ray sullivan – RI Future

April 2, 2013April 2, 2013

Who Will Be the Next Director of Ocean State Action?

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With the exciting news that Kate Brock is moving on from Ocean State Action to take a policy position in Governor Chafee’s administration, I was thinking about who could be the next Director of Ocean State Action. I say this because Ocean State Action is probably one of the most important, if not the most important, progressive organizations in the state. Over the years, they have been able to shape the debate in Rhode Island, elect progressive candidates to the General Assembly, and push for more progressive policies that benefit all Rhode Islanders. Admittedly, they have not been 100% successful, but more often than not their success lies in advocacy, movement building, and adding the progressive perspective to policy debates.

Here are some of my thoughts about who (in alphabetical order).

Sam Bell – Currently the State Coordinator for the Rhode Island chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America (taking over after I went to grad school), Sam is young and smart and has really jumped into his role at the RIPDA. He’s also a student at Brown University.
Kristina Fox – Currently the Organizing Director at Ocean State Action, Kristina is super energetic and has been a workhorse of progressive organizing. Kristina was an organizer for UNITE HERE! Local 217 and helped win contracts at the Westin Hotel and the Dunkin Donuts Center. She just recently took over as one of the organizers for Drinking Liberally as well.
Mark Gray – Currently the “Where’s the Work?” Project Organizer at Ocean State Action, Mark looks into why there is such a dire lack of jobs in the state. Previously, Mark was with Clean Water Action, handling recruitment and training of community organizers.
Libby Kimzey – Currently Director of Programs at Capital Good Fund, Libby runs their tax assistance site and develops financial coaching curriculum for low-income Rhode Islanders. Libby is a tireless advocate and her energy was instrumental in getting Teresa Tanzi elected in 2010. She also worked with Ocean State Action and Common Cause.
Zack Mezera – Currently an Organizer at Providence Student Union with Aaron Regunberg, Zach is also a Student at Brown University studying education policy.
Aaron Regunberg – Currently the Director at Providence Student Union and Organizer for IDEA, Aaron is a great strategist and thinker about education policy. A case in point, Aaron helped organize the fantastic student-led NECAP testing that brought out about 50 people, and most of them failed it. This is reshaping the entire conversation about testing in the state.
Marti Rosenberg – Marti is one of the most revered progressive activists in the state, working on numerous campaigns in the state for as long as I can remember. She was Executive Director of Ocean State action until she stepped down in 2006 to work for U.S. Action in DC. Back in RI, she became Director at New Roots.
Ray Sullivan – Currently the Campaign Director at Marriage Equality RI and RI United for Marriage, and with any hope he’ll be unemployed when the session ends (because we’ll have marriage equality). Ray has a wealth of experience, having worked as Communications Director for the RI Democrats, RI State Director for Obama for America, and representative of Coventry from 2005 to 2010.

This is not at all a full list, and I’m certain that potential candidates will come out of the woodwork for this important position. What’s top of mind for me is that I hope the next Director does NOT come at the expense of the good work being done at another organization. Whoever the next director is, we need to keep building the Progressive movement in the state.

October 2, 2012October 2, 2012

Progressive Politicians, Proposals Popular in Poll

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A month before the election a new WPRI poll shows Rhode Islanders comfortably support both progressive politicians as well as progressive policy proposals.

The big news from the new poll for both politicos and progressives is that Congressman David Cicilline leapfrogged Brendan Doherty since the last WPRI poll and the liberal incumbent now leads the conservative challenger by six percentage points.

“The new survey of 250 likely voters in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District shows Democrat Cicilline at 44%, Republican Doherty at 38% and independent David Vogel at 6%, with 10% of voters undecided. That’s a 21-point swing since the February WPRI 12 poll, when Doherty led Cicilline 49% to 34%,” wrote Ted Nesi about Cicilline’s surge.

Pollster Joe Fleming said he was “surprised” at the size of the turnaround but I’m not. Rhode Islanders lean left and one of the candidates is and one isn’t liberal. While Doherty will continue to go negative against Cicilline, at the end of the day the incumbent isn’t nearly as toxic as is the Republican brand in the first congressional district.

Similarly, popular progressive Senator Sheldon Whitehouse holds a “commanding” lead over his “little-known” challenger Barry Hinckley. “Whitehouse leads among every subgroup of voters except Republicans,” writes Nesi. “The Democrat has a 26-point lead among women, a 26-point lead among voters ages 60 and older, and a nine-point lead among independents.”

Like the most progressive members of the congressional delegation, progressive policy proposals also fared well in the poll – most notably marriage equality.

“Same-sex marriage enjoys significant support in Rhode Island, with 56% of voters in favor of legalizing it, 36% opposed to doing so and 14% unsure,” according to WPRI. “Support is strongest among Democrats (72% in favor) and voters ages 18 to 39 (64% in favor), while opposition is highest among Republicans (59% opposed) and voters 60 and older (43% opposed).”

The overwhelming support for marriage equality could turn some State House politicians who were on the fence because they may have thought their constituents didn’t support equality.

“Every day more Rhode Islanders are raising a voice in support of marriage equality and this poll should serve as a wake up call to those politicians who continue to oppose equal rights. We look forward to working with legislators from both sides of the aisle when the General Assembly returns in January to finally make Rhode Island a state that honors the commitments and values the worth of all families,” said Ray Sullivan of Marriage Equality Rhode Island in a statement.

One poll question shows Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly supporting protecting Medicare over paying down the national debt by a 64 percent to 32 percent margin. Another shows that while the economy and jobs is the most important issue to Rhode Islanders, with 54 percent of respondents saying so, more than twice as many (18 percent) said healthcare was the most important issue than said taxes (8 percent).

WPRI does a great job putting all their poll results into an interactive graphic that is really fun to play around with.

Later today, the TV station will release the results of poll questions pertaining to Gov. Linc Chafee, Treasurer Gina Raimondo, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and President Obama.

May 14, 2012May 14, 2012

RI Recognizes Out-of-State, Same Sex Marriages

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chafee sullivan — Gov Chafee and Ray Sullivan of Marriage Equality Rhode Island celebrate the RI recognizing out-of-state same sex marriages.

Saying Rhode Island should pass its own marriage equality law, Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed an executive order today that asserts this state recognizes same sex marriages performed in other states.

“Let’s get there ourselves,” he said to an enthusiastic crowd packed into the State Room of the State House. “This is the home of Roger Williams. Come on, let’s go.”

The governor’s executive order reaffirms a 2007 memo from the attorney general that said Rhode Island recognizes all marriages performed in other states per a 1904 law. But Chafee said there has been some confusion in state government as to whether or not same sex marriages performed in other states are valid in Rhode Island.

“This executive order,” he said, “sends a clear message to married Rhode Islanders, regardless of their sexual orientation, that they can and should rely on their marriage to protect them and their families in important ways.”

Ray Sullivan, of Marriage Equality Rhode Island, said Rhode Island is the first state in the country “to sign an executive order providing critical clarity and direction to government agencies regarding the recognition of same-sex, out-of-state marriages.”

Sullivan said, in a press release, “While this moves us closer to full marriage equality, nothing less is sufficient, and we will keep fighting.”

Chafee said talks are ongoing between him and legislative leaders about passing a marriage equality law this session. Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed is still standing in the way of the bill’s passage. Chafee said she is not amenable to passing the bill this session. When asked if she seemed willing to support the bill this year, Chafee said, “To be perfectly honest with you, not in this session.”

He indicated that House Speaker Gordon Fox is ready to pass the bill. When asked who supports passing marriage equality this session, he said, “You can probably guess who is supportive and who isn’t.”

Fox, who is openly gay, fought behind the scenes to get Paiva Weed to support same sex marriage last session, but never called for a full vote in his chamber because some members did not want to have to go on record if they knew it wouldn’t pass in the Senate.