John McDaid – Page 2

August 17, 2013August 19, 2013

Arsonists target Sakonnet River Bridge toll system

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At about 1am Saturday, equipment connected with the Sakonnet River Bridge was “intentionally damaged by fire,” according to an official statement sent to media by the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority. In the release, RITBA Chair David Darlington said that the fire was quickly extinguished, and that there was no damage to the bridge structure itself.

Interviewed at the scene this afternoon, Darlington offered no estimate of damage and no comment beyond saying that “the State Police were investigating.”

In the RITBA release, Darlington said that backup systems were in place, and expected minimal interruption. “Thanks to diligent work by repair crews, the main systems have either been restored or will be within the next several hours,” said Darlington. “We expect tolling on the bridge will continue as planned on Monday.”

Location of fire at Sakonnet River Bridge

On scene, Darlington did point out to a reporter the location of the fire, inside a utility tunnel located across the bike path from the small building housing the toll equipment. There did not appear to be any damage to the building itself visible from the bike path.

In the release, Darlington said, “The destruction of state property is a crime we take very seriously; the matter has been turned over to the Rhode Island State Police and will be investigated and prosecuted. We support the right of civil protest. We have no tolerance for vandalism and arson, which puts lives in peril. This act of attempted sabotage is not a victimless form of protest. It poses a potential danger to motorists and first responders, and the financial costs of the crime are borne by toll payers.”

State police gather evidence at Sakonnet River Bridge.

Officers from the RI State Police were on scene, and were searching the area around the bike path. At one point, they retrieved something from the brush to the left of the path, but when a reporter approached to try to get a picture, they were told to “move from the scene.”

May 19, 2013May 20, 2013

Northeast Young Dems convene in Providence

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The future of the Democratic Party was front and center at the RI Convention Center on Saturday as the Young Democrats of America (YDA) came to town to hold their New England regional conference.

Nearly 50 attendees from New York to Maine met for day of talks, panels, and business (including the election of their new Regional Director, Dustin Hausner) and the rising stars of Rhode Island politics were well represented.

The Convention Center was packed — with dancers attending the “Jump Dance Workshop” at the sold-out Providence stop on its multi-city tour. The hundreds of teens and pre-teens padding around the convention halls with dance bags and costumes and their booming performance music provided a oddly fitting complement to the proceedings of the young Democrats assembled in a function room on the 5th floor.

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras welcomed attendees, described his own political journey, and spoke frankly about the challenges of leading a city through a difficult financial crisis. “I didn’t want the first Latino mayor of Providence to be the one who brought the city into bankruptcy.” He credited taxpayers and unions alike for being willing to pitch in, and stressed the importance of “being straight and open” and “negotiating in good faith” in bringing everyone to the table.

Taveras urged attendees to rise to the challenges of activism and governance. “You have to stay involved and believe you can achieve. Don’t let negativity and cynicism get in the way,” he said. “Remember, we can change the world.”

That was a theme was echoed by afternoon keynote speaker Rod Snyder, the national YDA President (reportedly contemplating a run for congress in West Virginia at the end of his second term this summer). “Rarely has there been a time,” said Synder, “When young people have more opportunity for impact.”

With a quarter of the US voting population under 35, Synder said, Millennials have come to rival seniors as a key electoral bloc, and their values are most aligned with the Democratic party.

He singled out the Rhode Island attendees for their significant role in passing marriage equality. “YDA is not just riding the wave of the youth movement,” Snyder said, “We’re leading it.”

Another highlight of the afternoon was a panel of young elected officials, moderated by outgoing RI Democratic Party chair (and Secretary of State candidate) Ed Pacheco. In addition to Maine’s Justin Chenette (at 22, the youngest openly gay legislator in the US), the panel featured RI State Sen. Adam Satchell (D-9), Rep. Katherine Kazarian (D-63), Central Falls Mayor James Diossa, and Smithfield Councilor Suzy Alba, who all offered advice for young Dem candidates.

“Don’t wait,” said Satchell, “Don’t back down. If you sit around, bad stuff happens.” Kazarian’s advice, “Stay active, and get your friends involved.”

Alba, who credited her win to knocking on 4,000 doors, suggested that acknowledging diversity helps. “I was very open about my differences,” she said, adding that she found voters responded. Diossa talked about the importance of understanding why you’re running. “If you don’t believe what you’re doing, it’s hard to communicate it to the people around you.” Chenette suggested turning age from a potential liability to an asset.”We’re not beaten down by the system,” he said, “People recognize your passion.”

That was a theme picked up by moderator Pacheco (who, at 31, is still 4 years under the YDA cutoff for “young”). “Many people underestimate us because we’re not 55, not an attorney, and haven’t been in public office for 20 years,” he said. “But we all have something to contribute.” Pacheco, who has announced his intention to run for Secretary of State, talked about the importance of engaging younger voters. “My goal would be to reach out to every young person and invite them to be a part of the process,” he said. “The window can not be half open.”

There were two other panel discussions — one on the policy issues facing young people and another on grassroots organizing, featuring some of our state’s most engaged young activists from organizations like MERI, Planned Parenthood, Providence Student Union, and RIPayDay.org (and, of course, the Young Democrats of RI).

The day wrapped up with the official business of the conference, electing regional officers. Dustin Hausner, of New York, was unanimously elected to be regional director for the next two years. “The Northeast has always been a region of hope and progressivism,” said Hausner, thanking the attendees, “I’m excited to be working with all of you.” Jonathan Sclarsic of Massachusetts was elected deputy region director, and New Hampshire’s Douglas Lindner secretary-treasurer.

Update: Corrected spelling on Rep. Kazarian.

February 18, 2013February 18, 2013

Thousands Rally For Action On Keystone, Climate Change

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Forward on Climate marchers pass the White House

WASHINGTON, DC — Organizers estimated that 50,000 people took to the streets of Washington DC today as a broad coalition of progressive groups came together to press the Obama administration to kill the KeystoneXL pipeline and make good on promises of action on climate change.

By 11am, buses were pulling up to the Mall near the Washington Monument, and groups of activists were streaming into rally area with signs, banners, and even a fifty foot long fabric pipeline emblazoned with “Just say no to Keystone.” One particularly striking moment came as group of marchers, accompanied on a mandolin, broke into “This Land is Your Land” as they passed in front of the White House. You can watch it here:

Environmental activist Hilton Kelley, winner of the 2011 Goldman Prize for his work fighting pollution, described to RI Future the multitude of environmental toxins the KeystoneXL pipeline would bring to its terminus in his native city of Port Arthur, Texas. He expressed hope that the rally would help convince President Obama to block construction.

Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who delivered a powerful speech at the rally, told RI Future of his particular concerns for our state.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse at Forward on Climate rally. (Photo by Jack McDaid.)

“A lot of very knowledgeable people on this subject have said that if we get into those tar sands and start burning them, it’s game over on climate change,” he said. “Climate change sounds like it’s a million miles away and very general, but it comes home to roost in Rhode Island in very big ways.”

“Carbon pollution really dramatically hits the oceans,” said Whitehouse. “A lot of people remember the famous Hurricane of 1938? There is ten inches of sea level rise measured at the Newport tidal gauge since the 1930s. So, if the same storm were to hit again, there’s ten inches more sea, which would presumably stack up in a storm surge to do even more damage.”

“Three to six feet of increase in my children’s lifetimes, think of what that does to the South County coastal ponds. Think about what that does to low-lying areas like Barrington which don’t see themselves as coastal because they’re not really on the coast, but they’re low-lying, up the Bay,” said Whitehouse.

“Because sea level rise will impact us very significantly, this is a big deal for us, we can’t be messing around with carbon pollution and pretend it’s not a Rhode Island issue.”

Following speeches by representatives from the many groups in the coalition which organized the rally (video highlights available on the Sierra Club site, marchers set off on an hour-long walk up 17th Street and then across Pennsylvania Avenue, where they were funneled through construction fencing around the still-being-dismantled viewing stands from President Obama’s inauguration.

More photos available on Flickr stream here.

February 16, 2013February 18, 2013

Sunday DC Climate Rally To Feature Sen. Whitehouse

Bill McKibben of 350.org. Photo by Joshua Lopez – Project Survival Media

Organizers of Sunday’s “Forward on Climate Rally” in Washington, DC, offered a preview of the event and stressed the critical importance of action by the Obama administration to block the Keystone XL pipeline, the rally’s central focus.

“This will be the largest climate rally ever in this country,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org. He predicted attendance of around 20,000 people, with 150 buses from 31 states converging on DC for the event, scheduled to kick off Sunday at noon near the Washington Monument.

The four-hour event was organized by a coalition including the Sierra Club, 350.org, Hip Hop Caucus, Environment America, League of Conservation Voters, and scores of other progressive organizations, and will feature speakers — including RI Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse — and a “human pipeline” threading down 15th Street to the White House.

McKibben hoped strong turnout would prompt the administration to “do something substantive,” about the threat posed by the high-carbon oil the pipeline would bring. “We just learned this week that Arctic ice volume dropped 80% since 1980. This is no time for half measures. If we’re serious about climate change, we need to start leaving carbon in the ground.”

Using Keystone oil would be “lighting a fuse on a carbon bomb,” said Van Jones, leader of “Rebuild the Dream” and a former Obama advisor. “I know the passion this President has for this issue, and how tough the politics are,” Jones said, noting that accountability for the decision would ultimately rest with Obama.

“Canceling the Keystone XL pipeline would be a powerful legacy,” McKibben added.

Reporter Matt Wald of the NY Times posed a question about the effectiveness of unilateral US action. “Canada is a foreign country,” he said. “What makes you think they won’t just ship it to their west coast?”

McKibben cited developments over the last year, as Canadian activists have worked to introduce constraints that would impact financial viability. “It’s clear now that Keystone XL is the last option,” he said.

Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, of the Natural Resources Defense Council agreed, adding that this was the first major tar sands pipeline to deep water. “Developing tar sands depends on Keystone XL,” she said.

January 31, 2013January 31, 2013

NOM’s RI Senate Push Poll

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This afternoon, at least one residence in Portsmouth received a robo poll that identified itself as being from Chris Plante and the National Organization for Marriage. With the recent vote in the RI House, the message began, the focus has “shifted to the Senate, where it’s on a knife’s edge.”

Then came the poll: “Do you believe marriage should be between a man and a woman?” The system was unable to process the answer that this reporter provided, and the call terminated, with the usual disclaimer that this was not paid for by any candidate, etc.

This was the second time they called. Back on January 11, they asked the same “man and a woman” question, and that time, I made it through the screen and they asked for gender, and posed an oddly specific question: “Are you over 50?” That time, the phone number identified itself as 401 228 7602 but Caller ID showed it coming from 202 810 1454.

Everyone in *this* house supports full marriage equality, so they must be working off lists from when my parents owned the house.

September 7, 2012July 15, 2014

Obama Delivers Compelling Case for Re-Election

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President Obama makes his case for re-election at DNC

CHARLOTTE, NC –– President Barack Obama, in a crisp, straight-forward speech at the Democratic National Convention last night, laid out the central choice embodied in his re-election campaign.

“Over the next few years,” said the president, “big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs and the economy; taxes and deficits; energy and education; war and peace – decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children’s lives for decades to come. On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties. It will be a choice between two different paths for America. A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future.”

Obama’s speech did not have the rhetorical flash of former President Bill Clinton, or the moving narrative of First Lady Michelle Obama, or the fire-in-the-belly grit of Vice President Joe Biden. But it did something else, something quite substantial, in knitting together all the themes we had heard — and for those in the hall, that was something like 15 hours of speeches across three days — crystallizing the complex and ramified into the simple logic of decision-making.

In a word, the speech was presidential. Because while we do expect our presidents to have rhetorical flash (“Yes our road is longer – but we travel it together. We don’t turn back. We leave no one behind.”) and self-revelatory (“I began my career helping people in the shadow of a shuttered steel mill, at a time when too many good jobs were starting to move overseas.”) and even with a bit of grit (“”Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!”), at the end of the day, we know that the person in the Oval Office needs to have, in addition to those necessary-but-not-sufficient skills, a powerful ability to synthesize.

We need a president who can look out across the pressing challenges, the spectrum of issues, the diversity of voices — and anyone who attended to the full content of previous 15 hours could not miss their range and import — and, guided by their values, develop a vision and manage a path forward. It is an act of synthesis, not brute-force reduction to binary choices so painfully on display in Tampa.

In an election, this is of necessity reduced to a single decision point, a “go-no-go” decision (like the one pointedly evoked multiple times during the convention. You know the one I mean.)

And in perhaps the boldest rhetorical move, Obama turned this entire process inside out to show us how implicated we, the voters are: “So you see, the election four years ago wasn’t about me. It was about you. My fellow citizens – you were the change.”

It was a brilliant way to make his case. “As I stand here tonight,” Obama said, “I have never been more hopeful about America. Not because I think I have all the answers. Not because I’m naïve about the magnitude of our challenges. I’m hopeful because of you.”

Because if you had listened, really listened to what speaker after speaker testified to in Charlotte, and you had followed the logic of Obama’s framing (Sandra Fluke said it best: “Six months from now, you’re going to be living in one of these futures.”), and if you were the kind of person that the President thought you were — the kind of person you hope, in your best moments, to be — then you had to rise above the cynicism or “other voices will fill the void.”

Brilliant.

September 6, 2012September 6, 2012

RI Democratic Leaders Praise Clinton Speech

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President Clinton and Obama after the nominating speech at the DNC, Sept. 5

CHARLOTTE, NC — Rhode Island’s two Democratic Senators were effusive in their praise for the barnburner of a speech that former President Bill Clinton delivered last night nominating Barack Obama.

At the delegation’s breakfast meeting this morning, there were a lot of smiles (and more than a few extra cups of coffee, given that Speaker Fox’s own speech delivering the delegation’s votes didn’t happen until well past midnight.)

You may have thought it was a good speech on TV, but from inside the hall, it was electric. It was like watching an actor at the height of their powers give the performance of a lifetime. The only analogy I can think of – and this will only resonate for some classical buffs – was watching Glenn Gould perform the “Goldberg Variations.”

Clinton held the audience of almost 20 thousand rapt, whipsawed them across a spectrum of emotions, had them ready to laugh and cry, and, effortlessly, had them on their feet cheering. And then, When President Obama made his surprise appearance, the noise level in the Time-Warner area went offscale, a solid wall of sound that you felt rather than heard.

“No one can do it better than Bill Clinton,” Sen. Jack Reed told the delegates this morning. “He did a great job of laying out clearly the stakes in this election.” With a smile, he said, “If I were a really good lawyer like Sheldon Whitehouse, I’d simply say, ‘I rest my case.”

“It was great to see the master in action,” said Whitehouse. He noted that last night, the Democrats out their last president in a prime-time slot, while during the Republican convention, George W. Bush was nowhere to be seen. It was all about substance, Whithouse argued. “When you [talk about] the policies of the Democratic Party, you get results that made Bill Clinton light up not just the room, but the whole country.”

RI Democratic Party Chair Ed Pacheco echoed that theme. “Clinton was able to articulate not just the genuine, sincere reasons [for supporting the Prsident] but also the depths of his policy.” He urged delegates to take the messages they had heard this week back to Rhode Island. “We need to motivate each and every person in the state to get behind the Democratic team.”

For those who may not have stayed up quite as late as the folks in Charlotte, during the roll call, RI House Speaker Gordon Fox gave an impassioned speech linking Rhode Island’s motto, “Hope” and how it was reflected in the Democratic platform supporting marriage equality.

You can see a video of the speech here, shot from the convention floor by RI delegation page Jonathan Boucher.

Fox said the theme had developed for him during the past two days. “That’s the power of conventions,” he said. “You’re almost swept up by the speeches and the passion.” Listening to speaker after speaker, like Lily Ledbetter, articulate messages of their hope and dreams crystallized the idea, he told RI Future.

One special guest stopped by to visit delegates this morning. Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, who also delivered a powerful speech with the Democratic women Senators last night, popped by to rally folks to continue the work back home, and she promised to do what she could to help. “We need Rhode Island to be true blue, and we’re going to work until we’re blue in the face.”

September 5, 2012September 5, 2012

RI Delegation Welcomes a First-Night Speaker

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chafee kilmartin — Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin and Gov. Linc Chafee (Photo by John McDaid)

CHARLOTTE, NC –– The Rhode Island delegation was buzzing this morning over last night’s speeches and events at the Democratic National Convention, and they had a surprise visitor when Gov. Lincoln Chafee stopped by their breakfast.

“We may have our differences back home,” Chafee told the delegates, “But here, we’re all united to support the re-election of Barack Obama”

From inside the hall, last night, probably not visible on tv, the audience response seemed a bit muted when Chafee started off by talking about being a former Republican. But it was evident that the audience warmed up to him almost immediately, and by the end, he got an enthusiastic round of applause.

Asked how he felt the speech went, Chafee told RI Future he was happy to have the opportunity. “Those were some points that I wanted to share with Americans…strong feelings that I’ve had since my time in the Senate.”

But although it was his speech, Chafee was clear that his main mission was supporting the President. “I know conventions, the point is to promote the candidate; I wanted to make sure I did that.”

In addition to a lot of positive words about our our local favorite, delegates were also delighted by the rest of last night’s lineup.

Rep. Frank Ferri thought the whole evening was powerful. “It was great to hear some positive messages,” he said. “Finally, let’s talk about what Obama has accomplished.”

Former gubernatorial candidate Myrth York particularly liked Cory Booker. “Cory was on fire,” she said. And she offered an observation about the picture offfered by the whole evening. “The party is young,” she said. “It has the look and feel of the future

Democratic National Committee member Frank Montanaro was especially moved by the video memorial to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. “As far as I’m concerned,” he said. “that was worth the show.”

And, of course, there was praise all around for the job that First Lady Michelle Obama did. Speaker Gordon Fox perhaps summed it up best: “Any man who has the sense to marry that woman deserves to be President.”

September 4, 2012September 4, 2012

Recovery Caucus Pushes for Mental Health Parity

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CHARLOTTE, NC — Former RI Representative Patrick Kennedy was a guest speaker at this afternoon’s Recovery Caucus meeting at the Democratic National Convention and he brought his message of full mental health parity to a standing-room-only session.

The panel was chaired by RI delegate Tom Coderre, who works for Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed. It also featured David Wellstone, son of the late Senator, and former cable network anchor Carol Dhue.

Coderre recognized the work of Kennedy in backing the Recovery Caucus, which is sponsoring recovery rooms every day in all of the DNC’s venues. “This is the most recovery-friendly convention ever,” he said, and praised the 2012 Democratic platform which “recognizes recovery as the public-health crisis that it is.”

But Coderre and the other speakers also stressed how much work remains to be done.

Although legislation ensuring parity in mental health coverage was signed into law, Kennedy argued that it was time for the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue the final rules that would enable enforcement.

“We expect implementation that will not have any loopholes,” he said. “Right now, these issues affect a new population: veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.” Kennedy expressed outrage that more veterans are now dying by suicide than enemy action. “Our vets are being caught behind the enemy lines of addiction and depression,” he said.

Closing potential loopholes is especially critical, Kennedy said, for those members of the National Guard and Reserve returning to their jobs after deployment.

And veterans are only part of the “besieged minority” affected by these diseases, said Wellstone, quoting his his father, who was an early advocate. “It is not just the right thing to do, it’s the fiscally responsible thing to do,” Wellstone said, given the estimated $400B yearly cost of untreated addiction and mental health issues. Without the final HHS rule, said Wellstone, “we don’t have the teeth.”

“If your father was here,” Dhue told Wellstone, “we’d already have teeth in the bill.”

She lamented the fact that unlike other diseases, addiction and mental health are improperly overlaid with moral attributes.

“It comes down to science,” she said. “I was wired to be an addict.”

Carol McDaid, a DC-based advocate, asked caucus-goers for their support in launching a petition to fight for the final regulations, and announced a web site for the effort, parityispersonal.org.

September 4, 2012September 5, 2012

RI Delegation Meets National Advocates for Breakfast

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SEIU NW President David Rolf and RI Delegate Onna Moniz-John

CHARLOTTE, NC — Each morning at the Democratic National Convention, delegations gather for breakfast to plan the day and hear from a couple of speakers. On Tuesday, the Rhode Island delegation was visited by the VP of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) David Rolf and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Douglas Wilson, one of the architects of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Wilson, who served as the highest-ranking openly gay senior official at the Pentagon shared his perspective on DADT and the Obama administration.

For Wilson, the most significant fact about the repeal was the way it was accepted by the men and women of the armed forces. “The greatest testament,” he said, “Was that nothing happened. The earth did not shift.”

He praised the Obama administration for the support they had shown to the troops — not just with the repeal of this measure, but also in hosting earlier this year the first state dinner ever for returning veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

And his respect extended to President Obama’s role as Commander in Chief as well. “I was glad to work for an administration where the President can show he’s tough — but not stupid.”

The other guest at yesterday’s breakfast offered thoughts on the election from the vantage point of the 2-million member SEIU. In remarks that presaged the floor speech by SEIU President Mary Kay Henry later that night, Rolf stressed the differing visions of labor rights offered by Obama and Romney.

The Republican party, he said, “Led a generation-long assault on every institution that supports the middle class.”

“And I’m not a conspiracy theorist,” he said of the Republicans. “They tell you everything they’re going to do.”

That’s why SEIU was working hard to re-elect the president with member contacts, outreach in swing states, and financial support through 527 groups. He lamented the necessary evil of large-dollar campaigns, but noted pragmatically, “There’s no reason you should bring a butter knife to a gun fight.”

September 3, 2012September 4, 2012

Rhode Island Delegates Prepare for Opening Day

CHARLOTTE, NC — With official proceedings beginning tomorrow at the Democratic National Convention, members of the Rhode Island delegation met at a reception this evening where Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse urged them to have take advantage of the next three days.

“There will be a lot of good material to bring back to Rhode Island and send a strong message about President Obama and the work to be done to get this country moving again,” said Whitehouse to his fellow delegates. “Have fun, but pay attention for those telltale moments that you can take home.”

Before the reception, RI Future caught up with RI Democratic Party Chair Ed Pacheco and Executive Director Stephanie Mandeville at their temporary office in the delegation’s hotel in Concord, about 20 miles north of the city.

Both were still excited from the delegation’s first look at Time-Warner Cable Arena convention site yesterday. According to Pacheco, the RI delegation has prime spot behind Pennsylvania and just about 100 feet from podium. If you’re looking for Rhode Island on TV tomorrow night, they will be to the left of the podium. How did our state score such a good location? “I don’t reveal my secrets,”said Pacheco.

The delegates were delighted to finally be in the convention hall, said Mandeville. “It was like a kid’s first trip to Fenway.”

They had a chance to tour the convention floor, get the feel for Rhode Island’s space, and participate in a rehearsal of the roll-call process led by Convention Secretary Alice Germond. In something that sounds like it could be either a bit of wisdom from a ten-time convention veteran — or perhaps a wee bit of a prompt to keep things moving — Pacheco reported her advice to the delegations: “Pretend it’s 1:30 in the morning.”

According to Pacheco, delegation Chair Gordon Fox is still working on his roll-call announcement. “He’s trying to work in they typical things, like coffee milk,” said Pacheco, “But also wants to recognize that in Rhode Island, we stand on the shoulders of great senators like Claiborne Pell, whose policies we not just important for our state, but the whole country.”

September 3, 2012September 3, 2012

DNCC Lays Out Convention Themes in Opening Presser

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DNC presser1 — Left-right, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, DNCC Secretary Alice Germond, Obama for America press secretary Ben LaBolt, Conventn Chair LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and DNCC CEO Steve Kerrigan (Photo by John McDaid)

CHARLOTTE, NC — The Democratic National Convention kicked off this morning with a press conference previewing the week and repeatedly stressing two key messages: that the convention is the most open and accessible in history, and that a key Obama campaign theme will be “rebuilding America from the middle class out.”

The 50-minute presser featured DNCC Chair Steve Kerrigan, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, Convention Chair Los Angeles Mayor Antionio Villaraigosa, DNC Secretary Alice Germond, and Obama for America Press Secretary Ben LaBolt.

The main news from the session was that the draft platform will be distributed to all delegates when they arrive in the hall tomorrow, and that Georgia Rep. John Lewis has been selected as Sergeant-at-arms for the proceedings.

“It’s been incredible to see the ground energy for this convention and this President,” said Foxx, who expressed pride that Charlotte was hosting its first major political convention in 150 years, and while he predicted a close race, he expressed optimism about Obama carrying the state again in 2012. “The people of North Carolina understand that this President has had their back.”

Just as the convention four years ago in Denver helped the campaign focus the energy of its 25,000 local volunteers, Villaraigosa said that Charlotte would do the same for North Carolina. “This is the start of a new way to engage in the political process,” he said, promising a “working convention,” that would engage and energize volunteers and participants as well as laying out a vision and articulating a path forward.

And the people doing that work on the delegate side represent a true cross-section of America, said Germond, noting that among the 5,556 delegates and 407 alternates — 50% of them women– there were increases in African-American, Latino, and youth representation, with a record 644 young delegates, including 285 students. “In many cases, this is their very first convention,” she said. “We will learn from them.”

In the Q&A, LaBolt responded to a question about the significance of today’s Gallup results which found Romney’s convention speech last week produced only a marginal bump. “Most Americans who tuned in were looking for answers,” he said, “but the Romney convention speech didn’t address their questions.” He promised that President Obama’s speech — which he said is still being fine-tuned — would “lay out the pillars for rebuilding the economy from the middle class out.”

September 2, 2012September 2, 2012

Hundreds March on “Wall Street South” at DNC

CHARLOTTE, NC — On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, over 800 participants joined in the “Coalition to March on Wall Street South” and took their message to the streets of the city, parading past the Charlotte Convention Center about 2:30 this afternoon. Charlotte is a major financial center, with Bank of America and Duke Energy among the major corporations headquartered here.

In a release, the Coalition (Facebook, Twitter) identified dozens of participating groups, and there were banners and chants across a spectrum of “People power” themes: peace, economic fairness, money for education, justice for immigrants and oppressed peoples, foreclosures, social security, ALEC, and clean energy.

There were chants of “We want housing, not war…we won’t take it any more,” and “Drone strikes are war crimes…Obama should do prison time.” That last came from a group who fielded a spookily accuracy Predator with a 12-foot wingspan. (View photos and video on Flickr)

Marchers were well-organized and peaceful, and the police presence was massive, with steel fencing lining the parade route, and uniformed officers stationed along the route every hundred feet. Motorcycle and bicycle-riding officers bracketed the marchers, and although they all sported fanny packs bristling with zip-tie handcuffs there were no visible confrontations.

Delegates have already begun arriving for the Democratic Convention, which kicks off tomorrow with “CarolinaFest,” a public street festival which will feature music, free arts, vendors and exhibits celebrating Charlotte community programs.

April 12, 2012April 12, 2012

Bill Would Give Locals Veto on Landfill Capping

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Today’s GoLocalProv has a story about the nearly one hundred abandoned landfill sites in Rhode Island, and if Portsmouth’s Sen. Chris Ottiano (R-11) has his way, capping them could get a lot harder.

On Feb 13, 2012, Sen. Ottiano appeared before the Portsmouth Town Council and promised to introduce (with Sen. DaPonte of East Providence) legislation on landfills which would provide “More gates for the Town Council or municipality or our constituents to have some say and be able to potentially slow or temporarily stop the process if they see the need.” (See 89:40 here)

Here’s the problem: What constitutes “need” — at least in the case of a landfill in the town of Portsmouth — is a group (whose spokesperson is a RISC board member) which has, over the past year, ignored the science, distorted facts on a petition, refused to trust test results or the DEM, and used political pressure to try to halt a project to cap an unquestionably contaminated site. These are the voices that Sen. Ottiano’s torch-and-pitchfork bill would empower.

What follows is a letter I sent to Gov. Chafee, DEM Director Janet Coit, and Sen. Ottiano last week, and which appeared in yesterday’s Newport Daily News:

Stop the protests, baseless complaints against landfill capping

In March, 2011, a group of protestors wearing respirators and Tyvek suits surrounded my 11-year-old son on Park Ave. “If you think the landfill is safe,” they said, “Maybe we should throw you in there.” Although I was just feet away, I couldn’t hear this. I was also surrounded by people shouting and waving signs to keep Channel 10’s Mario Hilario from interviewing me about scientifically established safe levels of arsenic. This, after a Patch reporter caught a protester on video yelling in my face, prompting a call to the Portsmouth police.

Such is the character of the people opposing the landfill capping work in Island Park: they threaten children and shout down those who try to communicate facts. I have a thick skin, but my son was traumatized.

Over the past year, they lobbed dozens of accusations at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) — documented on a RIDEM web site — but none of their paranoid speculations have survived contact with reality.

When you read the RIDEM responses, you find phrases like, “The characterization that the Department chose between the Commission and Dr. Vanderslice is not accurate,” and, “These assumptions are completely inconsistent with the Regulations, the Commission’s recommendations or actual site conditions,” and, pointedly, “As is frequently the case on meetings about controversial topics, recollections and interpretations about what was said, as well as speculation on the motives of the participants, are frequently at odds. At this point, the Department feels it has reached the point where it should simply be recognized that the commenters’ recollection and interpretations of what was said are at odds with the Department’s participants.”

That last one is about as close as a public official ever gets to telling someone they are flat-out lying.

But the opponents have little choice, because the facts are inconvenient. Batches of soil brought in over the past month were tested (see pdf) — and tested again in response to yet another baseless complaint. Levels of arsenic and lead were well below residential limits (see pdf).

I do not blindly trust developers or government agencies, but when a year of evidence accumulates, the burden of proof has shifted to the opponents. The facts show this project reduces the risk to our neighborhood from an uncapped landfill full of documented contaminants (see pdf)

It is time for elected officials to stop pandering to the uninformed and misinformed: This group had a meeting with the Governor arranged, had their questions answered personally by the RIDEM Director, and had state legislators representing their point of view at Town Council meetings. Enough.

It’s time for our legislators to stick up for the facts and the good of our community. And it’s time for them to stick up for my son.

Full disclosure: I live two streets from this landfill. As a citizen journalist, I don’t take DEM’s word — I ran the capping plan, called a Beneficial Use Determination (BUD) past a soil scientist in another New England state, and they confirmed it was sound. And if you don’t believe my assertions about the irrationality of the opponents, take a peek at the comments on this letter when it appeared on Portsmouth Patch.

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