So what happens when you go after the king . . . and he survives? The 19 dissident Democrats who opposed Nicholas Mattiello’s reelection as House speaker found out last week. From the ProJo:
When the new 2019-20 House committee assignments were announced, Mattiello had stripped three insurgents of their chairmanships, and others in the 19-member “Reform Caucus” were bounced from coveted seats on the powerful House Finance and House Judiciary Committees.
In their place Mattiello named loyalists, including new chairmen for the House Environment, Municipal Government and Small Business Committees. All were led by Reform Caucus members.
Further, anyone who requested a specific committee was specifically denied that position, despite their expertise and experience in the area.
Examples: Providence public school teacher Rep. Marcia Ranglin-Vassell was removed from the Education Committee. Rep. Susan Donovan, who teaches a course on the environment, was removed from the Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
The dissidents stripped of chairmanships were Rep. Kathleen Fogarty, D-South Kingstown, (Municipal Government); Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown, (Small Business); and Rep. Arthur Handy, D-Cranston, (Environment and Natural Resources). They were replaced by Rep. Joseph Solomon, D-Warwick; Rep. Gregg Amore, D-East Providence; and Rep. David Bennett, D-Warwick, respectively.
So where is all this expertise going? Many Reform Caucus members have been assigned to the Committee on Special Legislation . . . home to license plate bills, etc.
UpriseRI reports on how the inverted political landscape of our general assembly creates perverse alliances that must absolutely mystify newcomers to the state.
The nine Republican members of the House, on the other hand, are sitting pretty with plum Committee assignments, thanks to Speaker Mattiello.
UpriseRI has a comprehensive list of the assignments at “Speaker Mattiello retaliates against Reform Caucus members with committee assignments.”