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

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

Every Friday, Dan Lawlor breaks down who's rising and who's falling in the world of Rhode Island politics. Check out who made the lists this week.

Hot

Angel Taveras: The Mayor is right to call for candidates to refuse campaign support from Super PACs, independent committees that can spend unlimited amounts for or against a candidate. Elections in Rhode Island are expensive enough - in the last gubernatorial election, over $5 million was spent in the Ken Block, Frank Caprio, John Robitaille, Lincoln Chafee match-up. Do we really need to spend more money to pick the next governor of Rhode Island? Look for a Taveras announcement Monday on his run for Governor.

Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless: The inventive Coalition has a new tactic: report cards. RI received a C+. There are more than 4,400 homeless Rhode Islanders, an increase of over 480 people since 2007. The cost for funding rental assistance to the state's homeless? $3.4 million. The total state budget is over $8 billion. 

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Richard Sinapi/ACLU: Kudos to volunteer ACLU attorney Richard Sinapi for successfully defending Judith Reilly, who Judge William Smith found had her constitutional rights violated in 2010 when she was prevented by police from leafleting outside of former Mayor (and current Congressman) Cicilline's State of the City address. The city is liable for nearly $75,000. Reilly stated, "I will never understand why Mayor Taveras chose to spend so much public money defending the indefensible. I hope that he and the Police Department learned something from this case, but I fear they have not."

Jim Vincent/NAACP: Big news for the local NAACP chapter, which is celebrating one hundred years of working for racial equality. Vincent is hosting the Civil Rights icon John Lewis at a November 1 fundraiser. A son of sharecroppers, Lewis was a leader in the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee, is the last remaining speaker from the 1963 March on Washington, and is a sitting Congressman from Georgia. 

Joshua Laplante & Team/Central Falls: As GoLocal reported, thanks to faculty, students, and family, Central Fall High's graduation rate moved from 48% in 2009 to 70% in 2012. However, only 13% of students are proficient in math, up from 7%. As the school's principal, Joshua Laplante, has said, “Thirteen percent proficiency in math is unacceptable...Transformation takes time, but we have laid the groundwork for continued improvements at Central Falls High School.” Good work, and much more to do.

Evan Granoff: The Downcity developer and real estate owner had a good week with the much anticipated re-opening of the Arcade storefronts. From New Harvest Cafe to Adirah Gallery, the arcade promises to deliver a fun live/work space in the heart of downtown. If you're yearning for some of the old Arcade tenants, the Providence Cookie Co. and Copacetic Jewelry live around the corner on Peck St. 

Not

Richard Baccari Sr: The prominent developer has been implicated in the ongoing North Providence corruption probe. Pay to play politics, whether legal or not, undermines public trust in government and people's confidence in getting a fair deal.

Angel Taveras: While David Igliozzi (brother to the City Councilor) is appointed to the housing court, while, as RIDE says Mt. Pleasant High and Reservoir Ave School are "in poor condition and need major renovation," the city is spending money to eliminate a neighborhood pool. This is not moving Providence forward. 

Gina Raimondo: Before calling for a new divestment (from gun manufacturers) make sure you are complying with the old divestment (from companies connected to Sudan). 

Richard Licht/Department of Administration: As the Director of Administration prepares his exit, he leaves the state with an expensive gift: a new parking lot plan between the RI Credit Union and Veterans Auditorium. It's not like we wanted to encourage private development there, anyway. Frank Carini at Eco RI notes, "the state aimlessly continues down the paved road of building asphalted rectangles." 

90%: One little noticed fact from Marion Orr's poll at the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University was this: "Almost 90% of Rhode Island voters rate the state's economy as not so good or poor ... A majority of voters (62.5%) say that Rhode Island is on the wrong track..." If a wake up call for community change was needed, that was it. 

Jim Langevin: The Washington Post recently revealed the National Security Agency is "harvesting hundreds of millions" of contact lists from personal email accounts under presidential order, leading to questions of effective legislative oversight. Langevin serves on the House Intelligence Committee. Our federal legislators must be a loud voice for transparency, not state secrets.

Dennis Keefe, Care New England: Care New England is announcing lay-offs of hospital staff at Women and Infants. When we go to a hospital, we deserve the best care and attention. Over-extended staff (in what is supposed to be the state's growth industry!) can't give that.