Patrick Laverty

No Primary for Doherty in CD1

By Patrick Laverty | July 9, 2012 |

Michael Donahue, an announced candidate for RI Congressional District 1 as a Republican, is no longer going to pursue the seat. Donahue appeared on the Helen Glover Show this morning with Michael Napolitano guest hosting and made the announcement. Donahue will instead pursue the RI House District 68 seat as a Republican and will face…

Doing More With Less

By Patrick Laverty | July 3, 2012 |

I would expect that constituents on both sides of the aisle to be asking members of the General Assembly if they will be taking the same cuts* as eight of them have been reported to be doing. Today’s Providence Journal reports that eight members of the General Assembly, six in the Senate and two in…

Deadline to Declare for Public Office is Today

By Patrick Laverty | June 27, 2012 |

Just a reminder that you’re going to run for public office this year, today is the deadline to formally declare. To do that, head on down to your local Board of Canvassers or to the Secretary of State’s office and fill out some papers. Next, you’ll have to get a certain number of signatures to…

How I’d Fix the School Committees

By Patrick Laverty | June 24, 2012 |

We have a problem in many towns with how our governance is set up. Towns have an executive and a legislative body that assist each other in running the town. Those two manage the municipal affairs including the Town Hall, police, fire, public works and almost all other parts of the town. However for some…

Libby, Libby, Libby Is Using Labels, Labels, Labels

By Patrick Laverty | June 22, 2012 |

I tried this earlier over Twitter but the 140 character limit doesn’t really lend itself to good debate. Mr. Plain over at RIFuture tweeted about Libby Kimzey’s article on the need for more diversity at the State House. Ms. Kimzey has announced that she is running for a seat in the General Assembly this year.…

Which Office Should I Run For?

By Patrick Laverty | June 20, 2012 |

Well, I’m not even considering running for office, but quite a few other people are right now. I’m also guessing that many of them have their mind made up as to what seat to try to win. Some will decide to run for a seat in the General Assembly as they’re either tired of the…

The Nanny State, Part 4

By Patrick Laverty | June 15, 2012 |

I’m hearing a bit of a buzz about this new law the General Assembly just passed about requiring a doctor’s note or a parent’s signature every other visit to a tanning bed for minors. My first thought was also as some are making this out, “More anti-business legislation.” But then, it’s really a decision on…

Media Sensationalization

By Patrick Laverty | June 14, 2012 |

Well, that word is a big of mouthful. I even have to slow down to make sure I type it correctly. Sensationalization. Anyway. I get a morning email each day of the top stories from GoLocalProv.com, which include some headlines and a brief blurb about the story. So this morning when I saw there were…

March 1 vs. June 1

By Patrick Laverty | June 13, 2012 |

One specific bill did not pass in this General Assembly session and it should have been a slam dunk. The bill would have moved the teacher layoff notices from March 1 to June 1. It was sponsored by Senator DiPalma, was last seen back in February by the Senate Labor Committee and you guessed it,…

The Politics of Woonsocket

By Patrick Laverty | June 13, 2012 |

This morning saw dueling press releases, both issued shortly before 4 am. They were in reference to negotiations between the Woonsocket delegation of state representatives, including Jon Brien and Lisa “You’re cute” Baldelli-Hunt, and Governor Chafee. Rosemary Booth-Gallogly, the state’s Director of Revenue and Leo Fontaine, Woonsocket’s mayor, have come to the conclusion that one…