August is on the way out, and legislative primary races are coming up fast. Thanks for stopping by for my weekly column. As usual, you can send your tips and comments my way, and follow me through the week on the twitters. Here we go.
1. As Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza approaches the mid-point in his term, the tough choices needed to put the city on a more stable financial footing still loom ahead. “We didn’t get here overnight, we’re not going to get out of it overnight,” Elorza said, in framing the issue, during RI Public Radio’s Political Roundtable this week. The challenges are daunting, including the 27 percent funding level for the city’s pension and retiree healthcare costs. Asked how the city will prevent its structural deficit from growing steadily larger, Elorza touted short-term steps, but he also fell back on how four work groups are toiling to devise a 10-year plan “so that we can all work toward a grand bargain” of fiscal improvement. With specific choices on cutting long-term costs yet to be made, the mayor flatly rules out the possibility that Providence could wind up in receivership as part of the state’s fiscal stability act: “When you look at the numbers, the numbers are clear and they don’t lie,” Elorza said. “If we don’t do anything, then we’re going in the wrong direction. But everyone recognizes that it’s in our individual and our collective best interest to come together and do something. And every single person that I’ve spoken to, whether its nonprofits, unions, folks at the General Assembly, they understand that we have to do something — it’s in all of our best interest. That’s why I think there’s absolutely no chance that we’re going to find ourselves in our receivership, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that we’re balancing the city’s budget over the short term, planning for the long-term, bringing all of our stakeholders together to make sure that we avoid receivership.”
2. Remember when about $2.4 million in tax dollars was dropped on a redesign of Kennedy Plaza — with seemingly little impact on the overall ambience of the center of downtown Providence? That was in the months before Mayor Elorza took office in January 2015, and he declined to answer when asked whether that spending was a good use of other people’s money. Instead, Elorza preferred to talk during about his oft-cited vision of remaking Kennedy Plaza as a vibrant public place, like New York City’s Bryant Park. He said moving bus berths away from the plaza is a key long-term step. On a related note, Elorza credited a heightened police presence with boosting the sense of safety around Kennedy Plaza, in the wake of heightened concerns about panhandlers. It remains to be seen, though, if the cash-strapped city, working with others, can muster the resources to offer more than a Band-Aid. “We’re going to work collaboratively, we’re going to work creatively, and we’re going to work compassionately,” Elorza said, “making sure that we’re doing the right thing so we address the root of the issue, engage all of our partners and learn from best practices throughout the country.” Meanwhile, although Rhode Island places in the mid-range of states for pedestrian fatalities, the death of a 30-year-old Cumberland woman this week was a sharp reminder of another kind of danger.
3. Three on 38 Studios: 1) News of a $25.6 million settlement with Wells Fargo Securities and Barclays Capital is leading even some past critics to offer a more upbeat view of former Governor Lincoln Chafee; 2) Retired Superior Court Judge Francis Darigan, who oversaw the settlement talks, told reporters he expects more settlements ahead of the trial scheduled to begin in October. Then again, former Red Sox star Curt Schilling has repeatedly said how he wants to use the trial to offer his own version of what happened — and that would make for some riveting political theater; 3) Fun Fact: Before becoming a Superior Court judge (his most famous case involved the aftermath of the Station fire), Darigan ran for mayor of Providence in 1974, 1978, and 1982.
4. “Are Rhode Island Democrats facing a vacuum in their messaging capacity?” someone (#3) asked last October. Now comes lawyer and former state Democratic chairman William Lynch to serve as a special adviser for the party in the current election cycle. “In this unpaid position, Lynch will provide legal and political input on breaking issues, and serve as an expert resource to the Congressional and endorsed state candidates for office,” the RI Dems said in a statement. Added Party Chairman Joseph McNamara: “With Bill serving as special adviser, he will provide the extra eyes and ears on the campaigns to ultimately protect the integrity of our elections and the voters’ intent. He will also be able to respond to legal and media issues that might arise in the days and months ahead.” As we noted last year, Lynch relished the rhetorical battle during his lengthy tenure as party chair. So how long before we see him drawn into verbal conflict with state GOP Chairman Brandon Bell, who has demonstrated his own appetite for taking it to the opposition.
5. The office of Attorney General Peter Kilmartin plans to use Google settlement money to build and operate a satellite office at the state-owned Pastore Complex in Cranston. Spokeswoman Amy Kempe said plans call for the new building — which has yet to go out to bid — to house the AG’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Consumer Protection, and Diversion sections. “We are in the final design stage of the project, working with the architect (Vision3) on construction drawings in order to issue a RFP for the construction of the building,” Kempe said via email. “Vision3 has designed a one story building, approximately 26,000 square feet, including the basement. The need for a stand-alone facility for the BCI, consumer protection, and Diversion is quickly apparent if you visit the office any day of the week. The BCI window sees up to 300 individuals a day for state and/or national background checks, in addition to those who file consumer complaints or are in the Office’s Diversion program. Currently, the only parking options for those visiting the office are metered street parking (virtually impossible to get a spot) or paid garage parking. The Pastore complex building will be located at the corner of Howard and Pontiac, directly on the bus line and will offer plenty of free parking.” Kempe declined to specify the budget for the project ahead of bidding (the AG’s office was slated to get $60 million as part of the Google settlement.) She said no tax dollars will be used in the project, and that Google settlement money is expected to fund the operation of the new structure for the forseeable future. She said the AG’s office is required to gain approval from the US Department of Justice for expenditures related to the project.
6. The deadline for employees of the Providence Journal (and other GateHouse Media newspapers) to express interest in the company’s latest buyout is on Monday, August 29. For now, the next move for Katherine Gregg — recently reassigned by the paper away from her longtime Statehouse beat — remains unclear. She declined comment when contacted by TGIF.
7. With slightly over two weeks until primary day, it’s open to question whether the makeup of the General Assembly will experience more than minimal changes. Republicans and independents will mostly get their shot in November, so for now the RI Progressive Democrats are the ones backing insurgent campaigns. Incumbents generally have more money and other resources at their disposal, but Sam Bell, head of the RI Progressive Democrats, said he remains optimistic: “I think even folks in the machine know that Susan Donovan [running for the Bristol seat being vacated by Ray Gallison] and Moira Walsh [running against Rep. Tom Palangio in Providence] are almost certainly going to win. David Norton‘s opponent [Pawtucket Rep. David Coughlin] has received a lot of money and support from the machine, but I am confident Norton will win, and I imagine that most machine operatives would quietly admit that. Elections are always hard to predict, but I think we’re ahead in a whole host of other races. I would not be surprised if we won seven or eight seats. I have to say, the response we’ve been getting on the doors is overwhelming. We have a very real opportunity to strike a major blow at the heart of the machine on September 13. This is probably going to be the most important election in Rhode Island in a very long time.” Some of the other candidates touted by Bell include Nick Delmenico (running against Rep. Pat Serpa, D-West Warwick); Linda Finn (running against fellow Democrat James Cawley); and Senate challenges by Jeanine Calkin to Sen. William Walaska, D-Warwick, and by Doris de los Santos to Sen. Frank Ciccone (D-Providence).
8. On a related note, RI Public Radio will next week air stories by yours truly looking at the primary race between Marcia Ranglin-Vassell and House Majority Leader John DeSimone, and the three-way field for the seat being vacated by Rep. John Carnevale.
9. Governor Gina Raimondo is set to formally return from her summer vacation next week with “a week of groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings that will highlight Rhode Island’s progress.” The itinerary includes a “shirt-cutting” Tuesday at Ivory Ella, which left Connecticut for Westerly; a groundbreaking for Citizens Bank’s new Johnston location on Wednesday; and a ribbon-cutting for Johnson & Wales’ Center for Science and Innovation on Thursday. On Monday, Raimondo is set to tout Deepwater Wind during a Monday meeting in Boston of the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers.
10. Mayor Elorza said he’s cautiously optimistic that the signal conflict of his tenure — the clash with the Providence firefighters’ union — can be settled at the negotiating table. Speaking on RIPR’s Bonus Q&A, he said it was not a mistake to impose a new schedule on firefighters, rather than negotiating it. With the conflict having started more than a year ago, Elorza said the city is on course to save about $5 million on overtime spending in the current budget year. Yet there are also indications the Fire Department is over-budget and under-staffed, and it remains unclear when the city will hire a new fire chief. Elorza would only say he expects that to happen “soon.”
11. The cut of 70 jobs in the state Department of Human Services is among a series of changes within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, as the sprawling secretariat looks to deliver on promises to cut spending and improve services. As it stands, EOHHS also has a number of vacancies, including for Medicaid director, communications director, BHDDH director (and DCYF, for now, is without a permanent director.)
12. In keeping with the everything old is new again theme of #4, Congressman David Cicilline announced via Twitter that one of his well-known former mayoral and congressional staffers, Christopher Bizzacco, has signed on as the district director of his Pawtucket office. Back in the day, Bizzacco gained notice for how young he was while managing Cicilline’s 2002 victory in a four-way Democratic field. More recently, the Brown alum has served as chief operating officer of Brooke Charter Schools in Massachusetts.
13. Thanks to the RI ACLU, we know that the state Board of Elections on Wednesday night legalized the taking of ballot selfies.
14. With debate continuing over the future of the 6/10 Connector, the City of Providence is slated to hold its latest public workshop on Tuesday, August 30, 6-8:30 pm at the Asa Messer Elementary School. Here’s a recap of the Fix the 6/10 Coalition‘s views on the subject: “GQ and Realtor.com didn’t list Providence as one of the hottest places to be because of out of date infrastructure like the 6-10 Connector. GE isn’t moving a Big Data group to Providence because it takes 22 minutes to get downtown from Cranston instead than 30 minutes. A look at the most prosperous cities in the country will show you a list of cities tearing down their urban highways. A recent George Washington University School of Business study has shown that cities and regions with more walkable neighborhoods perform better economically and attract more high skill job growth. Walkable neighborhoods are also better for your health, according to a recent report by the US Surgeon General. We encourage RIDOT to stand by its commitment to working with the City and its residents and business community. We encourage both RIDOT and the City of Providence to embrace a transparent, collaborative, and open-minded process. As Peter Garino, Deputy Director of RIDOT said at a recent conference, ‘Every time we listen to a host community the design gets better.’ To citizens, neighbors, commuters, business owners, and organizations that care about the future of Rhode Island, we urge you to visit our website to sign up, stay informed and get involved. Fix your taxes. Fix your commute. Fix the environment. Fix the economy. Fix the 6-10.”
15. A proposed carbon pricing law — an idea championed by state Rep. Aaron Regunberg (D-Providence) hasn’t gotten very far in the General Assembly. A federal appeals court nonetheless ruled earlier this month that the federal government was justified in using the social cost of carbon in federal legislation.
16. State Rep. Jan Malik (D-Warren) and his Democratic primary opponent, Jason Knight, are slated to take part in a September 7 debate (Warren Town Hall, 714 Main St. Meet and greet at 6:30 pm, debate at 7 pm) sponsored by the RI League of Women Voters, East Bay Newspapers, Full Channel, and the East Bay Chamber of Commerce …. Meanwhile, Shawna Lawton came under fire from state GOP Chairman Brandon Bell this week for lobbing criticism at GOP rival Steven Frias — while at the same time refusing to debate him.
17. “The sharing economy left unchecked is a sure way to slowly squeeze the little guy,” startup veteran Talman Marco told NPR for this story on how a ride-hailing service, Juno, is competing with Uber and Lyft by offering better treatment to drivers. “And I don’t claim to be a great socialist. I’m really not. But it’s a great way to take the bottom tier of the middle class and push it lower.”
18. RI Public Radio’s John Bender tells the story of how a close friendship was struck between a Providence police officer and a young man who used be on the other side of the law.
19. Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times will offer a keynote address on the morning of Wednesday, August 31, as part of Providence College’s Centennial celebration. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is appearing October 21.
20. Municipal endorsements from the Young Democrats of RI PAC: Pawtucket City Council, Sandra Cano; Pawtucket City Council, Meghan Kallman; Warwick City Council, Jeremy Rix; Warwick City Council, Tanios BouRamia; Pawtucket School Committee, Elena Vasquez; Pawtucket School Committee, Wilder Arbodela; Johnston School Committee, Alex Lucini; Narragansett School Committee, Justin Wolf Skenyon.
