Rhode Island Politics
Steve Malanga at RealClearMarkets gives us the national perspective of what’s going on in Rhode Island (h/t Jim Hackett via Facebook): Tucked in between Massachusetts and Connecticut and overshadowed in Northeastern political discussions by states like New Jersey and New York, Rhode Island is barely noticed these days. Still, the Ocean State bears watching. Its…
Nothing will ever match the depth of Patrick Lynch’s monumentally selfish and depraved disdain for justice. But he’s sure giving it the ol’ college try in a different realm; namely, the use, abuse and disrespect of campaign contributions during the last months of his tenure as AG. During the final three months of 2010, former…
… his candidacy for the chairmanship of the RIGOP via this press release dispatched just after noon today. Republicans are faced with an incredible opportunity to win elections in Rhode Island. We have great incumbents and candidates. We have incredibly hard working activists. Respectfully, I hope to earn your support and vote to become Chairman…
WPRI’s Ted Nesi had the first tip clued me in (WRNI’s Ian Donnis had it first on his Tip Sheet~apologies Ian!) that former Moderate Gubernatorial Campaign runner Christine Hunsinger (who was a Dem before that as press secretary for Democratic Congressional hopeful Elizabeth Dennigan) will now be an independent as Governor Chafee’s Legislative Director. Nesi…
Could this be the kind of thing that has brought the SEC to Rhode Island? (H/T WPRO’s John Depetro.) More than two months have gone by since a pension study commission appointed by House Speaker William J. Murphy took a series of votes aimed at creating a new – and for taxpayers, significantly less expensive…
Really, what could we say about RI House Speaker Gordon Fox’s appointment of Rep. Edith Ajello as Chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee that would surprise anybody or that would have any effect on anybody’s opinion? The state’s political leadership is zagging when it needs to zig, and she’s a strong indication of it. The labels…
… though even it may have been too optimistic. In her interview yesterday with Kathy Gregg, General Treasurer Raimondo points out that the assumed rate of return on the state’s pension fund is almost certainly not realistic. She goes on to ask the logical question. Over 10 years, she said the state has averaged 4.4…
General Treasurer Gina Raimondo has been looking at the state’s pension fund books. She notes to the ProJo’s Kathy Gregg one bit of good news: the return on investment of the pension fund in 2010 was 12%. Unfortunately, that annual return rate was very much an anomaly. This is compounded, as we know, by years…
It’s a few weeks old, at this point, but Robert Plante’s letter to the editor phrases Rhode Island’s predicament too well to be allowed to fade so quickly into the online archives: This is by any measure a tall order to say the least, but it would solve our problems going forward. We do not…
Last night, on the Matt Allen Show, I mentioned my work on population trends and Andrew’s work on legislation. Stream by clicking here, or download it. Once again, I didn’t go into the sales pitch, but please email or call (401-835-7156) me to pledge financial support — as subscriptions, donations, or advertising — for 2011…