December 6, 2012 – RI Future

Ted Nesi is easily the most knowledgeable and well-respected local reporter on the pension beat. As such, it’s not easy to call him out for what I think is some bias in his pension reporting as of late.

Today on Twitter I asked him why he didn’t include either Angel Taveras or Ernie Almonte’s perspective when he reported that Gina Raimondo, Gordon Fox and EngageRI all disagree with the governor’s tack.

Yes, Raimondo, Fox and EngageRI are important players in this debate. But so are Almonte and Taveras, both of who had publicly weighed in defending Chafee by the time Nesi posted on the issue. WPRO had Almonte on Wednesday morning and RI Public Radio had a post on Monday saying Taveras thought, “the state should seek a settlement to a challenge by a series of unions to last year’s pension overhaul,” wrote Ian Donnis for RIPR.

Here’s the exchange we had on Twitter:

Sorry, Providence Journal, much as you might not like it, we are no longer debating whether or not the state should be negotiating pension reform with organized labor as your over-hyped headline and otherwise great long-form story on the drama this morning suggests.

Remember, after all, on Tuesday when you broke the news that the governor is, in fact, talking with union leaders about this very topic?

As a point of fact, the executive branch is already at the table. The question at this point is whether or not treasury wants a seat there too.

My guess is Raimondo will eventually join the talks. In fact, Chafee ought to request her presence at the next meeting between he, and labor leaders Bob Walsh and George Nee.

I’m sure all three of these players believe she’d be a valuable voice in those discussions. And, more importantly, our elected leaders shouldn’t shy away from engaging with their adversaries. Remember, talking doesn’t equal acquiescing. Or, sitting down and holding your ground are not mutually exclusive.

As much as EngageRI might not want her to give labor any credence, she ought to listen to the more politically viable advice coming from the likes of Mayors Angel Taveras and Allen Fung, who both told WPRO this morning they would sit down too.

In the meantime,the one thing you can take to the bank is that the local mainstream media will tie itself in knots trying to defend Gina and disparage Linc.

Day: December 6, 2012

Is Ted Nesi Biased on Pension Reform?

Story Isn’t Whether to Sit Down, But Who’s At Table