RI Governor ’10

Gates to Stay On As Secretary of Defense

By Carroll Andrew Morse | January 7, 2010 |

For anyone theorizing that Rhode Island Senior Senator Jack Reed might become Secretary of Defense in time for either Patrick Lynch or Frank Caprio (but most likely Lynch) to opt to run in a special Senate election, instead of for Governor, the dream is now dead. From the Associated Press…Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover…

Chafee Floats Expansion of Sales Tax in Gubernatorial Coming Out Party

By Marc Comtois | January 4, 2010 |

After loaning himself a couple hundred grand, former Senator Lincoln Chafee announced his expected bid for Rhode Island Governor as an independent this morning. The headline is his willingness to expand the sales-tax base. From Katherine Gregg’s story: While he would prefer the state generated new revenue from economic growth, “not by raising taxes and…

Robitaille for Governor?

By Carroll Andrew Morse | December 29, 2009 |

I just heard Republican State Party Chairman Gio Cicione state on the Dan Yorke show on WPRO (630AM) that John Robitaille, Communications Director for Governor Donald Carcieri, is considering running for Governor as a Republican. Katherine Gregg has the story at the Projo’s 7-to-7 newsblog…Governor Carcieri’s communications director John Robitaille has thrown his hat into…

UPDATED: Running Back to Scriptable Territory

By Justin Katz | December 29, 2009 |

From the looks of this letter, included in a press release, RI Democrat Party Chairman Bill Lynch doesn’t like the looks of the RI Voter Coalition event: Dear Mr. Wright, I write to you today in my capacity as chairman of the Democratic Party of Rhode Island with regards to the gubernatorial “debate” or “forum”…

Only in New England Could a Self-Described Moderate Hope to Get Away with Doing Public Appearances Only in Front of Ideologically Progressive Groups

By Carroll Andrew Morse | December 29, 2009 |

According to Katherine Gregg, who describes herself as a reporter for a newspaper calling itself the Providence Journal(*), soon-to-be-announced Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Lincoln Chafee has not decided whether or not he will participate in the January 8 candidates forum to be held by the Rhode Island Voter Coalition…Asked if he intended to participate in…

Blueblood Political Legacy #3 to Enter Race

By Justin Katz | December 28, 2009 |

Well, when readers take to emailing me breaking news, I suppose I must assume broader interest, even when I can only muster an amused snort: Linc Chafee has announced his intention to announce his intention to run for governor: In a brief media alert released Monday afternoon, Chafee said he would kick off the campaign…

The Draft Laffey Movement Moves Ahead

By Carroll Andrew Morse | December 23, 2009 |

The Associated Press is reporting that 19 city and town Republican chairs met with former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey this past weekend to discuss the possibility of him running for Governor, but that Laffey hasn’t made any decisions yet…Lincoln GOP chairman Michael Napolitano said Laffey attended a meeting Saturday with leaders from 19 local GOP…

A Voice in the Wilderness

By Justin Katz | December 17, 2009 |

And then there’s the wild card: “Everyone involved should resign. Either they didn’t know it would come to this, or they did and I’m not sure which is worse,” said Laffey. Sounding every bit like a candidate for Governor, Laffey said the state’s political landscape is in need of a serious makeover. At a press…

Re: Rory Smith Backs Out

By Justin Katz | December 11, 2009 |

Here’s the full statement: After spending the last few months considering a run for Governor, I have decided to suspend my campaign and return all campaign contributions. While I am deeply appreciative of the support of those who know me well, I have come to the conclusion that as a newcomer to politics, my limited…

Rory Smith Backs Out of GOP Governor Race

By Marc Comtois | December 11, 2009 |

As first heard (by me, at least) on Dan Yorke’s show, GOP naif Rory Smith has decided against running for Governor of Rhode Island and has suspended his campaign. Learning curve was too steep (hey, I understand!). Though Rep. Joe Trillo indicated that a “lurking Laffey” had nothing to do with Smith’s decision…we shall see.