Rhode Island Politics
Democrat Representative Michelle McGaw (House district 71) expressed a telling thought in response to her Republican colleague, Brian Newberry, when he noted that 400 people had signed up to testify on “the proposed extension of the Governor’s emergency powers”: Have you determined how many of those have credentials in public health, infectious disease or epidemiology?…
John DePetro and Justin Katz discuss politics in RI, especially mismatches in high-profile races.
His legislation would essentially make every general election a two-stage affair, with the primary being more like what we think of as the general and the general becoming something more like a runoff. The idea of primaries is to help voters organized into parties find the best candidate within the scope of their party’s definition. …
As John DePetro says, paying outgoing Department of Health Director Nicole Alexander-Scott $46,000 per month for three months as a “consultant” by way of ushering her out the door “is absolutely outrageous.” On a first pass, it makes one wonder what was really going on behind the scenes. How did she have the negotiation leverage…
Here’s state senator and progressive candidate for lieutenant governor Cynthia Mendes: It’s Monday in #RI. Our hospitals are packed. Our teachers are afraid to go to work today because of raging COVID cases in our schools. Our students are terrified of putting their families in danger by going to school. Teaching & learning shouldn’t be…
John DePetro and Justin Katz discuss a surprising political announcement and contrasting speeches.
Rhode Islanders won’t be surprised that former State Police Colonel and gubernatorial candidate Brendan Doherty is considering a run for Congress now that incumbent Representative James Langevin has announced the opening. Here’s the interesting wrinkle, though: This time around, Doherty is considering entering the Democratic primary for the 2nd District, which covers western Rhode Island.…
John and Justin run through many of the ways in which RI’s civic system is just not functioning.
John Loughlin talks with Nick Gorham about Rhode Island politics, Frank Gaffney about China in the world, and Dan Schultz on local political strategies.
Per John DePetro: What caused the relationship to deteriorate rapidly was a McKee media mouthpiece [Dan Yorke] who bragged that the Governor shared with him a plan to remove Scott if elected in the fall. Scott angrily confronted McKee who denied the conversation [Yorke] but the damage was done. John thinks it was a “blunder”…