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, Russ Moore 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

Gina Raimondo: The Democratic nominee for General Treasurer scored a huge endorsement in former RI State Police Chief and Republican Congressional candidate Brendan Doherty. The endorsement hints at bipartisan support for Raimondo--which could lift her to victory in the election.

Recovery Works RI: A new non-profit has formed oriented towards changing the way people view addiction, the role of recovery, and the community's interest in seeing those stricken with the disease recover. The non-profit is a welcome addition to the community.

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Providence: You never know it by listening to the natives, but there are plenty of people who consider Providence to be America's favorite city. Travel and Leisure Magazine gave Providence that distinction this year based on the city's people, eateries, and cultural scene.

Vincent Buddy Cianci: The haters have ratcheted up their rhetoric and vitriol but the Cianci campaign continues full speed ahead racking up endorsements and rolling out policies. GoLocal reported this week that Cianci has roughly twice as much cash in his war chest as Democrat Jorge Elorza.

Same Sex Marriage: The United States Supreme Court declined to get involved in the same sex marriage issue on Monday, which opened up the door for marriage equality in five new states--Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Wisconsin. It's clearer than ever that the momentum is on the side of marriage equality.

Joseph McNamara: The Warwick State Representative was voted Chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party.  McNamara, a retired school principal, is known for making calamari the state appetizer but has long been the legislature's go to man on education.

NOT

Lincoln Chafee and Don Carcieri: The two former political allies turned foes are not only not hot, they're ice cold. The fact that neither major party nominee (Allan Fung and Gina Raimondo) want the most recent Governor from their respective party campaigning with them speaks to the lack of leadership RI got from its last two Governors.

Daniel Harrop: The Republican candidate who has been going around the city criticizing Vincent "Buddy" Cianci acting as if he's holier than thou apparently isn't according to Golocalprov.com.  Golocal reported this week that Harrop illegally evicted two Harvard undergraduates in the early 90s. It was also revealed that Harrop was fired by a United Health Care Subsidiary at roughly the same time for billing practices that resulted in a $66,000 from the Department of Health.

Providence Phoenix: In another devastating blow to legacy media, the Providence Phoenix will be closing up show on October 16th. A sad event for sure, but yet another signal that digital media is indisputably king on the information age.

Prison population spike: The state's prison population spiked by 54 inmates last year, which will cost the state potentially millions extra this year as it costs between $39,000 to $182,000 per inmate in Rhode Island. The state had been seeing decreases in the prison population in previous years.

RI Board of Elections: The Rhode Island Board of Elections agreed to hear the Republican Party's complaint against Senator Jack Reed and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo over a campaign ad Reed ran for her in secret. That's not exactly transparency.

25: There are only 25 days left until election day in Rhode Island and nationally. What are we going to talk about once the dust clears after November 4th?