him--he's as smooth as a summer lake at dawn."
#1
Nick Mattiello
Speaker of the House
Today, he dominates RI politics. His agenda -- eliminating the car tax -- is the #1 legislative issue. He has bet his future and long-term legacy on this initiative. While Mattiello won a very narrow re-election by the narrowest of margins, he continues to lead the House with a strong hand.
His battles with Governor Gina Raimondo are epic. And, it will be interesting to see if there is an cooling in the Mattiello-Raimondo feud. Will the car tax plan pass as Mattiello has crafted? Will Raimondo's college program pass? And, who will Senate President Ruggerio side with on the big issues -- Raimondo or Mattiello?
