Happy spring (although it may not feel like it for days, if not weeks), and thanks for stopping by for my weekly column. As usual, your tips and thoughts are welcome at idonnis (at) ripr (dot) org, and you can follow me on the twitters. Let’s head in.
1. Fittingly enough, Twin River is the venue where retired public employees will vote Monday on whether to accept or reject a settlement in the legal challenge to the 2011 overhaul of the state pension system. If the settlement is ultimately rejected, it will constitute a major gamble on a multi-year, multi-stage court fight filled with a Pandora’s box level of uncertainty. That explains why state officials and a lot of their union counterparts want a settlement. For now, the process — even what will constitute approval or rejection of a deal — remains shrouded in secrecy, due to the latest gag order imposed by Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter. Asked during this week’s RIPR Political Roundtable whether it’s appropriate to keep confidential a matter involving $4 billion of taxpayers’ money, Governor Gina Raimondo said, “I have to respect the judge’s wishes … She’s doing what she thinks is best and we’re going to honor that. I think it’s fairly typical in settlement discussions for the substance to be confidential during the period of the settlement.” (However, as Andrew Morse noted in a previous edition of TGIF [item #13], the limits of judicially imposed secrecy in court cases remains debated by legal scholars.) As it stands, the public employees voting on the proposed settlement may learn key details about the deal right before voting on it. If the pension fight ultimately goes to court, and the unions lose, recriminations will abound. A settlement also remains very much in the favor of Raimondo, who spearheaded the pension overhaul in 2011, and her political peers. Put another way, do Rhode Island Democrats want to be held up by out-of-state conservatives for a court-sanctified overhaul of union members’ pension benefits?
2. What are the top five issues facing Governor Raimondo and the General Assembly? I shared my thoughts as part of a 50-state overview conceived by Congressional Quarterly/Roll Call. You can download the full report (after sharing a few details).
3. A House Fiscal staff analysis raising questions about parts of Raimondo’s budget shows how the General Assembly is clawing back its institutional turf after the governor’s early time in the limelight. Some of the questions (more on them here from Ted Nesi) may be due to the ridiculously compressed timetable in which a new governor needs to hire staff, assemble a cabinet, and sign off on an initial budget — all in slightly more than two months. For her part, Raimondo remains a staunch defender of her spending plan. Speaking during RIPR’s Political Roundtable and Bonus Q+A this week, she characterized her approach as balanced, with sufficient money earmarked for sparking economic development.
4. Governor Raimondo insists her administration’s effort to reinvent Medicaid can save money, improve on past mistakes, and do all this without harming people. “Without hurting people, absolutely,” Raimondo said during our Bonus Q+A segment (at about 5:08). “In fact, I think we can have a more efficient healthcare system, eliminating waste, eliminating fraud, eliminating misuse of healthcare facilities, keeping people at home with the right level of services, instead of putting them in a nursing home. Now, do I think it’s going to be incredibly difficult and cause us to change and cause hospitals and nursing homes to re-think their business models? Absolutely.” Meanwhile, the 800-pound gorilla in the room is how a very big chunk of subsidized healthcare spending goes for the last six month of peoples’ lives — a period known as the third rail of US healthcare policy. Americans aren’t comfortable with end of life issues — “death panels,” anyone? That’s a big cultural challenge extending way beyond Rhode Island.
5. Raimondo is reserving judgment on a possible PawSox ballpark in Providence until more details become available. Asked on RIPR’s Bonus Q+A whether relocating the team a few miles from Pawtucket represents the best use of the former I-195 land, Raimondo said, “It’s an excellent question and the answer is, it depends on the details and I haven’t seen yet a proposal. It seems like staying in Pawtucket isn’t an option. The new owners have said they’re leaving Pawtucket, and I do want to keep the PawSox in Rhode Island …. I’m optimistic that there’s a deal to be done which is good for the taxpayers of Rhode Island. Having said that, I am strongly of the view that we need to use the vast majority of that 195 land to set Rhode Island on a path of a more innovative economy.” Meanwhile, on the question of how much she’d support in public subsidies for the PawSox, Raimondo said, “That’s an impossible question to answer. It all depends on how the deal is structured. You know, is it going to be used at a catalyst to bring in other commercial development? You got to look at the deal in its totality, so let’s see what they have in mind, and then we’ll take a hard look at it.”
6. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good — like RI’s unemployment rate improves to eighth-worst in the nation after you’ve been governor for less than three months. It’s not hard to imagine that, somewhere, Lincoln Chafee is face-palming his frustration.
7. Here’s a briefing from ace RIPR education reporter (and interim news director) Elisabeth Harrison: “Roughly 85,000 Rhode Island students in third grade through high school are expected to take the new standardized test known as PARCC this year. For nearly 80 percent of schools, that means an online test, which began on Monday. So far, most districts are reporting only minor technical problems. The major exception is Mt. Hope High School in Bristol, which delayed the start of testing by one day after encountering what district officials described as a ‘technical glitch.’ The district says the problem was resolved and testing resumed smoothly on Tuesday. Much attention has been paid to the question of opt-outs. That is, how many parents would refuse to let their children take the test, which has been criticized for being too difficult, too long and not useful for teachers. State education officials vigorously disputes all of those claims. According to my unofficial tally, the opt-outs have been generally small, with a few exceptions. In East Providence, 410 students refused to take the test, about 13 percent of the tested student population. In Westerly, officials reported 6.5 percent opting out. In Cumberland it was 4 percent. Everyone else who reported back to me was 1-2 percent.”
8. The influence of progressives in the generally socially conservative RI House has waxed and mostly waned in recent history. Yet Representative Aaron Regunberg (D-Providence) is a savvy organizer, so his legislative focus on hiking the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers bears watching. Hiking the $2.89 wage for tipped workers will cause higher food prices and lower tips, according to restaurant owners like Bob Bacon of Gregg’s. Opponents have this analysis, while supporters have their own preferred data. Meanwhile, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello is keeping an open mind on the issue, according to spokesman Larry Berman. “He realizes that the sub-minimum wage hasn’t been raised in many, many years and he is considering the arguments very carefully,” Berman said. “He is very impressed with the case being made by Rep. Regunberg.”
9. Could Gina Raimondo be a one-term governor? It seems unlikely, given Raimondo’s networking, her prodigious fundraising ability, and her rising national profile. It’s also entirely unsurprising that a first-term governor would want to remain opaque about her political future after less than three months on the job. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting Raimondo’s phrasing in responding to a question about whether it will require two terms to realize her goals on revitalizing Rhode Island’s economy. “You know, it’s a continuous improvement,” Raimondo said (at about 4:53) during her Political Roundtable appearance. My job is to set Rhode Island on a path [to improvement] ….. “
10. Former Providence Phoenix news editor Phil Eil has the first part of the “lawyers, guns and money” triad, now that the Rhode Island chapter of the ACLU is representing him in his long-running battle to get court documents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration. As Eil said, “You can’t have a true democracy without a transparent court system, and this case represents an egregious failure of judicial transparency. The right to a public trial is a basic tenet of our society, and it’s scary to think that any trial in the United States, especially one of this magnitude, would be retroactively sealed off from public view, as this case has.”
11. Given terror attacks in the Middle East and obsessive cable news coverage of sensational crimes, news consumers could be forgiven if they thought war and violence are on the rise. But it’s just not so.
12. Republicans have had considerable electoral success in Cranston over the years, so we asked Cranston Republican City Committee Chairman Nick Lima (who recently won re-election) what the GOP needs to do differently to win more campaigns. Here’s part of his response, via email: “When I sit in a Cranston Republican City Committee meeting, I don’t hear right-wing talking points, overzealous arguments about social issues, extreme views, or any number of other stereotypes often cast against the GOP; I hear community-minded, regular folks talking about what’s wrong in local and state government, and what can be done to fix it. I hear people who want to give a voice to the taxpayers, as opposed to a voice for the politically connected. Perhaps most importantly, I hear common sense, and a desire from everyone to effect positive change upon the state and community they live in. So, how do Republicans become more competitive in this bluest of blue states? Recruit and support candidates like the people sitting in my city committee meetings — candidates who are connected to the community, represent their values, and are willing to be true leaders in fighting for their neighbors’ collective interests in government. It takes a lot of hard work to inform people; it takes time and energy to reach out to voters and connect with them personally; and it takes intelligent, thoughtful candidates to actually change voters’ impressions about what this party, in this state, is all about: accountability, responsibility, and service to the people. I see the path to success. I see the future leaders of our communities and our state sitting around a conference table in our committee meeting — all worried about our future, and wondering aloud what they can do to make it more promising for everyone. That’s why they got involved. But the next step takes a leap of faith. It takes courage to run for office — and support from many people — and it takes a leader to run a campaign that effectively convinces voters of the truth. However, if we can bridge that gap — if we can recruit and support the right people to work up the courage to run (and I see them everywhere I go), and then communicate our message effectively with the electorate, I believe they will see the truth of who we are. They will see the truth that they and their values are represented in us, not just by us.”
13. US Representative David Cicilline continues to stockpile campaign money ahead of the 2016 election season. His next fundraiser is at 5 pm Monday, March 30, at the Prospect Street home of Malcolm Chace Jr. Suggested contribution levels are $500, $1,000 and $2,700.
14. At least two candidates have emerged so far in the race to succeed the second-most senior member of the RI House, Representative Donald Lally (D-Narragansett), who made a surprise announcement to leave the chamber this week: Narragansett Town Councilor Susan Cicilline Buonanno — the sister of Congressman Cicilline — and, as the SK Independent reports, South Kingstown Town Councilor Carol Hagan McEntee. The special election for the seat being vacated by Lally is on for June 9.
15. Today marks the deadline for applications to fill the vacancy being created by US District Court Judge Mary Lisi‘s retirement from active service. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse are expected to form a recommendation for a successor in the months to come, and the names of applicants are not being made public. “There isn’t a firm timetable,” Reed spokesman Chip Unruh said. “The senators want to move thoughtfully and efficiently to recommend someone for this important federal judgeship who will serve the people of Rhode Island with professionalism, integrity, and distinction.”
16. First, Governor Raimondo teamed up with Lieutenant Governor Daniel McKee on an effort to improve the efficiency of municipal services — a noteworthy development considering the level of Democratic support last year for McKee’s GOP opponent, Catherine Taylor. This week, Raimondo and Treasurer Seth Magaziner rolled out plans for a new infrastructure bank — a top budget priority for Magaziner. While some Statehouse insiders wonder who has the governor’s ear, Raimondo’s pairing-up with the two general officers offers some insight into elements of her governing style: build consensus and involve other people when you can.
17. Since I tweeted my disgruntlement about snow remaining on parts of Providence’s streets, I’ll give equal time to transportation planning advocate James Kennedy‘s take on how the Renaissance City “should be about people, not parking.” Excerpt: “We hear complaints of traffic associated with new projects, but the traffic results from there being ample spaces to park. The city of Zurich, Switzerland, has had a policy since the 1990s of limiting new parking only to garages that remove an equal number of parking spaces from somewhere on the street. These spaces are then used to create bikeways, transit lanes, sidewalks, or places for open markets. The Design Committee should take an active interest in pushing, at the very least, a parking-neutral approach to downtown growth. This parking-neutral approach met with much resistance from the business community in Zurich when first proposed, but was almost immediately understood to be a boon to profits when it was finally implemented, and now is wildly popular.”
18. Cartoonist Irwin Hasen, who died this week at age 96 was one of a kind. Although short in stature, Hasen lived a large life, co-creating the “Dondi” comic strip, dating showgirls, living in New York, and consorting with a circle of fellow cartoonists. I got to know Irwin as a family friend and he was a trip, politically incorrect to the max and fond of telling ribald stories. He was still sharp when I last visited with him a year ago in his wet bar-equipped Manhattan apartment, where “the walls were covered with his sketches of the naked likenesses of former girlfriends, often in haremlike groups, with Mr. Hasen caricatured impishly serving them cocktails.” Rest in peace, Irwin.
19. While redistricting has generally advantaged Republicans in US House races, Chris Cillizza says Democrats still hold an upper hand in the Electoral College for 2016.
20. Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, the creator of “Chief Gansett” and promotional art for Narragansett Beer, is getting a museum in his hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts.
