Several Republican candidates for statewide office made something close to their 2010 election-cycle debuts at Wednesday night’s RI State Republican convention.
Catherine Taylor spoke about her candidacy for Secretary of State, presenting some very specific policy proposals regarding small business, open government, and master lever voting; and winning the uncontested endorsement…

“…Over the last three-and-a-half years, I’ve grown more and more outraged as the current Secretary of State missed opportunity after opportunity to help small businesses…cut the red tape that interferes with our ability to create jobs, as he missed opportunity after opportunity to open government to the clear light of day, as he missed opportunity after opportunity to ensure that voting is fair and the all candidates are given a fair shake…” (Audio: 1 min 44 sec)
“As Secretary of State and a forceful advocate for business, I will work to streamline fragmented bureaucracy that keeps us from getting down to business. For example, I will propose that responsibility for the Small Business Advocacy Council be moved from the Lieutenant Governor to the Secretary of State…” (Audio: 1 min 1 sec)
“…It is up to the Secretary of State, as monitor of open government, to take action when the Assembly refuses to. The Secretary of State issues an annual report on the General Assembly’s voluntary compliance with the open meetings law. Last year, Secretary of State Mollis gave the General Assembly mostly A’s and B’s for overall performance — when all violations occurred during the final days of the session, when the Assembly conducted the bulk of its work…” (Audio: 2 min 26 sec)
“Finally, we must abolish the master lever…” (Audio: 1 min 40 sec)

“Good evening. I am running for the position of Lieutenant Governor so that our next Republican chief executive can have some back-up from a Lieutenant Governor of his own party. But I am running for a lot more than that. Over time, virtually all of the Constitutional responsibilities of this office have been stripped away…” (Audio: 0 min 44 sec)
“If elected, I pledge I will not fill any of the authorized staff positions in the office of Lieutenant Governor, saving millions from day one…” (Audio: 1 min 9 sec)

“…I am honored to stand before this esteemed body, as a Republican candidate for the office of Lieutenant Governor. I am proud to be a Rhode Islander. I am proud to belong to the party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and my hero, role model and inspiration, Ronald Wilson Reagan…” (Audio: 1 min 54 sec)
“Over the course of the past month or so, there has been some widely reported discussion amongst high-ranking GOP officials about whether the RI GOP should field a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, or whether the RI GOP should support Independent candidate Bob Healey, or more recently, a Republican stand-in for Mr. Healey. To those who support this idea, I must respectfully disagree…” (Audio: 1 min 45 sec)