Step right this way. The 2021 session of the General Assembly opens Tuesday with eight new Senators and 14 new Representatives. Katherine Gregg has a comprehensive write-up in the ProJo with personal bios of incoming legislators: But the 38-member Senate will now have a record number of women (19), and the two chambers will have …
House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello will not be returning to the general assembly in January, and having been one of his more vocal critics over the years, I should probably have commented on that glorious news by now. But, like millions of other Americans, until last Saturday I was curled up in a fetal position under …
Imagine if you will: It’s opening day of the new general assembly, January 2021, Dominick Ruggerio has just been ousted as senate president while his buddy, citizen Mattiello, is back in Cranston explaining to the Little League parents that the taxpayers of Rhode Island will no longer be subsidizing their kids’ hobbies. This all could …
You know how when the kids are upstairs playing and making a lot of noise, and then suddenly it gets real quiet . . . that’s the feeling people on both sides of the aisle are getting about House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, two of the four members of the obscure …
(1.7) A worker puts the finishing touches on some much needed renovations performed during the recess. (Apparently rain was coming through the skylight in the Senate chamber.) Technology also needed updating. According to the ProJo, “Both chambers’ sound systems have been improved with new speakers and microphones. A new hearing loop system, which transmits sound …
Ah yes, the Rhode Island Statehouse where the West Wing Cafe is located in the easternmost wing of the building, and where many of our so-called Democrats are really Republicans. (Both Senate President Ruggerio and House Speaker Mattiello have A-ratings from the NRA and have been endorsed by RI Right to Life. Mattiello wears Trump …
(3.6) Contact your senator! And Senate President Dominick Ruggerio while you’re at it. (Maybe we can scare up an opponent for him by 2020. According to Ballotpedia, Ruggerio ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections of 2018, 2016, and 2014. He last faced a Republican opponent in 2012.) Common Cause of Rhode Island …
Yes, that’s right — I am urging the people of House District 15 to vote for a Republican! This may seem like an unusual position for a progressive democrat, but keep in mind, in any other state our odious Speaker of the House, Nicholas Mattiello, would be a Republican. Upon acceding to the throne, his …
Steven Frias For State Rep — Get Mattiello Outta Here! Read More »
This is the online advocacy tool we didn’t know we needed. For providing an overview of where the general assembly, or your specific state rep or senator, stands on a particular issue, this new website will prove invaluable. It is the product of local citizen activists Kath Connolly and Jeremy Giller who invite everyone to …
‘See Votes RI’ — Keeping Tabs On The General Assembly Read More »
All of them. While we all wait for the other, more salacious, shoe to drop regarding the investigation of former State Rep and House Finance Chairman, Ray Gallison, D-Bristol, the Providence Journal has been focusing on the general abuse of what are called legislative grants. Thursday’s one-inch headline “Grants Misused” and today’s equally bold “A …
A swing and a miss! “The PawSox is an issue that’s just not ready, and it may never be ready to be addressed. I don’t know if the ballpark is going to happen or not.” House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello seems to be losing confidence in his ability to pull this off. (ProJo 9.3.15) A great …
(3.4) Hands down the best looking guy in the general assembly — there, I said it. But here’s the kicker, he’s also smart and honest and compassionate, and did I mention smart? So even if you aren’t lucky enough to live in District 2 you should want him at the state house. I don’t want …
Blue is the new Red. Those trying to suss out the reconfigured cast of characters in the new general assembly and the extreme conservative ideology of its democratic leadership should read “Rhode Island Republicans join State House machine” (ProJo 1.14.15) by Sam Bell, state coordinator of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats. The explanation lies in …
It always sounds like such a good idea. On election day in November, Rhode Island voters will be asked if they want to hold a Constitutional Convention in 2015. Dr. Pablo Rodriquez, former medical director for Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island and one of the bravest people anywhere, has a great op-ed piece in Monday’s …
The good people over at Regulate Rhode Island have been spearheading the effort to pass legislation that would tax and regulate marijuana in Rhode Island. They have been organizing, lobbying, and spreading the word, but now it’s time for you to step up. (Why Regulation? — go here.) You need to contact your legislators and …
(5.13) Co-presented with Rhode Island Public Radio, Policy & Pinot is a timely conversation series on vital issues facing our state. RIPR’s Political Roundtable team of political reporters Ian Donnis and Scott MacKay, along with URI Professor of Political Science Maureen Moakley and frequent Roundtable guest Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, analyze the local and national political scene. Free and …