delegates – RI Future

April 25, 2012April 25, 2012

Democrats Send Progressives To Convention

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Congratulations to the delegate candidates who won an opportunity to go to the Democratic National Convention in yesterday’s primary. While overall turnout may have been low, it seems as if progressives got out the vote as all but two of our endorsed candidates prevailed.

Anne Connor, whom we profiled, received more overall votes than former Providence Mayor Joe Paolino, who took out an ad in the ProJo (though he did spell the president’s name wrong in it). She even got more votes than him in his hometown of Providence – and she lives in suburban Barrington.

Conservative, anti-union Democrat Doug Gablinske received the fewest votes in CD1

In CD2, the three progressive members of the General Assembly – Josh Miller, Frank Ferri and Teresa Tanzi netted nearly 1,000 more overall votes than the three Weiner candidates, an affluent family from East Greenwich known for being political insiders and regulars at the party convention.

For a complete list of results, click here.

The winners are below, including total number of votes they garnered and percentage.

UPDATE: RI Future Publisher Emeritus Matt Jerzyk writes that our delegate results isn’t accurate because Democratic rules for the representing candidates at the convention employ a sort of affirmative action in which the top 5 men and top 6 women from each district are chosen. As such, these are the results according to Jerzyk:

The top 5 men and top 6 women in each CD are elected – not just the top 11. That would mean the following won yesterday:

CD-1

Myrth YORK
Julie E. MEYERS
Anne W. CONNOR
Joseph R. PAOLINO, JR.
Onna A. MONIZ-JOHN
Mary A. GASBARRO
June S. SPEAKMAN
Brett P. SMILEY
Tom CODERRE
Gerald Pedro CARVALHO
David A. SALVATORE

CD-2

Joshua MILLER
Patrick T. FOGARTY
Teresa TANZI
Frank G. FERRI
Elaine PRIOR
Michael A. SOLOMON
L. Susan WEINER
Mark S. WEINER
Elisa M. POLLARD
Helen S. TAYLOR
Zoe I. WEINER

CD1

Myrth YORK	2831	10.4%
Julie E. MEYERS	2153	7.9%
Anne W. CONNOR	2061	7.6%
Joseph R. PAOLINO, JR.	1986	7.3%
Onna A. MONIZ-JOHN	1880	6.9%
Mary A. GASBARRO	1833	6.7%
June S. SPEAKMAN	1776	6.5%
Brett P. SMILEY	1763	6.5%
Rebecca Kim MEARS	1694	6.2%
Tom CODERRE	1640	6.0%
Gerald Pedro CARVALHO	1369	5.0%

CD2

Joshua MILLER	1313	7.8%
Patrick T. FOGARTY	1272	7.6%
Teresa TANZI	1233	7.3%
Frank G. FERRI	1137	6.8%
Elaine PRIOR	1131	6.7%
Michael A. SOLOMON	1109	6.6%
L. Susan WEINER	1033	6.1%
Mark S. WEINER	1007	6.0%
Thomas J. IZZO	990	5.9%
Ryan Patrick KELLEY	986	5.9%
Elisa M. POLLARD	972	5.8%

April 24, 2012April 24, 2012

RI Progress Report: Primary, Busy Day at State House

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Polls are open today in Rhode Island, and even though it’s still not yet 6 a.m. we’re going to go out on a limb and call the primary for Obama. If you need a hand figuring out which delegates to support for the Democratic Convention, see our endorsements here. But it’s also a hugely busy day at the State House.

The House Finance Committee will take up the controversial tax equity bill that would raise income taxes for Rhode Island’s richest residents. And Rhode Island’s environmental coalition will hear from Gov. Chafee in the rotunda this afternoon before it unveils its 2012 legislative agenda, expected to include transportation funding, voter referendums for open space and clean water and a better way to discard of garbage.

Additionally, two House members from very different sides of the aisle will have their very different bills on in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants heard in committee at 1 p.m. Rep. Grace Diaz’ bill will codify into legislation the decision made by the Board of Governors for Higher Education last year allowing anyone who finished three years of high school in RI to qualify for in-state tuition “regardless of immigration status.” And Rep. Doreen Costa’s bill would “prohibit anyone who cannot prove U.S. citizenship or permanent residency from receiving in-state tuition rates and fees at public higher education institutions.”

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras unveiled his budget proposal last night, which could help right the fiscal ship in the Capital City. But it’s contingent on some factors beyond the city’s control, such as the outcome of the inevitable lawsuit over his pension reform efforts. Here’s the brief that appears in today’s New York Times.

Conservatives like to defend Citizens United by claiming that it gives liberal groups the right to raise unlimited campaign money as well, which is true but irrelevant since the majority of big time donors support the GOP. In fact, 8 of the ten biggest Super PACS support Republicans.

California will vote on banning the death penalty this November. Too bad a plurality of executions in the US take place in Texas.

Had Rhode Island partnered with instead of fighting the Narragansett Indian Tribe, the state would have been well ahead of the regional casino trend rather than well behind it. Can’t blame the Narragansetts for suing us.

This page may be updated throughout the day. Click HERE for an archive of the RI Progress Report.

April 23, 2012April 23, 2012

Vote Progressive for Dem Convention Delegates

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Democrats don’t have as much at stake in Tuesday’s primary vote as does the GOP, who don’t have all that much at stake actually, but they do have an opportunity to send progressives and liberals to the party convention in August rather than the old-guard, moderate Democrats who usually get to go.

First, you need to know where to vote. Type your address into this Google gadget and it’ll spit out not only where, but it’ll give you directions there too:

And if you need a hand knowing who’s a progressive and who isn’t, we made a little cheat sheet for you. The progressives are listed in bold, with a short description. Both Districts vote for 11 delegates … and don’t forget, you don’t have to vote for 11. And if you’re trying to send a progressive slate to the convention you may not want to since a vote for a non-progressive could make a big difference when the votes are tallied.

CD1

Onna A. MONIZ-JOHN – According to EastBayRI.com, she’s ” a retired Affirmative Action and Welfare director for the City of East Providence” who was recently honored by the Rhode Island Black Heritage society for her “outstanding contributions to the African American community in Rhode Island.”
Julie E. MEYERS – A Leadership RI alum and a vocal advocate of marriage equality.
Jeffrey M. PADWA – He’s got Providence Mayor Angel Taveras’ endorsement as city solicitor, so he’s got ours for delegate.
Terri-Denise CORTVRIEND
Myrth YORK– A three time gubernatorial loser, who considered running for mayor before endorsing Taveras, she used to represent the East Side in the General Assembly.
David A. SALVATORE
June S. SPEAKMAN – The president of the Barrington Town Council, she is considering running for a seat in the state Senate against Republican David Bates, who has held the seat for 20 years.
Brett P. SMILEY – He was Charlie Fogarty’s campaign manager and has been an outspoken activist for marriage equality in Rhode Island.
Douglas W. GABLINSKE
Anne W. CONNOR – A longtime liberal in the tradition of the Farmer-Labor Party, Anne is an advocate of the process rather than a political insider. See our story on her here.
Mary A. GASBARRO
Tom CODERRE – Works for Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed, an all-round good guy.
Joseph R. PAOLINO, JR.
Herbert P. WEISS
Rebecca Kim MEARS – Watch for this Brown University freshman in the years to come.
Gerald Pedro CARVALHO – Not necessarily a progressive, but he’s a longtime Newport fisherman.

CD2

Joshua MILLER – As a state senator, he’s sponsoring the high-profile tax equity bill that would temporarily raise taxes on Rhode Island’s richest residents and another that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. For a day job, he owns the Hot Club, Trinity Brewhouse and Local 121. Forget about delegate, we should elect this guy president.
Frank G. FERRI – Another staunch State House progressive, Ferri is the sponsor of legislation that would curb payday lending.
Patrick T. FOGARTY
Thomas J. IZZO
Michael A. SOLOMON
Elaine PRIOR – She helped to run the Downcity Farmers’ Market, reason enough to send her to the convention.
Andy M. ANDUJAR – Works for David Cicilline, an occasional visitor to Drinking Liberally.
Hecmy A. JOSE
David J. GRAZIANO
Mark S. WEINER
Elisa M. POLLARD
Paul H. ARCHETTO
Teresa TANZI – As one of the most progressive members of the House, this year she has stood up for local fishermen, local beer and wine makers and women’s rights.
Helen S. TAYLOR
L. Susan WEINER
Zoe I. WEINER
Ryan Patrick KELLEY

April 23, 2012April 23, 2012

Anne Connor Campaigns for Democratic Convention

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There are no shortage of usual suspects looking to go back to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC this August, but none of them collected as many signatures as did Anne W. Connor, a self-proclaimed political outsider from Barrington, who garnered more than twice the 150 signatures needed to register for the ballot.

“I’m just an ordinary citizen,” she said, during her lunch break the other day. She is a licensing specialist with G-Tech, but she’s also worked as a paralegal and a librarian during her career.

She lives in Barrington where she and her husband, a retired lawyer, raised their two children. Her political inspiration, she said, is Treasurer Gina Raimondo, whose campaign she volunteered for.

A loyal Democrat since supporting Adlai Stevenson in the 1950’s, she said she really swore her allegiance to liberal causes in college when her roommates father, a member of the Farmer-Labor Party, informed her politics.

“He said he wouldn’t mind paying more taxes if it meant an older person or a student could get better public transportation,” she said, noting that this is still her philosophy to this day. “I’m happy to pay more in taxes as an individual if everyone else pays according to their means.

To this day, she holds many traditional progressive values. She supports health care reform, Planned Parenthood, the the Buffet Rule, and said she didn’t think Rhode Island should have passed a voter ID law last year.

“I think it’s burdensome for senior citizens,” Connor said. “You want to make it as easy for people to vote as possible and no one has demonstrated for me that there is any voter fraud in Rhode Island.”

She enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with her two grown children. She’s also the president-elect of the First Unitarian Church in Providence, which runs the mobile Loaves and Fishes program and was supportive of Occupy Providence last year.

Connor said she isn’t trying to launch a political career or curry favor with party insiders. Instead, she said she wants to go to learn about the process and her party.

“I want to find out what people are thinking in other parts of the country,” she said. “I want to get the pulse of the nation.”