The RI NOW Political Action Committee (RI NOW PAC) announced their endorsements in anticipation of the state primary elections on September, 13 2016.
The RI NOW PAC is excited to have so many candidates committed to improving the lives of women within the state of Rhode Island. Endorsed candidates have pledged their support on the issues of reproductive freedom, economic equality, ending violence against women, constitutional equality, civil rights for all, affirmative action and moving women out of poverty through empowering, non-punitive welfare policies.
“Currently women hold only 31 out of 113 seats in the RI General Assembly. The RI NOW PAC has endorsed 18 women so far in this election and we are thrilled to throw our support behind these candidates to increase gender parity in the General Assembly,” said Amanda Clarke, Chair of the RI NOW PAC. “We are also pleased so many men are willing to stand with women and fight for policy change to improve social and economic conditions for women in Rhode Island.”
The complete list of RI NOW PAC endorsements is as follows:
Rhode Island State Senate
Rhode Island House of Representatives
Local Races
*Amanda Clarke is the RI NOW PAC Chair, Melanie Carrazzo is a member of the RI NOW PAC Board
]]>I didn’t vote for him. Chances are you didn’t either. He ran unopposed in his district (won with 1,145 votes). He wasn’t elected to be Speaker of the House by the people. He was elected by a frightened RI House of Representatives. You know who I’m talking about.
Nicholas Mattiello is the Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives for about five minutes. He was “elected” by the other state reps following the abrupt down-in-flames resignation of Gordon Fox. It was a battle fought for about two minutes, with some of the blame going to the Providence Journal for tweet-reporting that the “election” was sewn up before the votes were actually counted.
But Mattiello doesn’t have to be The Speaker. He can become the “Former Speaker.”
Last time I checked, Rhode Island was still considered a democracy. We elect our representatives to serve us at the state capitol.
In the past, sometime prior to the start of the session, they gather in a back room and “elect” a new speaker. There are 75 representatives, so it only takes 38 votes to dominate the state for the next two years. Promises are made. Threats are made. And then the person who’s been called the most powerful politician in the state emerges bathed in glory.
The first order of business is the approving of the Rules of the House, and as soon as that’s done, our duly elected representatives give away all their power to The Speaker, and beg his highness for favors. Then they do what The Speaker says, or else they’re exiled.
Then The Speaker holds a fundraiser and becomes the richest legislator in the state. He controls the calendar. He controls the purse strings. He makes the Governor dance and twitch. He wants something to pass, it passes. He wants a bill to die in committee, it dies. He da man!
This is not democracy. This is an anointed dictatorship.
It doesn’t have to be that way. From now until the opening of the legislative session, there is a brief moment when the way things have always been can change. The rules can change. And The Speaker… can be someone else.
During the brief “race” for the current Speaker, I seem to recall Michael Marcello saying that he felt that The Speaker didn’t actually have to win every vote… GASP!
Yes, it may be comforting for a state rep. to delegate all his or her power to someone else. And yes, all the lobbyists on Smith Street know where to funnel their efforts and cash.
But does it really benefit Rhode Island to have an anointed dictator in charge?
To all the state reps out there. We just elected you.
You were elected to serve the people. The power of The Speaker undermines your power as a Representative. All the plans you have, the things you want to get done… What if they could happen with out having beg and plead or to bend over and give favors in return?
Whatever promises or threats have been made to you, they’re all smoke right now. Whatever promises you’ve made, revoke them.
Don’t give away your power. Don’t be intimidated by bullies. There is a moment of possibility here.
Un-Speaker Mattiello. Dump him. Make him “Former Speaker.” Elect a new speaker who will listen and work for the citizens rather than the lobbyists. Change the rules of the house.
And then govern well.
P.S. If you’re not a state rep, you can call or email your newly elected or reelected State Rep and say, tell her or him #No Mattiello
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post said “The last three speakers were either indicted, convicted or are currently under investigation.” This is incorrect and has been removed.
]]>Ask 100 people about Rhode Island’s government and 105 will say it’s broken, and probably not fixable.
From day one, my campaign for House District 4 has been about challenging that truism. It was clear to me at the start that the Speaker of the House used his power to push through the 38 Studios Video Game disaster, and then denied any responsibility for the outcome.
The most powerful man in the state of Rhode Island beaten by an unknown independent? That would create an opportunity for a breath of fresh air. At the start of the campaign, many people questioned whether my attempt was even credible. Today, few doubt that it is. We’ve had our fair share of media publicity. The smiles on the faces of neighbors and strangers throughout the district when I knock on their doors and give my pitch are reassuring too.
Currently, it’s looking like a close race, so we’re pushing ahead our next plan…
Politics abhors a power vacuum, and many have expressed fears that whoever comes post-Fox will be “worse.” Better the devil you know? That’s so old school. How about a new way of running the State government that actually works for the State?
The old system works like this. Thirty-eight representatives agree to elect one of their members a Speaker. Then they give all their power to the Speaker, do whatever he (or she) says, and beg for scraps.
Why? I realize that the existence of a Speaker is specified in the State’s Constitution, but the system seems to work well only for the leadership. And the special interests who contribute to campaigns and lobbyists.
It doesn’t seem to work very well for the citizens, voters and taxpayers of this state. It doesn’t seem to work very well for the individual legislators outside the circle of power. Arrangements are made in back rooms, deals are cut, and votes are delayed until the last minute so that no one really knows what is going on.
Today I am inviting and challenging the current and future reps to adopt a government reform proposal in caucus before electing the next Speaker of the House.
Members of the House can and must make it a priority to fix the structural problems that led to such controversial decisions as the 38 Studios deal and this year’s last minute mash-up of the Board of Regents and the Office of Higher Education. We must adopt a drastic reform plan and secure a commitment from any candidate for Speaker to support the plan before committing our votes.
The starter elements for this plan include:
There are other ideas floating around: a deadline for bringing bills out of committee before the end of the session to prevent the onslaught of last-minute votes and give legislators time to actually read the bills; allotting time in the calendar for legislators to call for votes from the floor for bills, thus short-circuiting the dead-in-committee morass.
Putting the power of the legislator into the hands of one person doesn’t work for the State. It doesn’t work for the voters, and it costs taxpayers money. Meaningful steps have to be taken to prevent the kind of scandals and abuses of power we have seen under Gordon Fox and his predecessors. It’s time to move ahead.
We know that every candidate is getting the message that people are fed up with the kinds of deals and abuses that produced 38 Studios. So let’s do something about it and make fixing state government a priority.
Legislators need to come together in caucus and say that there will be no vote for Speaker until a roadmap for government reform is in place and has the support of the woman or man elected speaker.
Every legislator who supports this roadmap to reform will be able to tell his or her constituents that ‘I stood up and fought to change the way business is done in the State House.’
Most important, these kinds of changes are wins for the people, the voters and the taxpayers.
The rules that we have haven’t been working. It’s time to change the rules.
]]>