EDITORIAL

Mattiello’s ’positive‘ thinking

Posted 12/4/14

Newly elected legislators got an introduction to the workings of the State House at a daylong orientation Tuesday.

What they saw bears little resemblance to what they’ll find in another six …

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EDITORIAL

Mattiello’s ’positive‘ thinking

Posted

Newly elected legislators got an introduction to the workings of the State House at a daylong orientation Tuesday.

What they saw bears little resemblance to what they’ll find in another six months as the leadership presses to close out the session and lobbyists work the halls and the phones in an effort to amend, pass or kill bills of interest to their clients. In those final days, bills that have carried the headlines throughout the session and seemingly are destined to become law mysteriously evaporate, while others appear out of nowhere like mushrooms.

Keeping track of the fast-paced action is daunting even for the most seasoned legislator. One can only wonder how these 15 freshly minted representatives and four senators will make sense of it all.

But on Tuesday, Christmas trees and small tour groups outnumbered legislators those in the stately halls. A lobbyist wasn’t to be found either.

The representatives-elect ended their day in the House lounge, where they listened to leaders from both parties offer advice on how to approach what they will face after being sworn into office on Tuesday, Jan. 6.

Much of what they heard could be applied to anyone entering a new job or a school. They were told not to be afraid to ask questions, bring forth ideas and to act civilly with one another. In debating the issues, veteran Rep. Joseph McNamara told them to stick to the issues and never to personally attack one another. It’s good advice and something that hopefully is practiced by all lawmakers, although that hasn’t always been the case.

House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello took it a step further, applying the same axiom to the state.

To make the point of how Rhode Islanders can be their own worst enemies, he said if you were to say something bad about Texas in a Texas bar you would be thrown out, but say something bad about Rhode Island in a Rhode Island bar and 12 people will buy you a drink.

His advice is for legislators to stay positive and be ambassadors for the state. That’s not to say there won’t be disagreements, or to suggest that legislators should don rose-colored glasses.

But his point is well taken. If legislators, for that matter the rest of us Rhode Islanders, think we’re losers, well, guess what – that’s what we’ll be.

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