2014’s Rhode Island elections are drawing near, and one candidate for the lieutenant governor’s office is looking to eliminate it altogether. Vice Chairman of the Libertarian Party Rhode Island and radio show host Tony Jones seeks election to the office – only to dismantle it – and would do this without taking salary or staff. […]
I was asked to write about the three primaries I find most interesting. I am not the person to be writing about primaries because 20 years ago I filed a federal suit asking that primaries be either eliminated or paid for by the parties instead of the taxpayers. My primary bitch, then and now, relates […]
The doors won’t open for another 30 minutes, but already a crowd is gathering at the side entrance of All Saints’ Memorial Church on the west side of Providence. Right at 4 o’clock a sea of people crams through the entrance, along a downstairs hallway, around a corner and into the parish hall where one […]
Michael Solomon is wearing several hats these days: Providence City Council president, candidate for mayor and veteran businessman, a job Solomon had long before he got into politics. Solomon’s most high-profile business is Wes’s Rib House in Olneyville. He also owns a catering company off Mount Pleasant Avenue. But it’s a business project in this […]
Being Libertarian-leaning, I am not overly interested in what a political hack promises to do for me or my causes. I am more interested in what a candidate can do to get government out of my life. Having a candidate tell me what government can do about any issue is an assault on my own […]
It’s hardly any secret that the Rhode Island economy is in bad shape. In the most recent monthly data from June 2014, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 7.9 percent – a tie for worst in the nation between Rhode Island and Mississippi. It has been a lot worse, and Rhode Island improved since June […]
As we enter the final stretch of the Rhode Island Gubernatorial primary races, we are faced with four viable Democrats and two viable Republicans. I will immediately eliminate one of the Democrats involved in the contest. Sorry Mr. Giroux. You are an interesting man. But, barring a catastrophic event that vaporizes the three other Democrats […]
1. Providence Mayor – Democrat Ordinarily the Democratic primary IS the election, because no Republican has been elected as Providence mayor since 1978 – the final time Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci, Jr., ran as a Republican, before winning re-election as an independent in 1982. The general election is expected to be a three-way contest between […]
Zombies, Brains and the FY 15 Budget Rhode Island has officially entered the race to the bottom. The new Speaker of the House chanted the phrase “jobs and the economy” the way a staggering zombie bellows the word “brains.” And, much like the dreaded infectious bite of the undead, the chant became a chorus of […]
Key issues We asked our resident data nerd, political operative and angry outlier (and concerned mother of three) what they thought were the key issues facing candidates. With a range of conservative and liberal perspectives, here’s what they think. By Mike Bilow, “Its the Economy, Stupid“ By Jonathon Jacobs, “Zombies, Brains, and Arts Education” By […]