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

Representative Donna Walsh: Donna Walsh is determined. Speakers come and Speakers go, yet, scared of it, leadership has “held for study” her magistrate reform bill for eight years in a row. As GoLocal’s Stephen Beale revealed, “Just over half of all magistrates in the state judicial system are former legislative staffers, lawmakers, or relatives of lawmakers.” Walsh is standing up to insiders (hopefully, her struggle is shorter than the case against the Master Lever).

Ken Block: Thousands of people, including members of groups like League of Women Voters, Common Cause and Operation Clean Government,  worked to end the Master Lever (or Straight Party Voting) here in Rhode Island.  Thank you, Governor Chafee for signing the bill into law! Gubernatorial candidate Ken Block's advocacy and organizing made a big impact. Block's next good government project? Give the Rhode Island Governor a line item veto.

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Carlos Arévalo: Arévalo, a Salvadoran immigrant who benefited a Rhode Island public school education, was recently elected president of the McHenry County Bar Association, in Illinois, the first Latino to hold the post. The Boston College alum told the Northwest Herald, “We are all benefited by the differences we bring to the table.”

Representative Art Handy: Representative Handy deserves praise for leading the charge for the state to adapt to changing climate. Handy's Resilient RI Act promotes better coordination and dialogue among state agencies to prepare for change. As GoLocal's John Perilli states, "Whether we spend the money on mitigating climate change rather than cleaning up after it is entirely our choice."

Signature Gatherers: You know them: The folks standing in front of Dave's Market with a clipboard, (most times) a smile, doing their best to convince you to sign a paper to get their candidate on the ballot – 1000 signatures are needed for a potential US Senator or Governor, 500 signatures for Congressional Representatives, 100 for state senators, and 50 for state representatives. Thank you for your work!

ProvSlam Youth Poetry: Six young spoken words poets from Lil' Rhody will be heading to participate in Brave New Voices in Philadelphia, an international gathering of spoken words poets. As they say, “poetry slams are games that trick us all into remembering the power of words. We are about the community that happens wherever beautiful, important things are being said out loud.”

Not

Cycle of Violence: Recently, five people were shot in the area around Chad Brown. As Teny Gross told GoLocal in February, "Providence, we have a complex set of challenges -- we're a poor city, with 1600 plus gang members, nightlife bringing in people from out of state, highway access with 95 for drugs...We used to have many more gang conflicts -- we used to have over ten across the city, now we've got two...There's still a lot of individuals, without hope -- but with access to guns."

Neglect: Almost as a sad counterpoint to the artistic bus shelters going up across the city (Great collaboration between the City and RIPTA!), the glass at the bus shelter near Harold St and Chalkstone Ave is repeatedly smashed. A recent tagger wrote, "Don't even bother."

Kevin Jackson and Luis Aponte: These two incumbent City Councilors are among the worst in the state for lack of compliance with campaign finance reporting. Luis Aponte owes $46,809.00 in fines, and is facing Dr. Jenny Rosario in Ward 10. Kevin Jackson owes $30,057.00, and has no opponent at all. While not as egregious in, Councilor Davian Sanchez's fines total $10,170.00, and he faces multiple opponents- three Democrats in the primary. The winner will take on Republican Roy Bolden.

9,733: It seems incomprehensible - but over 9,000 individuals in Rhode Island needed assistance in resisting and overcoming domestic violence last year. We need to change our culture. According to the Coalition Against Domestic Violence, from 2002 to 2012, at least 79 Rhode Islanders died as a result of domestic violence. Those 9,733 individuals were brave enough to ask for help - and we need to support those that support our neighbors and family.

The Proccacianti Group (TPG): The majority of downtown hotel workers are unionized and make decent pay. TPG alone is a hold-out with its notably low wages and union-busting tactics. When hotel workers make more money, they can spend more money in the economy.