Projo Politics Blog

The State House was a ghost town last week as the legislature enjoyed its final week off before what will likely be an intense 10-week sprint to the end of the session.

Governor Carcieri was among those who took advantage of the break. He was out of state all week and isn’t expected back until early this week, according to his spokesman, Jeff Neal.

“Governor Carcieri used the opportunity provided by the legislature’s spring vacation week to take time off,” Neal told Political Scene. “He visited family in Ohio and spent time with family in Florida.”

The governor’s chief of staff, Brian Stern, was also on vacation last week. Neal wouldn’t detail where Stern had gone, saying only that Stern “also used the legislative break to take time off with his family out of state.”

Stern directed state government’s reaction to the now-infamous Dec. 13 snowstorm when Carcieri was in the Middle East.

So, with the governor and his right-hand man out of state last week, who was running the state?

“Governor Carcieri is leading state government,” Neal told Political Scene. “Governor Carcieri has been in touch with this office every working day while he was outside Rhode Island. He has been consulted on every decision that required his input or guidance. Throughout this period, we had the ability to contact him at any time of the day or night.”

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