May 10th, 2013 at 11:07 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Dan McGowan
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – R.I. Gov. Lincoln Chafee on Thursday sided with former campaign rival and Moderate Party Chairman Ken Block after Block ripped House Speaker Gordon Fox’s plan to restructure the state’s troubled Economic Development Corporation.
May 3rd, 2013 at 4:27 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Dan McGowan
Providence Mayor Angel Taveras would be midway through his second term as governor before Rhode Island’s capital city could raise commercial property taxes if future city leaders follow through on his pledge to freeze those rates for seven years.
So what do the laundry list of candidates lining up to succeed Taveras think of his proposal? WPRI.com asked every candidate who has expressed interest in running for the city’s top job to weigh in on the Taveras budget proposal.
After the jump, find out what City Council President Michael Solomon, Councilwoman Sabina Matos, state Rep. John Lombardi, Victor Capellan, Lorne Adrain and Maryellen Butke had to say. (more…)
May 1st, 2013 at 10:35 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Ted Nesi and Tim White
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Treasurer Gina Raimondo continued to raise campaign cash at a rip-roaring pace during the first three months of 2013, far outpacing the other leading candidates for the state’s top job.
April 25th, 2013 at 5:15 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Ted Nesi
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – House Democrats led by Speaker Gordon Fox on Thursday proposed a complete overhaul of the state economic agencies as they unveiled a sweeping set of bills they say will “improve the coordination and quality” of Rhode Island’s troubled economy.
The Democrats’ other proposals include bringing back the tax credit for historic buildings, this time capped at $5 million per project and potentially $30 million in total; allowing employers to pay workers biweekly; considering curbs on the overuse of jobless benefits by seasonal employers; and creating a new tax credit for local employers who add jobs after making major capital investments.
April 25th, 2013 at 5:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Dan McGowan
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Less than an hour after the Rhode Island Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to legalize same-sex marriage, Gov. Lincoln Chafee on Wednesday said he met with advocates to begin discussing plans to sign the bill into law “as quickly as possible.
April 24th, 2013 at 2:50 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Dan McGowan
The chairman of Providence’s most powerful City Council committee has landed a job with House Speaker Gordon Fox as a policy analyst, WPRI.com has learned.
Councilman David Salvatore, who heads up the council Ways and Means Committee, was hired April 22 and will earn $53,716 a year.
According to House spokesman Larry Berman, Salvatore will help House develop and implement policies, monitor current and potential legislation and research legislation in other states to develop policy and legislation in Rhode Island.
Salvatore previously worked as an unclaimed property administrator and a business processing manager in the general treasurer’s office, but was let go by Treasurer Gina Raimondo last year. Salvatore claimed his termination was a result of a pension reform op-ed he co-authored in The Providence Journal, but Raimondo called the accusation “absolutely untrue.” (more…)
April 24th, 2013 at 12:09 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Dan McGowan & Ted Nesi
When the Rhode Island Senate meets Wednesday to vote on legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage, it will be taking up an issue that died in the House just two years ago and was still considered a long shot as recently as last winter.
But a savvy political campaign that first threatened and then encouraged state lawmakers – combined with a rapid shift in public opinion – now has Rhode Island poised to become the final state in New England to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.
April 10th, 2013 at 1:07 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
By Dan McGowan
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Flanked by state leaders, R.I. Governor Lincoln Chafee on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping legislative package that would ban semi-automatic weapons, increase prison sentences for those carrying stolen firearms and create a commission to study whether the state should submit mental health records to the federal background check system.
April 9th, 2013 at 5:05 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Same-sex marriage supporters are predicting a heavy turnout Wednesday night at a fundraiser on Providence’s wealthy East Side that will benefit the advocacy group Rhode Islanders United for Marriage.
More than 90 people have RSVP’d to say they’re planning to attend the event at the Firglade Avenue home of Maryellen Butke, the prominent education activist and 2012 state Senate candidate, and her partner, Jo O’Connell. Suggested contributions start at $50.
The host committee for the event includes Democratic Congressman David Cicilline, Treasurer Gina Raimondo, House Speaker Gordon Fox and Pawtucket Sen. Donna Nesselbush, a lead sponsor of the marriage bill. Also on the list are real-estate developer Buff Chace and Xay Khamsyvoravong, who was former Treasurer Frank Caprio’s campaign manager.
March 27th, 2013 at 2:30 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
By Dan McGowan
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – House Speaker Gordon Fox on Wednesday said state lawmakers have not seen a specific proposal detailing the amount of historic tax credits that will be needed to convert Providence’s “Superman building” into apartments.
• Related: Tens of millions in tax credits sought for ‘Superman’ building (March 5)
March 21st, 2013 at 10:21 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
• Update: Fox, Raimondo pitch $70M loan fund for repairs (March 21)
The Rhode Island Clean Water Finance Agency’s motto declares, “Clean Water for Rhode Island is Our Only Business.” But that won’t be true for much longer if Treasurer Gina Raimondo and House Speaker Gordon Fox have their way.
Raimondo and Fox will hold a press conference Thursday morning where they’ll propose adding a new Municipal Road and Bridge Revolving Fund to the water agency’s portfolio of programs. They’ll be joined by Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed and municipal leaders, making this as close to a sure thing as any new legislative proposal can be.
So, you ask, what is the R.I. Clean Water Finance Agency?
The short answer: RICWFA is a quasi-public state agency, similar to better-known entities like the R.I. Economic Development Corporation and the R.I. Airport Corporation. While the Clean Water Finance Agency has a relatively low profile, it plays a key part in financing the maintenance of Rhode Island’s water system. Its basic role is to provide subsidized and low-interest loans to local governments that they use to fund water-infrastructure projects of all sizes.
March 14th, 2013 at 2:28 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Dan McGowan
State Representative J. Patrick O’Neill isn’t taking his punishment from House Speaker Gordon Fox quietly.
The former House Majority Whip called Fox’s decision to remove him from the House Judiciary Committee “immature and shortsighted” and charged that members of the speaker’s leadership team have developed a habit of doing whatever they want without explaining themselves to rank-and-file lawmakers in recent years.
“I understand political retribution, but this is a complete lack of professionalism,” O’Neill told WPRI.com. “Loyalty is a two-way street, but it appears with this speaker, it’s a one-way street.”
March 13th, 2013 at 8:00 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
• Update: Common Cause blasts House Dems over ethics nullification (March 14)
That’s how lawyers for House Democratic leadership kicked off their explanation for why Ajello nullified the vote on Wednesday afternoon when her committee reconvened.
The lawyers say Tuesday night’s surprise vote – which was orchestrated by rebel Democratic Rep. Patrick O’Neill – wasn’t allowed under the House rules [pdf] but Ajello didn’t realize that, so she voted along with the rest of the committee to pass the bill. “They did it in error,” House spokesman Larry Berman told WPRI.com.
Richard Raspallo, legal counsel to House Majority Leader Nick Mattiello, also said the votes taken by the committee Tuesday night will never be posted on the General Assembly’s website because the House rules don’t require committee votes to be recorded there unless the underlying bills are getting a floor vote.
March 12th, 2013 at 9:31 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Rep. J. Patrick O’Neill got a taste of revenge on Tuesday night.
During what was looking to be an uneventful hearing, the Pawtucket Democrat apparently surprised House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Edie Ajello and managed to get the 13-member panel to pass a proposed constitutional amendment [pdf] that would restore the R.I. Ethics Commission’s power to police state lawmakers. Rep. Doreen Costa, R-North Kingstown, seconded O’Neill’s motion.
A spokesman for House Speaker Gordon Fox wasn’t immediately available for comment, and the vote hasn’t been posted online yet. John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island and a longtime proponent of the ethics amendment, was shocked and elated by the sudden turn of events.
“They were intending to hold this bill for further study before Rep. O’Neill made a motion to reconsider,” Marion told WPRI.com. “We were caught off-guard, but we’re delighted because now the whole House of Representatives is going to have to vote on the resolution.”
March 11th, 2013 at 1:57 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
By Dan McGowan
WPRI.com Reporter
With Angel Taveras expected to run for governor next year rather than seek a second term as mayor of Providence, city politicians are already quietly – and sometimes not so quietly – laying the early groundwork for their own campaigns to lead Rhode Island’s cash-strapped capital.
The election is nearly two years away and Taveras could still decide to stay, but here’s who has the early buzz to succeed him. (All fundraising numbers are as of Dec. 31, 2012)
__Running__
Michael Solomon
Biggest Strength: Fundraising
Potential Roadblock: Winning the East Side
The Skinny: No matter what Mayor Taveras does, the Democratic City Council president is dead set on running for higher office. He wants to be mayor and his $183,000 war chest combined with growing name recognition make him the early favorite. But if Taveras stays put and Gina Raimondo is the Democratic nominee for governor, Solomon could run for general treasurer, an office his father held from 1977 to 1985 and again from 1989 to 1993.
Campaign cash on hand: $183,120
February 28th, 2013 at 9:44 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
By Ted Nesi
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – More than half of Rhode Island voters support allowing same-sex marriage in the state, while most opponents of the idea say it conflicts with their religious beliefs, according to a new poll released Thursday by Brown University.
The poll also found Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s approval rating is a dismal 26%. ”Lincoln Chafee still has not been able to move his numbers after over two years as governor,” WPRI 12 political analyst Joe Fleming said.
January 17th, 2013 at 5:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
By Dan McGowan and Ted Nesi
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – The reaction to Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s budget proposal Wednesday night was very different from the response to his first two. Here’s a roundup of reactions from Fox, Paiva Weed, Raimondo, Taveras, Fung, Melo, DaPonte, Newberry and Tanzi.
• Related: Chafee seeks lower corporate tax rate, more school funding (Jan. 16)
January 16th, 2013 at 11:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Never led it be said that House Speaker Gordon Fox isn’t open to suggestions.
After Fox read a WPRI.com post suggesting that the House of Representatives’ economic summit on Thursday should have included someone who understands startup companies, the speaker agreed – and invited Owen Johnson, co-founder of startup accelerator Betaspring, to join the list of speakers.
House spokesman Larry Berman said the lack of startup representation was “inadvertent.”
“When it was pointed out to us that there was no startup, Speaker Fox said immediately that was an oversight – we really need to hear the perspective of a startup company, to see the hurdles that are necessary to start businesses – because we want to attract more businesses – so it’s important to get that perspective from startups,” Berman said.
Johnson will speak on the first panel. The economic summit is Thursday at Rhode Island College.
• Related: Few from private sector invited to RI House economic summit (Jan. 11)
January 11th, 2013 at 5:24 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
The guest speakers at House Speaker Gordon Fox’s big economic conference next week are drawn heavily from the government and nonprofit sectors, with few representatives from private companies.
The agenda released late Friday lists 16 guest speakers, only five of them from private companies. And of those five, one is a former candidate for governor (Ken Block) and two are government officials as members of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation board (Cheryl Snead and Karl Wadensten).
The two other speakers from private firms work for companies that are headquartered in Massachusetts: John Sheets Jr. from Natick-based Boston Scientific and Gary Ezovski, who sold his firm Lincoln Environmental to Woburn-based ATC Group Services back in 2007.
Speaker Fox said the summit is designed so lawmakers can “listen to key people in the trenches,” but the list doesn’t include any Rhode Island business owners or startup executives without ties to government. (Hopefully House members will supplement the summit by watching episodes of Executive Suite.) As for the Senate, Teresa Paiva Weed will lay out her recommendations for improving the economy in a report on Tuesday.
The full agenda for the House summit is posted after the jump. (more…)
November 30th, 2012 at 1:36 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Clearly Lincoln Chafee doesn’t mind bucking public opinion.
With the governor going on national TV to make his second annual push to call the State House spruce a “holiday tree,” it’s worth taking another look at a Brown University survey question on the issue that was published last year.
The poll found an overwhelming 77% of Rhode Island voters said they would prefer the governor call it a “Christmas tree,” while just 11% preferred Chafee’s “holiday tree” formulation, 4% wanted something else and 8% didn’t know.
Treasurer Gina Raimondo, who is expected to challenge Chafee in 2014 if he runs for re-election, is more in line with the general public. “It’s a Christmas tree,” she told The Valley Breeze’s Ethan Shorey on Friday, adding: “That’s on the record.” Providence Mayor Angel Taveras also went with Christmas tree.
The telephone survey of 464 registered voters in Rhode Island was conducted Dec. 2-9, 2011, by Brown’s A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions and John Hazen White Public Opinion Laboratory. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
• Related: Analysis: On ‘Christmas’ trees and the public square in RI (Dec. 2, 2011)
November 16th, 2012 at 5:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
The taxpayer-funded vehicle Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed has admitted to using for a ride home from a Democratic fundraiser is just a small part of the legislative branch’s eight-figure annual budget.
The legislature’s annual spending on its own behalf grew from $28.7 million in 2002-03 to $35.3 million in 2011-12, and its budget is set to rise again to $38.8 million this fiscal year, according to documents obtained from the R.I. Office of Management and Budget.
Where does all that money go? There are at least two ways to look at it.
One way is by type of spending. The vast majority of the legislature’s budget is spent on people – salaries, wages and benefits for personnel, which has grown from $22.4 million a decade ago to more than $30 million:
Another way is by line item. This shows about half the budget goes to the speaker-controlled Joint Committee on Legislative Services, with lawmakers themselves (the General Assembly) getting about $6 million:
• Related: Target 12: ‘Taxpayer taxi’ took Paiva Weed home from Dem gala (Nov. 13)
November 13th, 2012 at 9:50 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Tim White and Ted Nesi
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Rhode Island taxpayers are footing the bill for a government car with a state-employed driver that transported Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed home from the Democratic Party’s biggest bash of the year, a Target 12 investigation reveals.
Target 12 requested details on how often Senate leaders take the state vehicle to or from campaign events, but officials said they have no official policy on how the car can be used and they don’t keep a log of its trips.
November 13th, 2012 at 5:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Providence Rep. Gordon Fox won renomination for another term as House speaker overwhelmingly on Friday night at the first caucus meeting of the House Democrats whom he’ll have to herd starting in January. The speeches were ideologically diverse: Fox was nominated by Providence Rep. Edie Ajello, a staunch liberal, and seconded by conservatives Arthur Corvese of North Providence and Karen MacBeth of Cumberland.
Democrats will hold 69 of the House’s 75 seats in the next session, and 60 of them showed up for Friday’s caucus at the Asian Palace in Providence. Two of the nine absentees – Woonsocket Rep.-elect Stephen Casey and Lincoln Rep.-elect Gregory Costantino – sent their regrets because of prior commitments.
That leaves seven potential dissidents: Woonsocket Rep. Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, South Kingstown Rep. Spencer Dickinson, Coventry Rep. Scott Guthrie, Cranston Rep. Charlene Lima, Cranston Rep. Peter Palumbo, Pawtucket Rep. J. Patrick O’Neill and Providence Rep.-elect John Lombardi.
Baldelli-Hunt, Dickinson, Guthrie, Lima and O’Neill have all clashed publicly with Fox, while Palumbo is a staunch conservative who lost his party’s endorsement this year but prevailed anyway. Lombardi is a mystery.
My colleague Steve Nielsen caught up with Fox outside the caucus and asked about the next session:
An earlier version of this post identified Rep.-elect John Lombardi incorrectly.
November 3rd, 2012 at 5:38 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
House Speaker Gordon Fox pledged on Saturday that the R.I. House of Representatives will vote before the end of January on whether to legalize same-sex marriage.
Fox, a Providence Democrat who’s in the toughest re-election fight of his 20-year career, added specificity to the pledge he made in an interview on WPRI 12′s Newsmakers earlier this year, when he announced he would call a vote in the House on gay marriage during the 2013 session if he got re-elected.
Fox, who is openly gay, told a small crowd of supporters at the restaurant Blaze on Providence’s East Side that he would call a vote “during the third or fourth week of January.” The speaker opted not to call a vote on gay marriage last year because of opposition from leading Senate Democrats including Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport.
Fox’s opponent, independent Mark Binder, has criticized the speaker for failing to call a vote, saying he “put marriage equality on the back burner because he didn’t think it would pass a Senate vote.” Binder says on his website he’s pleased Fox is now calling for a vote, but “I only wish that he’d done it years ago.”
November 2nd, 2012 at 11:27 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
It’s common knowledge that there’s no love lost these days between House Speaker Gordon Fox and his fellow Democrat South Kingstown Rep. Spencer Dickinson. Now Dickinson is backing up his enmity with cash.
Dickinson spent $3,820 of his own money this week on an independent expenditure targeting Fox in House District 4, according to a campaign finance report filed Thursday with the R.I. Board of Elections.
Dickinson reported spending $1,000 with Checkmate Consulting Group, an East Greenwich firm known for producing campaign mailers; $660 at Staples; and $2,160 with the postmaster, all presumably to send campaign literature to voters in the Fox-Binder race.
The speaker’s office led an unsuccessful push to defeat Dickinson in the September primary, which led Dickinson to send his constituents a scathing public letter [pdf] describing Fox as “a dictator.” In recent weeks, Dickinson has endorsed and stumped for Mark Binder, the independent who is giving Fox an unexpectedly strong challenge on Providence’s East Side.
Update: Fox isn’t taking this lightly. The speaker’s campaign filed a campaign finance complaint Friday with the Board of Elections arguing Dickinson isn’t allowed to spend more to help Binder because he already gave Binder’s campaign the maximum legal donation of $1,000.
“There is nothing independent about his illegal contribution to the Binder campaign,” Fox spokesman Bill Fischer said in a statement. “This is a clear case of collusion between Rep. Dickinson and the Binder campaign and it violates state law.”
Fox’s lawyer argues that Dickinson’s $3,820 is a coordinated expenditure, rather than an independent expenditure, under Rhode Island law.
• Related: Watch a Newsmakers debate: Fox vs. Binder (House District 4) (Oct. 21)
October 21st, 2012 at 5:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
October 19th, 2012 at 5:45 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
By Tim White and Ted Nesi
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – House Speaker Gordon Fox defended his record against tough criticism from independent challenger Mark Binder in a televised debate Friday as the powerful 10-term Democrat seeks to hold onto his East Side seat.
October 12th, 2012 at 2:35 pm by Ted Nesi under General Talk, Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Federal politicians aren’t the only ones who’ll be debating on WPRI 12 this month – the candidates in two hotly contested General Assembly races will slug it out on air, as well.
House Speaker Gordon Fox has agreed to debate Mark Binder, his opponent for state representative in House District 4, on a special episode of Newsmakers next week.
Fox, a Democrat, and Binder, an independent, will tape the debate next Friday morning. It will air Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. on WPRI 12 and Oct. 21 at 10 a.m. on Fox Providence. It will also be posted online. Tim White will moderate with Ted Nesi and RIPR’s Ian Donnis on the panel.
Two weeks later, Burrillville Rep. Cale Keable will face off against challenger Donald Fox in a “Newsmakers” debate taping on Nov. 1. Keable, a Democrat, and Fox, a Republican, are having a rematch to represent House District 47 after Keable beat Fox by 197 votes two years ago.
The Fox-Binder and Keable-Fox debates were both requested by viewers, and they follow a series of well-received General Assembly debates on Newsmakers during the primaries, including Dan DaPonte vs. Bob DaSilva, Peter Petrarca vs. Greg Costantino and Mike McCaffrey vs. Laura Pisaturo.
Two WPRI 12/Providence Journal debates for Congress are also still on tap.
In the 1st Congressional District, Democratic incumbent David Cicilline will tangle with Republican challenger Brendan Doherty on Tuesday night – get tickets and submit questions here. For U.S. Senate, Democratic incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse will face Republican opponent Barry Hinckley the following Tuesday, Oct. 23.
September 6th, 2012 at 8:08 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
House Speaker Gordon Fox made a pitch for legalizing same-sex marriage at the Democratic National Convention last night as he cast the state’s 40 votes 35 votes for President Obama and Vice President Biden. Click the photo to watch, via CSPAN:
No word on what Fox’s fellow delegate – Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed – thought of his remarks.
• Related: Watch: Fung, Zaccaria, Carcieri nominate Romney at the RNC (Aug. 29)
July 18th, 2012 at 1:00 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
The health care ruling wasn’t the only major decision the U.S. Supreme Court handed down late last month. On June 25, the high court’s five conservative justices struck down a Montana law limiting campaign spending by corporations to the dismay of Citizens United opponents.
By coincidence, the following day Governor Chafee signed into law the new campaign finance disclosure legislation [pdf] championed by Rep. Chris Blazejewski, D-Providence, and backed by Rhode Island’s top three elected officials: Lincoln Chafee, Gordon Fox and M. Teresa Paiva Weed.
What, if anything, does the Montana decision mean for Rhode Island’s new law? In an email, Blazejewski said the law is meant for the post-Citizens United landscape reflected in the justices’ latest ruling:
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Montana case makes Rhode Island’s new disclosure law more important than ever. The Supreme Court in the Montana case upheld the central outcome in Citizens United, namely that corporations, unions, and other outside groups – including and especially Super PACs – can spend limitless amounts of money influencing our elections. With the Supreme Court’s clear statement that it will not reconsider this damaging decision, Rhode Island’s new disclosure law responds by providing for enhanced disclosure requirements, as expressly contemplated by the Supreme Court, that seek to shine a light and provide greater transparency on the potentially limitless spending of outside groups in our elections.
The new law – which includes a requirement that the final four seconds of independent groups’ political TV ads list its major donors – takes effect immediately, with the first disclosures due by Aug. 1.
• Related: Q&A: How RI’s new Super PAC disclosure rules would work (Feb. 16)
(photo: Ted Nesi/WPRI)