catherine taylor – RI Future

July 25, 2016July 25, 2016

RI Progressive Dems urge Clinton to withdraw Raimondo appointment

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The Executive Board of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats wishes to express extreme displeasure that Hillary Clinton would name Governor Gina Raimondo as a co-chair of the Democratic convention. While this role is purely ceremonial, it indicates that some of Clinton’s advisors may consider Raimondo an acceptable figure within the national Democratic party, a sentiment that would be deeply chilling. Raimondo’s politics represent a brand of conservatism well to the right of basically anyone of prominence in the national Democratic party. Deeply unpopular in Rhode Island, Raimondo is known for her aggressive push to restrict women’s access to abortion coverage through plans sold on Rhode Island’s exchange. She is also one of the most aggressive proponents of pension cuts, which Democrats just voted to oppose in our party platform. She has been a feisty advocate of expanding fossil fuel infrastructure, and she even opposes repealing Rhode Island’s tax cuts for the rich. A former private equity executive, Raimondo epitomizes an extreme type of Wall Street politician. After the withdrawal of banker Antonio Weiss, the national party has had an informal rule against Wall Street appointees for top posts. Raimondo appears to violate that rule.

We ask that the Hillary Clinton campaign withdraw this appointment. We believe it is crucial for the Hillary campaign to send a signal that they will not be considering Raimondo for any posts in a Hillary administration, an event that would place the even more right wing Dan McKee in power. McKee is such a far right Democrat that we took the completely unprecedented step of urging voters to support his Republican opponent Catherine Taylor, and the AFL-CIO went further and openly endorsed Taylor.

Moreover, we urge Hillary to make it clear that she, the national Democratic party, and the DSCC will oppose Raimondo in the primary should she attempt to take a US Senate seat in the future. Raimondo is so unpopular in Rhode Islanders that she could easily lose to a Republican. In fact, she only won by four points against a weak GOP opponent in a state that Obama won by 27 points. A Raimondo nomination is the GOP’s only path to a US Senate seat from Rhode Island, and it is of utmost importance that the national party prevent such a debacle. The national party has often intervened in primaries to stop weak nominees from jeopardizing a Democratic US Senate seat, most recently in Pennsylvania. We urge Hillary Clinton to make clear she will do the same in Rhode Island to prevent a Raimondo nomination and a GOP victory, should Raimondo attempt to take a US Senate seat.

October 30, 2014

Votes for the good

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I’m an idealist. I think that government can be by the people and for the people. It’s why I ran a hard campaign against Gordon Fox and it’s why I am supporting a diverse group of people for public office. There needs to be both a positive change and a counterbalance to the ‘way things are run in Rhode Island’ that seems to be the default reset of our politics.

I invite you to vote for these people, not against others. That said, I’ll also give a few anti-hits because it seems necessary.

FOR Mayor: Jorge Elorza
I first saw Mr. Elorza months ago at the Institute For the Study and Practice of Nonviolence‘s Martin Luther King event. He spoke softly and eloquently. Mr. Elorza is not a blowhard candidate. He doesn’t know how to play the media circus the way a former felon turned talkshow host does. He offers himself, honestly.

AGAINST: Felons who have been convicted of betraying the public trust
The big signs are illegal. The former mayor doesn’t care. It’s a small thing, but it says so much. He’s paid off a rape victim. He’s been convicted of assault. He’s been convicted of running a criminal conspiracy in City Hall. I have a friend who’s been through the penal system, and he’s spent the past few years doing amazing work to redeem himself. This “independent” candidate’s been on a talk show and hasn’t taken responsibility. He laughed at us in his autobiography. Yes, like every other citizen of Providence who lived here during his long tenure, I have some examples of good things that he’s done. But let me ask you this: If you hired a guy as a babysitter to watch your daughter and he invited a bunch of his friends over to your house for a party, and they raided the liquor cabinets, robbed your coin collection and got arrested would you ever hire that guy to watch your daughter? Hello, Providence. It’s one thing to fantasize about good times. It’s another to put a bag over your head and hope that you’re not being led over a cliff.

FOR Governor: Robert Healey
Yes, I completely disagree with some of his ideas. But the same is true for both of his opponents. What I like about Healey is his honesty and intelligence. He has run his (admittedly brief) campaign with integrity. He will be a complete counterbalance to the anointed dictatorship that exists in the General Assembly. Neither of the other two candidates impress me. Healey answers questions on his website with honesty and without the political trick of saying nothing that will lose you a vote. Is Healey a longshot? Probably. When people talk about wasting a vote, they’re really trying to “game” the system. How about casting a vote that might really game the system?

FOR Lt. Governor: Cathrine Taylor
I’ve known Ms. Taylor since her son was at school with my children. She is hardworking, honest, and nice. She will do an excellent job with the non-position that is the Lt. Governor, and if something should happen to the governor, I would gladly support her.

FOR: Attorney General: Dawson Hodgson
Everything Mr. Hodgson has said impresses me. I’m tired of the 38 Studios crowd lingering in government. And having an attorney general who is in direct opposition to the “leadership” in the legislature strikes me as a great option.

FOR City Council, Ward 3: Write in Marcus Mitchell
This is another personal contact. I met Marcus Mitchell when he joined the board of the Friends of Rochambeau. Mr. Mitchell worked hard to bring the Providence Community Library system into existence. No, I don’t know enough about his policies, but I know he’s an earnest man. He’s running against Kevin Jackson, who would otherwise be unopposed. Mr. Jackson hasn’t filed his campaign finance reports, and he has signed onto the Circus Parade to elect a felon. I can’t support that.

FOR City Council, Ward 2: Sam Zurier
If they hadn’t moved the line, I’d still be voting for Sam Zurier. He works hard. If you don’t subscribe to his email newsletter about what’s going on in City Council, you should.

AGAINST Bond Issues
Yes, I want all the good things. But the sitting politicians running for reelection won’t raise taxes to pay for things. Instead, citizens are asked to vote on bonds. Nobody ever publicizes the true cost of these bonds, which adds about $5 million per $10 million to the cost of everything borrowed. There’s $243 million on the table, which will cost us at least $340 million over time. Do the math.

AGAINST Gambling in Newport (and Providence)
Just No.

CONFLICTED on the Constitutional Convention
The fear campaign by the ACLU has worked. I’m frightened of outside interests. I’d like to think that Rhode Island would be immune from their PAC dollars. I want to see stuff change now, rather than at the convenience of the legislature. If there is a convention, I’m running.

October 27, 2014

Female Republican wins AFL-CIO nod but not NOW’s

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Here’s a riddle that can only be answered if you’ve been paying close attention to the mixed up world of liberal political endorsements this year: Is a Republican woman more likely to win the endorsement of a labor union or a women’s rights organization?

For Catherine Taylor, who is campaigning to be Rhode Island’s next lt. governor, the answer was the AFL-CIO, a labor group that threw its support behind her earlier this month. Today RI-NOW announced it wasn’t endorsing her – even though her victory could help cement a majority of women holding statewide offices.

“While Ms. Taylor shares our commitment to expanding health care access, supporting working families, and addressing the needs and concerns of our state’s aging population (of which women make up the majority), we are not sufficiently aligned to be able to endorse her at this time,” said RI NOW PAC Chair Carolyn Mark. “However, we view Ms. Taylor as a highly qualified candidate who understands the important role the office of Lt. Governor plays in our state, and we have every confidence that she is the type of leader with whom we would be able to work to create positive change for women and families in Rhode Island.”

Taylor’s opponent, Democrat Dan McKee, is a staunch charter school advocate, a concept anathema to teachers and some other AFL-CIO members.

“Catherine’s understanding of the many challenges everyday Rhode Islanders face, along with her established track record of listening to the concerns of her employees while running the Division of Elderly Affairs, makes her the right choice for the office of lieutenant governor,” said AFL-CIO’s Maureen Martin in announcing their endorsement on Oct. 15. “Throughout her long tenure as the director of Elderly Affairs Mrs. Taylor showed compassion and concern not only for seniors, adults with disabilities, and families, but also for the many workers who provided care to some of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable citizens.”

Mark said RI-NOW’s endorsement criteria has a particularly high bar, and a candidate need be with them on 100 percent of issues to win their backing.

“The bottom line for us is she’s a fiscal conservative and a lot of our policies do require more funding,” Mark told me. “She was unable to make any commitments to us that would increase public support.”

As one example, Mark said Taylor does not support an increase in marriage license fees to support domestic violence prevention work. Mark said Taylor agrees more should be done but “she’s not necessarily with us in the way we want to get there.”

October 4, 2014October 4, 2014

Who should be the next lt gov?

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There are no fewer than four candidates from four political parties running fot lt. governor: Democrat Dan McKee, Republican Catherine Taylor, Moderate William Gilbert and unaffiliated Libertarian Tony Jones. There is no liberal in this race.

On NBC 10 News Conference with Bill Rappleye, the four debated, among other things, whether charter schools or vouchers are a better way to fix education. Two of the candidates want to eliminate the office altogether. And none mentioned anything that would make the progressive left pleased.

Watch their debate here.

News, Weather and Classifieds for Southern New England News, Weather and Classifieds for Southern New England

McKee is the best known, but it’s mayoral academies he’s known for. Mayoral academies are a kind of charter school created by local executive branches (mayors or town administrators). This could win him some conservative support, but it also will cost him a good deal of votes from the liberal left. Taylor, on the other hand, worked in Linc Chafee’s administration. This may endear her to some progressives, but probably not to her party base.

My read: there’s no good option for liberals in this race and Taylor has the clearest path to victory. And if Taylor wins and Democrat Gina Raimondo becomes the next governor, it would be pretty great if Rhode Island has two females from different political parties in the state’s two highest offices.

Justin Katz and I discuss here:

News, Weather and Classifieds for Southern New England

September 11, 2014September 16, 2014

2014 election could be a women’s wave

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Not only could Rhode Island have its first female governor in Gina Raimondo by 2015, there could also be more women than men in statewide offices.

The general election ballot will feature three women – two Democrats and one Republican – running for five statewide offices. The treasurer and attorney general contests feature four male candidates.

“There’s the potential for a majority of women holding statewide offices,” said Carolyn Mark, the president of Rhode Island National Organization of Women. “That’s huge.”

For governor, Democrat Raimondo is facing Republican Allan Fung. In the lt. governor’s race Republican Catherine Taylor is running against Democrat Dan McKee. And the woman with perhaps the easiest path to victory is Democrat Nellie Gorbea, who after upsetting Guillaume de Ramel, will now face Republican John Carlevale in the general election.

Kara Russo was the only woman who lost on primary night, and she lost to Taylor. RI NOW endorsed Frank Ferri for lt governor, but Mark said the organization is open to reconsidering now that he is out of the race.

“We welcome the opportunity to talk to [Taylor] about that,” Mark said.

In 2010, there were three women were on the primary ballot for statewide offices – Lt Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, Raimondo and Taylor. Both Roberts and Raimondo won in the primary and general election. In 2006, Roberts and Republican Sue Stenhouse, running for secretary of state, won in their primaries. Roberts beat Kerry King and Stenhouse lost to Ralph Mollis in the general election. In 2002, the Board of Elections website says Myrth York, a Democrat who ran for governor against Don Carcieri, was the only female candidate to run in a primary. In 1998, two women ran for attorney general: Democrat Eva Mancuso and Republican Nancy Mayer. Both lost to Sheldon Whitehouse.

While Mark was pleased with the statewide results – RI NOW endorsed Raimondo and Gorbea – she said she Providence Rep. Maria Cimini’s primary loss was “tragic.”

“She is one of those exceptional people smart enough to understand the issues and empathetic to the struggles of everyday Rhode Islanders,” Mark said. “It’s not just a loss of a woman, it’s a loss of HER. And it’s not just a loss for her district, but it’s a loss for the entire state.”

Mark took issue with House Speaker Nick Mattiello targeting Cimini. “If you stand up to leadership, you not only have to duke it out on the House floor, but also in an election, too.”

Correction: An earlier version of this post indicated there were only two women on the 2010 primary ballots.