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.
Some people think DINOs are Democrats who tend to be less than liberal. Not in the Ocean State. Here in Republican-rejecting Rhode Island, Democrat in Name Only literally means those cunning and conservative politicians who are Democrats only in name.
But don’t take it from me … that’s what Rhode Island Republican Ann Clanton told NPR earlier this week.
“We have a lot of Democrats who we know are Republican but run as a Democrat — basically so they can win,” she said.
It’s a great scenario for local conservatives; their philosophies are well-represented at the State House – think tax cuts for the rich, pension cuts for the poor, voter ID, marriage inequality and much more – while they get to complain that Democrats are ruining the state and its economy.
It’s why crafty conservatives like Dawson Hogdson and Doreen Costa spend more time griping about Democrats than actual policy. The reality is there are more Rhode Islanders aligned with progressive values than conservative values, but there are more center-right Democrats than center-left Democrats.
Whoever is ruining the state’s economy, they’ve done it by implementing conservative policies. Which party they caucus with really shouldn’t matter to Rhode Islanders…
]]>Not only do we have one of the worst economies in the country, we also seem to suffer the most from the effects of global warming. Remember this when temperatures climb into the high 90’s this week … no state is getting hotter faster than Rhode Island.
And yet another way the state is failing: Rhode Island remains one of a handful of states without a permanent stream of money for low-income housing, something state officials and homeless advocates say is a critical part of implementing a homeless prevention plan adopted by the state earlier this year.”
Rest in peace Rodney King, whose brutal beating by the LA Police in 1991 ended the the Cosby Show era of race relations in the United States … he also raised the most important question of a generation when he famously said during the 1992 LA riots after police were aquitted, “Can we all get along?”
The answer to his question is because of people like Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
The Projo lauds state Sen. Dawson Hodgson for making it to an East Greenwich fundraiser when the Senate was in recess on the last night of the legislative session … me too, considering the event was organized by my brother Matt Plain. While Mattie and me have pretty much never agreed on anything political in our lives, the rest of our family is as bipartisan as they come – our sister, mom and step-dad all attended both the RI Future/Working RI Netroots cocktail party just a few nights before they attended the Hodgson fundraiser.
]]>— Lou Raptakis, a former state senator, tells East Greenwich Patch that he is going to run for his old seat. Raptakis ran for Secretary of State two years ago and very conservative Glen Shibley ended up winning his seat. EG Patch also reports that Peter DiSimmone, of Narragansett, plans to challenge Sen. Dawson Hodgson, whose district now includes a stretch of that town in addition to East Greenwich and North Kingstown.
— Yes, financial problems of cities and towns is a huge issue for Rhode Island. But so is this one: the number of people who are graduating from high school is dropping. According to a study, RI is one of 10 states in the country to see a decline and, at 75.3 percent, we’re not below the national average.
— Dan McGowan lists the 15 most influential political operatives in Rhode Island. Congrats to Kate Brock, of Ocean State Action, whom McGowan calls, “the face of the progressive left in Rhode Island.” Ray Sullivan, of Marriage Equality Rhode Island, also makes McGowan’s list.
— Did you see where Ernie Almonte said he was thinking of running for governor but doesn’t know if he’ll run as a Republican or as a Democrat? This is the problem with the Democratic party in Rhode Island – it really isn’t all that different from the GOP.
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