Rhode Island Politics

Rep. Edwards’s Legislation Against Local Civic Participation

By Justin Katz | February 16, 2012 |

Rep. John Edwards (D, Tiverton, Portsmouth) has submitted legislation (H7060) that — in attempting to add ballot-question sorts of direct democracy to the list for campaign finance disclosures — would erode Rhode Island’s already apathetic civic participation. Political candidates receive votes, ultimately, based on the decisions that they will make in the future, and voters…

Superior Court Ruling On Perpetual Blue Cross: Without It, Retirees Could Be Forced “to choose between other necessities and forgoing medical treatment”

By Monique Chartier | January 31, 2012 |

So yesterday, Judge Sarah Taft-Carter issued a temporary injunction against the City of Providence rolling public retirees into Medicare once they hit 65. The trial to determine whether the injunction should be made permanent starts in May. The city had to demonstrate a compelling public “emergency” in order to do so; the retirees had to…

Redistricting Battles and No Transparency

By Patrick Laverty | January 27, 2012 |

I’ve asked before, why does the state’s redistricting process need to be done this way? The state hires an outside consultant who takes some of the data, draws a map, shows it to some people, gets feedback, draws another map and the process continues until finally a few of them agree that they’ve created a…

The Court Rules Against Pawtucket and Another Bale of Straw Is Thrown Onto Everyone’s Back

By Monique Chartier | January 14, 2012 |

Thanks to WPRI’s indefatiguable Ted Nesi for the heads-up. Rhode Island’s largest public-sector union declared victory Friday in a lawsuit against Pawtucket, just hours before the mayor revealed the city is running an unexpected $2.3 million deficit. Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter ruled Jan. 5 that Pawtucket cannot force retired teachers to start sharing the…

Redistricting – Charlie Hall Pinpoints Who Benefits From

By Monique Chartier | January 10, 2012 |

… and who is disadvantaged by the 68,000 voters to be gratuitously moved from RI-2 to RI-1. (It’s a “compromise”, dontcha know.)

“Medicinal Marijuana” Is Already Legal (In Pill Form) – Why Are We Trying to Re-Legalize It?

By Monique Chartier | January 5, 2012 |

Last month, Governor Chafee petitioned the federal government on Wednesday to reclassify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical uses … Last week, Speaker Fox added his voice to the effort by appeaing to the law enforcement side. House Speaker Gordon D. Fox says he’ll personally petition the U.S. Department of Justice to seek a…

Unpaid Campaign Fines

By Patrick Laverty | January 5, 2012 |

A new report on the unpaid fines from the RI Board of Elections (BOE) is out (h/t Dan McGowan) and it is five pages of names and the amount they owe. Some of it is a who’s who of Rhode Island politics. So first, how does someone get fined by the BOE? Once a person,…

The Dogs That Didn’t Bite in Pension Reform

By Justin Katz | January 4, 2012 |

Two aspects of this Monday editorial in the Providence Journal, lauding Central Falls Superintendent Fran Gallo for progress in her school district are interesting. For one, multiple Projo columnists have compared Democrat General Treasurer Gina Raimondo favorable with Republican reformers in other states, like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Ohio Governor John Kasick, on the…

Surprise — Governor Chafee Considering Tax Increases to Balance Next Year’s Budget

By Carroll Andrew Morse | December 30, 2011 |

On the last weekday of 2011, David Klepper of the Associated Press writes what could be the least surprising news story of the year (h/t WPRO News)…As he prepares for his second year in office, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee is looking for ways to spur the state’s frail economy, rescue its struggling cities and…

A Touch of Chicken or Egg? – Does State Intervention Accelerate Municipal Receivership?

By Monique Chartier | December 27, 2011 |

Last week, the state escalated its involvement in East Providence’s budget problems by putting in a Budget Commission. It did so only one month after sending in a Fiscal Overseer. Observers have correctly pointed out that this was three full months earlier than called for by the procedure outlined in the so-called Fiscal Stability Act…