NEWS

Raimondo stays put, at least for now

By IAN DONNIS
Posted 12/10/20

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo made it clear last week that she won't be the Health and Human Services secretary in the Biden administration, but it's unclear where things will go from here. HHS seemed like a bit of a questionable fit for Raimondo (who,

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NEWS

Raimondo stays put, at least for now

Posted

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo made it clear last week that she won’t be the Health and Human Services secretary in the Biden administration, but it’s unclear where things will go from here.

HHS seemed like a bit of a questionable fit for Raimondo (who, State House sources say, told associates that she rejected the post). But it’s conceivable that the governor could still wind up in Biden’s administration, either in the short term or after concluding her tenure.

Raimondo won’t be 50 until next May, so she’s got a lot of runway still in front of her, with ample opportunities in the public and private sector. While a prominent D.C. role certainly holds allure, there are a series of countervailing factors: Rhode Island remains in the teeth of the pandemic; positioning the state’s economy for recovery is a vital legacy issue for Raimondo, considering how she ran in 2014 on the idea of overcoming the Ocean State’s struggles with joblessness; and Raimondo may not be comfortable with the idea of handing her office off to Lt. Gov. Dan McKee, with whom she has shared a frosty relationship.

We should note, too, that the governor has repeatedly downplayed or rejected the idea of her leaving Rhode Island for another government role.

All this said, if Biden’s team offers Raimondo the post of Commerce secretary, could she still go? It would appear to be a strong possibility.

COVID battle continues

Rhode Island remains front and center in the fight against COVID-19. With two field hospitals now operating, Gov. Raimondo said the state lacks the ability to staff them at full capacity.

Dr. Selim Suner, director of disaster medicine and emergency preparedness at Rhode Island Hospital, tells my colleague Lynn Arditi that staffing at the 600-bed field hospital in Providence will be a significant issue even with 100 patients.

Trump’s challenge for other Republicans

President Trump’s false assertions about how Democrats stole the election are a double-edged sword when it comes to the two high-stakes U.S. Senate runoff races in Georgia: Republicans want to maximize turnout for their candidates, Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue. (Outgoing Cranston Mayor Allan Fung is hosting a virtual fundraiser for them on Dec. 16.) But Trump’s rhetoric about supposedly rigged elections could stifle turnout.

The president’s approach has been good for him strategically: Trump’s campaign and the RNC have raised more than $200 million since the election. At the same time, elections officials in Georgia and other states are getting death threats. Despite that, relatively few Republicans are willing to criticize Trump’s rhetoric about the election, in part due to the possibility of his staging another presidential campaign in 2024.

This tightrope walk can be seen in Rhode Island, where RI GOP Chairwoman Sue Cienki invoked upset about the results of the November election while making a call for new Republican candidates. Not long ago, she conceded that some GOP voters were upset by the election results due to their confusion about the process.

The wild card in Providence politics

With 2022 steadily approaching, Nirva LaFortune, Providence’s Ward 3 city councilor, remains a significant wild card in the race to succeed Jorge Elorza (who can’t seek reelection due to term limits). Those expected to run for mayor include Brett Smiley, director of the state Department of Administration; Gonzalo Cuervo, chief of staff for Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea; and City Council President Sabina Matos.

As a Haitian-American with a compelling personal story and a base on the vote-rich East Side, LaFortune has the potential to draw well across broad swaths of Providence. At the same time, she continues to keep her intentions close to the vest.

“I am exploring it, looking at the possibilities,” she said on Political Roundtable last week on The Public’s Radio. “But more importantly, what I want to do is ensure that I’m hearing what the needs are throughout the city of Providence.”

LaFortune said she expects to arrive at some kind of decision next year.

LaFortune on Providence PD

Councilor LaFortune is more straight ahead in her views on the Providence police. Asked by WPRI-TV’s Steph Machado on Roundtable if she supports hiring 50 additional Providence police officers, LaFortune said, “Until we do a full assessment of the need and to see what are the things that are working and are not working. I don’t think it is prudent to hire any police officers, until we have a clear understanding of what are the things that work, and what are the things that don’t work, and if we even have the budget for that.”

Tax battle simmering on Smith Hill

The idea of raising taxes on Rhode Islanders who earn above a certain amount is likely to be a lively issue at the General Assembly next year. Supporters of the concept say the affluent have benefited from a series of tax cuts while depriving the state of more revenue. But the business-backed RI Public Expenditure Council is urging state officials not to raise taxes.

“Policymakers should be recognized for efforts to substantially improve Rhode Island’s business tax climate,” RIPEC President/CEO Michael DiBiase said last week, as part of a report heralding a two-increment improvement, to 37th, in the state’s ranking. “However, our rank is hardly cause for celebration as we are still in the bottom half of states. As the state faces a more challenging economic environment as a result of the pandemic, policymakers need to be even more vigilant to protect the progress we have made over the years and to continue to improve the competitiveness of our broad-based taxes.”

Media blues

The impact of the latest Gannett buyout has become clearer across the region with the departure of reporters like Nick Kotsopoulos, who covered the Worcester City Council for decades for the Telegram & Gazette, and Curt Brown of the Standard-Times, who spent almost a half-century in local journalism. The loss of so many reporters, with their troves of institutional knowledge, is a bad thing for the public interest. Separately, Madeleine List, who did an excellent job covering City Hall in Providence, is leaving the ProJo, as WPRI-TV’s Ted Nesi recently reported.

Grybowski’s gig

Jeff Grybowski, the former Carcieri administration official who later became the CEO of Deepwater Wind, seemed like a potentially interesting gubernatorial candidate – a smart, plainspoken guy with business experience and potential crossover appeal from Democrats to Republicans. But Grybowski tells me he won’t be a candidate in 2022 after taking on a new role as CEO of US Wind, which is developing a large-scale project off the Maryland coast.

Got public transit?

One more from Councilor LaFortune: asked about the clash between public transit customers and RIDOT, over the state’s plan to move transit service away from Kennedy Plaza, she said the public hasn’t been adequately included in the process. “We can’t make a decision for folks who are using the bus on a regular basis without an open and transparent or public process,” she said on Roundtable.

Power outage concerns

Frustration is growing about the increasingly common power outages in Rhode Island.

“Frankly, it has gotten to the point that whenever there is a little bit of rain and wind, everyone is concerned about whether the power will stay on or not,” state Rep. Katherine Kazarian (D-East Providence), said in a news release last week. “And for the amount of money we pay for power, which is one of the highest rates in the country, these constant service outages are unacceptable. In my district, we have lost power four times since April while in Seekonk, right over the border, they have rarely lost power during the same storms. National Grid must fix this persistent and damaging problem.”

And on Twitter, Rep. Brian C. Newberry (R-North Smithfield) observed, “Power goes out in North Smithfield if there is a strong breeze.”

Go big or go tiny

Various ideas have been floated when it comes to boosting Rhode Island’s population and possibly preserving our two congressional districts.

Some wags suggested an organized crime museum (considering how Providence used to be HQ for the New England Mob), but Las Vegas beat us to the punch. Rep. Carlos Tobon (D-Pawtucket) faced criticism for suggesting the use of financial incentives to get people to move here (but that didn’t stop Vermont from actually doing it).

So with data in our email inbox showing that Rhode Island ranks in the top 10 states for popularity of tiny homes, shouldn’t the smallest state (aka Poor Little Rhody, aka the Biggest Little State in the Union) capitalize on our natural affinity with these miniaturized homes?

Ian Donnis is the political reporter for The Public's Radio, Rhode Island's NPR member station. Listen at 89.3 FM or visit www.thepublicsradio.org. You can sign up for weekly email delivery of Ian's column each Friday by following this link: www.lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/PriKkmN/TGIFsignup.

talking politics, Ian Donnis

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