Rhode Island Politics
Developments in Woonsocket are fascinating: Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist has warned School Committee members that they could be sued and Supt. Robert J. Gerardi could have his superintendent’s certification questioned if the committee follows through on its threat to defy state rulings on hiring new staff for its literacy program. … She warned the…
As a general proposition, Rhode Islanders should be more comfortable in the absence of their legislators, but this is a jaw dropper: House Speaker William J. Murphy has notified lawmakers in his chamber that the House will not return next week, as originally contemplated, but on Oct. 7 and 8. It remains unclear what the…
From a Providence Journal editorial on the General Assembly’s annual avoidance of structural change: And this series of cuts may be minuscule compared with the ones Rhode Island may face soon. Ms. Mumford estimates that the state may confront a $1.2 billion deficit in the coming months, given overly optimistic forecasts of tax revenues in…
Whether by ignorance or deceit, there’s a curious omission from the Providence Journal’s coverage of Governor Carcieri’s plan to bring the state government’s budget out of deficit. It’s not in the summary article by Cynthia Needham and Katherine Gregg. It’s not in the article conveying state workers’ anger, by Richard Dujardin. And at best, it…
Senators Reed and Whitehouse will appear together on the WPRO Morning News with John DePetro tomorrow morning, 7:30 – 8:30. Yes, they will be taking calls and questions: (401) 438-9776 (800) 321-9776
Per Anchor Rising’s rule of thumb for whether inside connections should disqualify one from receiving a particular appointment: After an exhaustive nationwide search, the governor has nominated… his chief of staff to fill a Superior Court opening. I’d say the nomination doesn’t pass the test. Again, I’m sympathetic to the arguments that people who’ve been…
And this is the sound of General Treasurer Frank Caprio breaking the glass rod that made him appear to be arm’s length from the Rhode Island way of politics: He acknowledged the perception of a conflict with donations from eight out-of-state firms that specialize in class-action securities lawsuits. The national litigation firm Grant & Eisenhofer…
Political maneuvering can involve such minute actions as to seem arbitrary. Consider this account from state Representative Rod Driver (D, Charlestown, Exeter, Richmond): During consideration of the state budget, on June 24, I offered an amendment (requested by several towns) to relax the mandate that public-works projects must be performed by contractors who pay “prevailing…
So, last week, Pat Crowley intimated that he may run for General Treasurer of Rhode Island. Those familiar with his body of, ahem, work will likely find it difficult to believe that the notion isn’t a put-on at some level. Today, Crowley announced that RIFuture is something like the state’s online hot potato: RUTURE has…
An interesting email from the Moderate Party’s Ken Block: A flurry of phone calls has been coming into the BOE with folks asking to have their names removed from the MPRI petition sheets. Enough calls have come in such that this could only be a coordinated effort. It won’t amount to much, since we have…