clay pell – Page 2

February 5, 2014February 5, 2014

John Marion of Common Cause RI explains People’s Pledge

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As early as Monday RI Democratic candidates for governor will sit at this table at Common Cause RI to agree to discourage outside spending in the Democratic primary.

Democratic candidates for governor could meet Monday with Common Cause RI to hammer out the details of a People’s Pledge, said John Marion, executive director of the good government group who first suggested using the tool developed in Massachusetts to keep outside money from influencing local elections.

Marion said in an interview yesterday that People’s Pledges have been utilized four times in Massachusetts to keep Super PAC and other so-called “dark” money from spending money on negative advertising in local elections – Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown were the pioneers and it was used in two subsequent congressional races; and Marion also includes an agreement between Bill Weld and John Kerry in 1996.

But, to his knowledge, this would be the first time the ad-hoc workaround to the controversial Citizens United Supreme Court ruling that allows unlimited and anonymous money to be spent in elections.

“With the growth of third party spending … the candidates actual message gets drowned out,” Marion said. “That spending tends to be overwhelmingly negative. Those groups acts as proxys for the official campaign. Official campaigns don’t like to go negative because it reflects poorly on the candidates but when it’s independent of candidate they have no problem.”

Marion said a People’s Pledge could curtail that and be “potentially historic.”

Listen to our conversation here:

February 4, 2014February 5, 2014

Raising the minimum wage creates partisan divide

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Last week in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called on both Chambers of Congress to either work with him to move the country forward or forcing him to use his presidential powers to enact policy.

He rattled off dozens of policy initiatives for Congress to consider this session, including immigration, emergency unemployment, manufacturing, trade, environment, education, closing Guantanamo Bay, closing tax loop holes, job training, family policies, and retirement savings. But the President also called for an increase in the nation’s minimum wage to provide America’s worker’s a living wage.

The president used his speech as a very visible bully pulpit to call on states to not wait for Congressional action to give people a living wage.

Although creating jobs will be one of the top campaign issues that must be addressed by the state’s gubernatorial candidates (Clay Pell was not available for comment by press time), look for the minimum wage issue to pop up for political discussion with the Democratic and Republican views being like two sides of a coin.

When he announced his bid for governor, Mayor Taveras he told his supporters that increasing the minimum wage is a step in building an economy that supports higher paying jobs, puts people back to work and gives Rhode Island families the opportunity for a better life. There was a time when his mother worked at the minimum wage to support three children so he knows firsthand how much raising it can help a family, he stated. He is also pushing for statewide universal pre-kindergarten.

Tarveras quoted from a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute that indicated that increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would increase the wages of 65,000 Rhode Island workers and indirectly benefit an additional 26,000 more, totaling nearly 20 percent of the work force. He cited another study that found that moving to a higher wage would boost the national economy by as much as $22.1 billion, creating as many as 85,000 new jobs.”

“I’m a Democrat who believes in raising the minimum wage and indexing it with regular cost of living adjustments,” noted Treasurer Gina Raimondo, in her announcement to run for Governor at Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket.

According to Eric Hyers, Gina Raimondo’s Campaign Manager, “Gina strongly believes that we need to increase the minimum wage and she was pleased to see President Obama call for increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour during the State of the Union this week. No one who works full time should live in poverty. As the President said, it is time to give America a raise.”

“But let’s not wait for a dysfunctional Congress to act; we can take action right here in Rhode Island,” Hyers said.

“Gina is calling for us to take action on this now and raise the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2015 and then index it to the cost of living so that politicians can’t play games with people’s lives. Two-thirds of minimum wage earners are women so a raise would immediately help women across Rhode Island and their families, adds Hyer, noting that people are really struggling and there is an urgency to help out working families.

Meanwhile, “Clay [Pell] is in favor of increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and does not see a reason to delay this matter until 2018 or 2015. He would be in favor of the General Assembly passing legislation this year. Too many Rhode Islanders are working in jobs at wages that are simply insufficient and no individual who works a full time job should have to raise their family in poverty. There’s an economic development aspect to this as well, by raising the minimum wage we’re putting more purchasing power out there, which will help spur the economy,” said Bill Fischer, Pell’s spokesperson.

General Contractor Todd Giroux, a Bristol resident who seeks the Democratic nomination for Governor, sees the national conversation of increasing the minimum wage as shifting towards that of providing America’s workers with living wage. According to Giroux, President Obama’s call for a national minimum wage increase for federal contractors increases the “momentum for main street people to call upon elected leaders to represent their needs in jobs and wage security.”

Beginning May 2014, Giroux proposes the $ 8.00 minimum wage to be called a provisional starting wage for new hires for the first two weeks of employment. This hourly rate would increase to $ 9.11 after their second week. On January 2015, the provisional starting wage would be $ 8.75 for the first two weeks of employment, increasing to $10 per hour after their second week. Full-time, part-time and seasonal workers would be eligible for this salary increase.

Giroux believes the only way to effect a livable wage is to lower a person’s tax burden and increase the state’s mandated minimum wage. ” The Public Utilities Commissions’ thirty percent increase in the cost of utilities, combined with rising fuel, housing expenses and food work against any [political] argument on increasing the minimum wage,“ Giroux says.

But the Rhode Island’s GOP candidates, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung and businessman Ken Block, are not buying the Democratic candidate’s solution that minimum wage is the way to go.

“Democrats continue to recycle bad ideas. It’s time we consider some new ones so people have the opportunity to succeed and thrive, and not rely on government coercion to dictate wages. Increasing the minimum wage will result in higher unemployment, reduced job opportunities, reduced customer spending, and will reduce net job growth because of the effect on expanding companies,” says Mayor Fung

Mayor Fung states “At a time when we are tied for the highest unemployment in the country, we cannot put more hurdles in front of the companies we have here in Rhode Island; we need to remove them. Further, Obamacare is already hurting workers because employers are transitioning employees to part time work because they cannot afford the healthcare premiums. An increase in the minimum wage would only increase the burden on small business owners who are already working on thin margins.”

“The real issue in Rhode Island is unemployment and getting our workforce prepared with the necessary skill set for the ever changing workforce. It is quite evident that raising the minimum wage would not solve these problems,” adds Fung.

Block agrees with Fung, noting in a recent statement, “As I said the other day when it was announced that Rhode Island has the worst unemployment in the country, raising the minimum wage is a job killer.”

Block adds, “President Obama seems to believe that government can just order the economy to improve. Republicans and independents know that government has a critically important, but limited role in the growth of jobs. Government’s role is to regulate fairly and only where necessary, and to control its spending so people and businesses are not taxed to death. President Obama continues on the wrong track to fix lagging employment, just as the Democratic leaders of our General Assembly continue on the wrong track to fix Rhode Island.”

Mazze weighs in

But Edward M. Mazze, Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration, at the University of Rhode Island, puts in his two cents into the policy debate, too.

On the one hand, “Raising the minimum wage does not create jobs and can reduce the number of hours worked for existing workers and the number of jobs for part-time workers. There could also be an impact on the number of internships offered to high school and college students. And, just as important, raising the minimum wage will also raise the price of products and services, observes Mazze.

“The minimum wage is not the entry point to middle class, it is the jobs that pay over $20 an hour and have a “career” future, says Mazze, noting that Rhode Island recently increased the minimum wage.

But, Mazze believes that the state’s minimum wage should be adjusted every number of years to keep up with inflation and other economic events. “The best way to create living wages in Rhode Island is to prepare workers for jobs for the future, have an economic development strategy that creates jobs and attracts businesses, and have affordable housing and a fair sales, property and personal income tax program,” he notes.

With the Rhode Island General Assembly geared up to pass legislation to make the Ocean State an easier place to do business, lawmakers should not forget their constituents who cannot pay their mortgage, utility bills, or even put food on their tables. Until the state’s tax and regulatory system primes the economic pump to create more jobs, giving a little bit more money, say $10.10 per hour, will go a long way for tens of thousands of poor or working poor Rhode Islanders who struggle to survive.

How can Rhode Islander’s currently making a weekly paycheck of $320 (minus taxes), receiving a minimum wage, support their families? This is not the American Dream they were brought up to believe in.

Herb Weiss, LRI’12 is a Pawtucket-based writer who covers, aging, health care, medical and business issues. He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.

February 4, 2014February 4, 2014

People’s Pledge faces tough politics

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“The love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

-First Epistle to Timothy, Chapter 6, Verse 10; King James Version

So proclaims the KJV, and ponder that the famous part, “the love of money is the root of all evil,” is a proverb older than Christianity itself.

“Issues of campaign finance have taken a front seat in this election,” John Marion told RI Future earlier. Marion should know; as executive director of Common Cause RI the task of keeping the three big Democratic primary campaigns of Pell, Raimondo, and Taveras at the table falls to him as they meet to hammer out the details of a People’s Pledge. Raimondo and Taveras also swatted at one another over campaign donations this week.

It is beginning to sound like negotiating a Pledge will be akin to a Herculean labor. The Raimondo campaign hit with a one-two punch of an expansive Pledge, covering all outside expenditures, not simply the Super PAC spending; and also requested that the negotiations be open to the media.

It’s a canny move, given that it’s likely the Raimondo campaign won’t just be facing campaign operations, but also public sector union operations aimed at ending her career. The “typical” Pledge used by during Massachusetts’ Warren-Brown race for Senate certainly seems to harm Raimondo the most, and the blanket outside spending ban will prevent her opponents from mitigating her significant fundraising lead.

As intelligent as that may be in the immediate future, it seems to ignore that limiting the resources campaigns have will probably lead to negative advertising (because it unfortunately works); and then it becomes a race to see who can emerge the least-bloodied in September. Hopefully, instead of these being ironclad demands, the Raimondo team is merely staking out its ideal position, and will allow itself to be bargained down.

Similarly, the call for opening negotiations to the media sounds like a great idea; until you think that few negotiations of consequence have ever been hammered out in the public eye. Negotiations call for discretion and humility, and the court of public opinion rarely rewards those characteristics, especially for politicians.

But a call for transparency about a Pledge aimed at increasing transparency is good politics, and it’s a fine line to walk between voicing legitimate concerns and sounding like you’ve got something to hide.

Make no mistake about it, this is a war of position right now, with each side marshaling what it needs to hammer at each other come the summer and early fall when voters start actually paying attention.

That’s partly why campaign finance has received media attention at all. It is the season of fundraisers and campaign finance reports. With little to report on beyond money, the political scene will be mostly focused on the big political campaigns until the General Assembly starts to take up bills, at which point the media will keep one eye on both.

The problem is that the state is not electing a fundraiser-in-chief, but rather a governor. Ultimately the Pledge is subservient to that goal, providing the voters the ability to select who they think would govern best. Until then, we may find ourselves, like the ancients, pierced through with many sorrows.

February 3, 2014February 3, 2014

Raimondo suggests direct mail, canvassing be included in People’s Pledge

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General Treasurer Gina Raimondo is not only interested in coming to the table with her fellow Democrats seeking to be governor and agree to a People’s Pledge, but she’s also upping the ante to include other campaign-related activities like opposition research and door-to-door canvassing.

“Let’s keep all outside money off of the airwaves, out of our mail boxes and away from our phones and doors,” said campaign manager Eric Hyers in a statement released this morning. “We have a historic opportunity to come to an agreement that keeps all third-party spending out of this race and ensures that the Democratic primary for governor is just between the candidates running.”

Hyers suggested all negotiations be public and that it include “a complete ban on any and all outside spending, including advertising by groups that have not endorsed a candidate in this race in order to prevent outside groups from exploiting loopholes” and “cover all TV, radio and web advertising, all direct mail, paid phones, paid canvassers and opposition research.”

Agreeing to limit third party direct mail could hurt Clay Pell, who would seem to have the support of organized labor so far. A limit on canvassing could handicap Angel Taveras, who is said to have an advantage when it comes to boots on the ground.

Hyers said, “Rhode Island can be a national leader in crafting an airtight pledge and we strongly believe that these negotiations should not be conducted behind closed doors.”

UPDATE: Pell spokesman Bill Fischer said in a statement sent out this evening: “Clay Pell believes the impact of Super PAC money on our elections is a serious matter and should be treated as such. This process should be facilitated by Common Cause according to their protocols. The public will be best served by a deliberate process, not by dueling press releases. It’s hard to imagine that a fruitful discussion can be accomplished with a roomful of campaign operatives playing to the camera, but this is a call best left to John Marion,” said Bill Fischer, Pell campaign spokesperson.”

RI Common Cause Executive Director John Marion said in an email, “Issues of campaign finance have taken a front seat in this election.”

A People’s Pledge is a tool to control outside spending in local elections. First used in Massachusetts, candidates agree to make a donation to their rival’s chairty of choice if an outside group pays for an attack ad. John Marion, of Common Cause RI, and Sam Howard, a contributor to this blog, were first to raise the issue and Angel Taveras was the first candidate to suggest it be used. Since then, Raimondo and Clay Pell have both agreed, while Republicans have been less enthusiastic.

The three Democrats now need to find a time to get together.

“Common Cause is communicating with the campaigns of Clay Pell, Gina Raimondo, and Angel Taveras to try and find a mutually accommodating time to sit down and begin discussion of a People’s Pledge that all three can agree to,” Marion said.

January 28, 2014January 29, 2014

Pell announces run for governor

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Clay Pell announces candidacy for governor at RI Convention Center.

In a 25-minute speech to a standing-room-only crowd at the RI Convention Center this morning, Clay Pell, grandson of the US Senator, announced his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor.

“I have the values, the skills, and the experience to lead our state to a better future,” said Pell, saying his aim was to, “bring a fresh perspective and new approach to government, to put an end to cronyism and insider politics, and to make the economy work for all Rhode Islanders again.”

Among the 100+ attendees were a handful of state legislators and representatives of several unions, in addition to a large contingent of Providence media. Sharing the dais with Pell were Johnston mayor Joseph Polisena, Victor Capellan, Deputy Supt. of Transformation at Central Falls high school, grandmother Nuala Pell, and his wife, Michelle Kwan, now a senior advisor to the State Department.

Nuala Pell said of her grandson, “Clay, in many ways, is defined by how much he cares.” Kwan introduced the candidate, saying, “We share the same devotion to public service,” and praising his “quiet courage.”

Early in his speech, Pell spoke about the values passed on to him by his family. From his grandfather, he learned “You don’t need to be the loudest voice. You just need to speak for those without a voice at all.” From his father, he learned “to dream and never to fear.” He talked of the difficult times when his father’s businesses were driven to bankruptcy during the S&L crisis, and his difficult battle with cancer. “He never gave up,” said Pell, “And his values brought me here today.”

Pell spoke about the challenges facing the state: challenges of economy (“50,000 Rhode Islanders are looking for work,” he said, “and thousands more will report to their second or third job of the day.” Too many, he said, have been “squeezed out of the middle class.”), government (“Businesses are burdened with process, and state government is often seen more as an impediment than a partner.”) and confidence (“A loss of hope that the next generation will be able to build a career or family here, and a loss of faith in the ability of our government to lead.”)

Rhode Islanders, he said, “no longer feel invested in.”

Pell promised a “comprehensive approach” using the “big picture strategy that Rhode Island needs now,” and laid out several policy priorities, first of which was economic growth and job creation. He stressed the importance of investing in education (including affordable higher education and a strong school-to-work pipeline) and infrastructure (ports, bridges, the I195 corridor, and parking and transit terminals at the Garrahy complex and the train station.)

And while he called for a focus on science, technology, engineering and math, he said that must be paired with languages, physical education, and the arts, “areas that are too often pushed out and forgotten in public education today, but they are essential to the growth of our students.”

To help create new jobs to keep students in Rhode Island when they graduate, Pell proposed a $10 million loan fund, “where small businesses and entrepreneurs can access grants or loans ranging from $2,500 to $25,000”

In what appeared to be a swipe at the EDC’s 38 Studios debacle, Pell said, “Four hundred grants of $25,000 is a much better investment of taxpayer money than spending $12.5 million dollars bailing out someone else’s mistake.”

Pell promised to reverse the decline in direct aid to cities and towns, which he said had fallen by more than 70% in the last five years. “I pledge to renew the state’s commitment,” he said, “so they can support the schools our students deserve and provide the property tax relief our taxpayers need.”

Finally, he said, “as someone coming to politics from public service,” he promised an “accessible and transparent” government that would serve “all Rhode Islanders, not just the chosen few.”

Clay Pell talks with local media after announcement.

“That’s why,” he said, “I will not accept contributions from PACs or state lobbyists. I want to send a clear signal to Rhode Islanders that my office as governor will be open to everyone, not just the best connected and the most powerful. That is my pledge to the people of Rhode Island. And that will be my first step in restoring faith in state government.”

The event closed (played out by Springsteen’s “We Take Care of Our Own” booming over the big speakers) with Pell taking questions from reporters for at least another twenty minutes, looking calm and unruffled at the center of his first local media scrum.

January 28, 2014January 28, 2014

Clay Pell clears first hurdle: crafts excellent announcement

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Clay Pell has already proven he knows how to run for governor, extending his announcement over not just days but weeks. Here’s the highly-produced video from his highly-produced announcement:

Pell has attracted some powerful political support so far. He’s been all but endorsed by Bob Walsh of the NEA-RI and Sam Bell of the RI Progressive Democrats, as well as hiring well-liked and respected pr flack Bill Fisher. And in the interviews he’s granted so far (Fisher tells me a sit-down with RI Future is imminent) he’s been pretty pitch-perfect as far as progressive messaging.

But then, the very idea that the 31-year-old grandson of legend can employ the best talent and instantly become a viable candidate for governor despite never having held a local office (or even a local job?) before is somewhat of an affront to progressive values.

But I come to his campaign with an open mind and wearing my biases on my sleeve … and look forward to meeting him. If he’s anything like his grandfather, and he certainly wants Rhode Island to think that he is, he’s probably going to do some pretty amazing things.

January 22, 2014January 22, 2014

Oops, I was wrong about the People’s Pledge’s viability!

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So back in October 2013, just after Angel Taveras called on Gina Raimondo to sign the People’s Pledge, I pretty much wrote it off as not happening. (After I asked for it to happen in September)

Quick up-to-speed: a People’s Pledge is a way to workaround the results of the Citizens United ruling. Candidates agree that if outside interests spend money during the campaign, whoever is the beneficiary of the outside spending will donate half of the cost of the ad to the aggrieved candidate’s choice of charity. This does two things: one, it tells outside groups to back off, because their help will do more harm than good. Two, it makes a candidate donate to charity, which always looks good.

So, long story short, on the 4-year anniversary of Citizens’ United Raimondo backtracked from her campaign’s initially tepid reception of the idea to make a pretty unequivocal statement that a People’s Pledge was needed for the gubernatorial primary. Common Cause RI Executive Director John Marion threw this post up here on RI Future.

Now we could (and will) wildly speculate as to why Raimondo decided to back the Pledge. Maybe the polling for it is good. Maybe it’s an attempt to cloak herself in the Elizabeth Warren mantle. Maybe it’s her significant fundraising lead. Maybe it’s a little of column A, a little of column B, and a little of column C. Whatever. It’s a good thing.

As Common Cause MA points out, the Pledge reduces dark money spending, increases the influence of small donors, and decreases the amount of negative advertising. I wrote a post about a month before the Taveras campaign announced its call for a People’s Pledge, and one of my main points was that we need to avoid bloody primaries. Now, that’s just my partisan progressive Democrat stance, a harsh primary depresses Democratic turnout, and when Dems don’t vote, Republicans win.

Common Cause RI understandably isn’t concerned at all with that, they’re more about the disclosure issues, right of the public to know, that sort of good government thing. They’re hopeful soon-to-announce Clay Pell will also endorse the Pledge, and then the campaigns can get down to brass tacks and sort this out.

I’m hopeful (again). That Pell might refuse seems a bit weird, and would raise more questions than would be good for his fledgling campaign.

So that’s where the Democratic primary stands.

How about the Republicans? Oh dear.

November 20, 2013November 20, 2013

Taveras still popular outside of the chattering class

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Influential progressives and others from the chattering class may be turning away from Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, but their suspicions haven’t seemed to seep into the minds of average Rhode Islanders yet.

After a rough first few weeks running for governor, Taveras still seems to be the most popular candidate, according to a new Fleming Associate poll paid for by the Providence Journal and WPRI.

But while the poll shows a plurality of people believe Taveras is best equipped to fix the economy and he enjoys the highest favorability ratings of the five assumed candidates, the most telling indicator for the left may be that 60 percent don’t yet know enough about Clay Pell. In the entire poll, the only thing respondents agreed on more was that they don’t yet know Ken Block.

Here’s the Providence Journal story on the poll and here’s the WPRI version. Maybe the most fascinating thing about this poll is how the two rival news agencies handle the exact same data?

But please comment below and let us know what you think is the most interesting thing about the latest look into what regular Rhode Islanders think of the field and some of the issues.

November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

Progressive dissatisfaction and the Democratic primary

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In the last few years the General Assembly has passed legislation that slashed pensions, cut taxes on the wealthiest Rhode Islanders, recklessly combined the State’s boards of education, and instituted a discriminatory and unnecessary Voter ID law. And, of course, all while under the auspices of the Democratic Party.

It’s no secret then, that progressives are dissatisfied with the status quo of Rhode Island. There have been victories; notably marriage equality. But marriage equality only arrived after a compromise of civil unions riled up enough people that there was a large-scale campaign to gain true equality before the law. Full progressive change in Rhode Island happens when there is a confluence of outrage and money.

What has tided progressives over is a series of compromise: the most progressive change possible, the most progressive candidate possible. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, and Gov. Lincoln Chafee are all beneficiaries of this. While some of them have not been the most progressive candidate in their races, they have been the most progressive candidate possible.

But recent events in New York City and Boston have empowered progressives across the country, and Rhode Island progressives especially have taken note (sandwiched, as they are, between those two regional poles). Candidates with explicitly progressive campaigns have won mayoral races in those cities in off-election years. The New York City example of Bill de Blasio is especially hopeful. NYC has a population of somewhere around 7 times larger than the entirety of Rhode Island, which despite a Democratic majority has been ruled by non-Democrats since 1994, the last full year in which there was a Democratic governor in Rhode Island.

If it can happen in New York and Boston, then it can happen here, the reasoning goes. As Rhode Island progressives eye the governor’s race, they may start drawing parallels with New York City. This may explain the hoopla over Clay Pell, the untested scion of Rhode Island’s greatest political legacy.

There are a few factors to consider. First, progressives may believe they are the Democratic Party, but that’s ultimately false. Many of Rhode Island’s Democrats are more accurately described as “Christian democrats” generally socially conservative but supportive of social justice and welfare. These are the elder type of Democrats, part of the party before the progressives split from the Republicans. The reality is that Rhode Island’s Democratic Party incorporates three general sections; the progressives, the Christian democrats, and the neoliberals. There are also some genuine conservatives.

However, of these three wings, the progressives are by far the most politically dangerous and important. Time and time again they’ve proven they can break or make Democratic candidates. Therefore, it’s not surprising to see all Democratic candidates in the gubernatorial primary proclaim themselves progressives.

Progressives have a pastime of DINO-hunting, which generally means weeding out the Christian democrats or neoliberals. But as the gubernatorial race approaches, they may find themselves hunting progressives-in-name-only instead. I doubt I’m wrong in thinking that progressives believe that if the first elected Democratic governor is coming in 2014 they’ll allow that governor to be anything short of a true-blue progressive.

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras is especially vulnerable to the whims of progressive fervor. He’s managed to position himself somewhere between the neoliberal position and the progressive position. Meanwhile, General Treasurer Gina Raimondo has been firmly defined as part of the neoliberals; the “Wall St. Democrats.” But that line-walking is not playing as well as it should. On a recent appearance on WPRI’s Newsmakers, when pressed by Ted Nesi, Taveras was unable to draw a distinction between himself and Raimondo in terms of actual policy, suggesting that it’ll come out in the campaign.

On one hand, that’s correct; and politically it’s unnecessary to draw a distinction this early when Rhode Islanders won’t be paying attention for another year or so. But on the other, those contrasts should be clear already, especially as activists begin examining the candidates closely and building enthusiasm for campaign season.

Taveras’ vulnerability is clear in Clay Pell, as ill-defined a candidate as ever there was. We know virtually nothing about him beyond the name, a brief biographical sketch, and that his wife is Olympian Michelle Kwan. Yet Pell is bending progressives towards his center of gravity, and that should be worrying this early. His grandfather was also a relative unknown who defeated two former Governors for his U.S. Senate seat.

Despite their strengths, one shouldn’t think of the progressives as a wholly deciding factor though. For one thing, the movement is, like most things in Rhode Island, fractious and full of personalities. With the disbanding of Ocean State Action, the main meeting table and organizing presence for progressive groups has been removed. For another, what gets defined as truly “progressive” is open to debate. And finally, while the gubernatorial race will gain the most attention, the real power lies in the General Assembly, where progressives will have to focus on electing more friendly candidates as well as protecting those they already have.

2014 will be a serious test for progressives in Rhode Island. Can they elect a governor who represents their values? Can they take a controlling majority in the Assembly? And should they manage that, will they be able to produce results and right Rhode Island after years of neoliberal failure?

November 13, 2013November 13, 2013

Clay Pell garners more progressive support

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In yet another sign that Angel Taveras isn’t guaranteed to garner the progressive vote in his bid for governor, Sam Bell of the RI Progressive Democrats said he and his organization are considering endorsing Clay Pell instead.

Pell, the ProJo reported yesterday, met with the group of left-leaning, politically-active progressive Democrats last week.

“I was very impressed,” Bell told me last night, saying the 31-year-old political novice gave the group a firm commitment to work towards greater reproductive freedom for women but didn’t offer pointed policy positions on the economy or education.

Bell was an early and ardent supporter of Taveras, but said he is reconsidering that support now that the electoral choices are coming into focus. He said he was concerned about Taveras aligning himself with conservative Democrats like Cumberland Mayor Dan McKee and Sen. Maryellen Goodwin, a close ally of Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed. He also cited Taveras’ support for charter schools as a reason to question the Providence mayor’s progressive credentials.

“The race has been changing rapidly,” Bell said.

Pell is expected to tack to the left of Taveras and Raimondo on education and tax reform and has received early support from the teachers’ unions who have every reason to suspect that neither more well-known likely Dems will have their best interests in mind: Raimondo slashed their pensions and Taveras closed schools, laid off teachers and supported Achievement First.

October 25, 2013

Angel is in!

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Providence Mayor Angel Taveras makes it official on Monday as the Providence Journal reports he’ll announce he’s running for governor next week. WPRI also reported the news last night.

Taveras, the “Head Start to Harvard” first Latino mayor of Providence is a champion of progressive values and local liberals are inspired by his candidacy in the same way we were with Barack Obama in 2008. A key difference is Taveras has executive political experience as mayor of the Capital City. He averted a financial crisis in Providence by negotiating compromises with organized labor and local tax-exempt nonprofits.

Taveras will likely square off against General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, who has come under fire lately for cutting public sector pensions and then reinvesting those savings in volatile alternative investments with high fees for money managers. Pundits anticipate a bruising primary, with Taveras receiving grassroots support from local labor unions and other Providence political activists while Raimondo will benefit from anonymous super PAC donations from wealthy Wall Street special interests.

Yesterday, Taveras personally asked Raimondo if she would sign a People’s Pledge and disavow anonymous out-of-state donations. Her campaign has yet to respond to the overture though it did distance itself from the idea on Wednesday.

Clay Pell is also considering running for governor as a Democrat. The wealthy grandson of Senator Claiborne Pell, it’s unclear how his candidacy could affect the Taveras-Raimondo race.

October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

People’s Pledge: Let’s give it a try

In 1996 incumbent John Kerry and Governor William Weld were headed toward an epic showdown for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Closely matched as candidates, they knew spending in their upcoming race could break records. In a novel twist the candidates themselves sat down and negotiated an agreement to limit the total amount that could be spent by the campaigns (including from their personal fortunes), their respective parties, and outside groups. They also agreed to a series of televised debates throughout the state. Although the spending caps broke down in the final days, the race was a watershed moment for campaign finance.

Fast-forward to 2012 and incumbent Senator Scott Brown reached out to challenger Elizabeth Warren (read the actual correspondence) and challenged her to enter a People’s Pledge. Modeled after the Weld-Kerry agreement it included limits on outside spending (it’s notable that no one is talking about limiting total expenditures any more—Citizens United changed the political landscape and dialogue). After significant back and forth, both candidates signed on and even sent notice to third party groups and TV stations that might run their ads, warning them to stay out of the race.

Common Cause Massachusetts reported that the 2012 People’s Pledge did a great job at minimizing outside money in the Brown-Warren race when compared to similar races that year. We know that outside spending is overwhelmingly negative, can come from undisclosed sources, and can be raised in unlimited amounts. In 2013 when the Gomez-Markey race did not have a pledge outside spending from right and left came flooding back in.

So here we are in neighboring Rhode Island looking at the prospect of a very expensive Democratic primary, followed by a very short, but quite-possibly expensive, general election for governor in 2014. Typically races for governor aren’t fought on the national issues that draws outside groups into Senate races but that may be different this time.

Common Cause Rhode Island would like to see all candidates for governor negotiate a People’s Pledge. We mentioned the idea over a month ago when the first self-described Super PAC emerged. Sam Howard wrote about the idea at length on RI Future soon after. Quite frankly, we were waiting for the candidates to actually declare before we began to push for an agreement.

So now the cat is out of the bag. As a non-partisan group that does not engage in electioneering it would be easy to just let the topic die. We do not want to be seen as favoring any candidate over another. But this is too important a topic. Rhode Island deserves a campaign in 2014 that will focus on issues, not attacks. We deserve to know where the money that is backing the candidates is coming from. For those reasons we are asking the would-be candidates to meet and discuss this idea.

This won’t be easy. Massachusetts has demonstrated that these agreements might take some time to work out, but that they can work. Each candidate has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to campaign finance and the negotiations should address those. As the Supreme Court dismantles limits on money in politics (and next it might be limits on contributions directly to candidates) we need to look to alternatives. The People’s Pledge may be our best hope. Let’s give it a try.

October 18, 2013October 18, 2013

Wingmen takeover of 10 News Conference

Andrew Morse, of Anchor Rising/Ocean State Current, and I square off for the full half hour on 10 News Conference. Moderator Bill Rappleye moderates us through a wide-ranging discussion on everything from guns permits in Exeter, hedge funds in pension investments to the 2014 governor’s race.

News, Weather and Classifieds for Southern New England

Best part, in my opinion, is the last 30 seconds when Rapp asks me if I think Clay Pell will run for governor. “I hope not. I think that’s the worst thing about American democracy that rich kids with famous last names can declare that they are running for government.” Just to clarify, I actually love that anyone – rich or poor – can declare they are running for government or governor. What I hate is that it’s easier for rich kids to do than poor kids.

A couple important corrections:

Of course we do know who gives significant political donations directly to Gina Raimondo. And there is no reason to suspect the Manhattan Institute would be among them.

Also, Ted Cruz is a Senator, so he doesn’t have a district other than the great state of Texas.

Sorry readers, viewers, WJAR and marketplace of ideas.

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