Projo Politics Blog

State government may be awash in red ink, but Rhode Island taxpayers are still paying the rent on an empty office in Washington, D.C., that was once occupied by Governor Carcieri’s Capitol Hill lobbyist, a position that has been vacant for more than three years.

The office space, in the coveted Hall of the States Building, at 444 North Capitol St., NW, costs the state about $2,000 per month.

Republican operative and Carcieri policy director Tim Costa was the governor’s last Washington-based lobbyist. Costa left the job in 2005 to return to Providence to serve in the governor’s administration, where he still works.

Carcieri decided not to cancel the office lease because if the state did that, future Rhode Island governors would not get a chance to use the office, which is conveniently situated, said Jeff Neal, the governor’s spokesman.

“That office is in a building that is prime real estate, near the Senate office building [the U.S. Senate’s Dirksen Office Building], Union Station and the Capitol,” he said.

The state’s budget difficulties mean that the lobbying position is not likely to be filled before Carcieri’s term ends, in 2011, Neal added.

Many states have lobbying operations in the nation’s capital, according to the National Governors Conference. The NGA’s headquarters is in the Hall of the States Building.

The state is tying to negotiate a sublease with an entity that needs capital office space, Neal said. “In that way we could keep the lease in the long term and recover some of the costs in the short term,” he said.

--By Scott MacKay
Journal staff writer

Speaking of late nights, Rhode Island Republicans met late into the night Thursday and chose Rep. Carol Mumford, R-Scituate, as the party’s national committeewoman. Mumford succeeds GOP grand dame Eileen Slocum, of Newport. Slocum, 95, has been a party fixture for decades both in Rhode Island and at the national level. She has had health problems of late and recently resigned her post.

Mumford’s election makes her an automatic delegate to the Republican National Convention, which meets in September in St. Paul, Minn.

The delegates, meeting at Lincoln’s Kirkbrae Country Club, also ousted incumbent national committeeman Robert Manning, of Charlestown, an ally of former Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey. Rep. Joseph Trillo, R-Warwick, defeated Manning to become the new GOP national committeeman. Trillo won the position in a multi-ballot race after Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian dropped out of the contest and endorsed Trillo.

Balloting ran past midnight.

--By Scott MacKay
Journal staff writer

Following news that Darrell West, long the public face of polling and punditry at Brown University, is leaving on July 1 to become vice president of the Brookings Institution, the Washington, D.C.-based think tank, the school announced that Marion Orr, a political science professor and expert on urban politics and education will be taking his place at Brown’s Taubman Center for Public Policy.

Orr, who received his doctorate at the University of Maryland, is currently the Fred Lippitt professor of public policy at Brown. Orr has taught courses and done research in urban politics, urban educational policy, African-American politics, and urban poverty.

Orr has written books and lectured frequently on urban politics and school reform and has won numerous awards for his research and writing. He previously taught at Duke University and has been a fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.

--By Scott MacKay
Journal staff writer

Jim Brown will always be remembered by football fans of a certain age as the best running back of his time, and perhaps any time. Brown’s dazzling rushes enlivened many a dark late autumn Sunday afternoon in the 1960s in Yankee stadium in epic games between his Cleveland Browns and the Tittle-to-Shofner New York Giants.

Brown is 72 now, but he still has the charisma of his more youthful days. He was in Rhode Island last week to attend the annual fundraising dinner held by the local chapter of the ALS Association, which raises money for research on the fatal disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, after the famed Yankee slugger.

Brown, a Syracuse lacrosse and football standout, was in the state at the invitation of his old friend, former House Speaker John B. Harwood, of Pawtucket. When Harwood was speaker, Brown came to the State House to talk about his work with inner-city youth gang members.

Seated at Harwood’s table at least week’s event was former Gov. Lincoln Almond and his wife, Marilyn Almond.

Almond said in an interview that he was glad to see Harwood again and hear Brown.

“It was great to see the governor again,” said Harwood. “He looks great,” a reference to all the weight the burly Almond has shed since leaving the State House in 2003.

Harwood said his connection to Brown was forged via New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick. Belichick was a fraternity brother at Wesleyan University of William Devereaux, the prominent lawyer and lobbyist who is a lifelong friend of Harwood. “I know him through the Billy Devereaux connection,” said Harwood.

--By Scott MacKay
Journal staff writer

Three members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation have been recognized for various contributions to U.S. medicine.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse won laurels from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society last week for his efforts to legislate and lobby for high-tech improvements to the medical system. Specifically, the society cited a Whitehouse bill to develop an information technology network for health care. It also noted his call for the removal of a federal ban on electronic prescriptions for controlled substances.

“A tsunami of health care cost is sweeping down on us, inevitably, as baby boomers age and costs increase. We must act now to avert a fiscal crisis,” Whitehouse said in a news release. “Health information technology holds the key to a more efficient, more effective health-care system in this country.”

Over the weekend, Sen. Jack Reed and Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy were honored for their advocacy work by the Diabetes Foundation of Rhode Island. The group recognized the two legislators, as well as Deputy Secretary of State Paul Caranci, at its yearly Sugar Ball, held in Smithfield. “With rapidly growing levels of diabetes and obesity, especially among our nation’s children, it is imperative that organizations such as the Diabetes Foundation of Rhode Island continue to educate the public about the disease of diabetes, its prevention, and ultimately, its treatment,” Kennedy said.

--By John Mulligan
Washington Bureau staff writer

jmulligan@belo-dc.com

Several Smith Hill faces are on the growing list of candidates lining up for a shot to succeed Michael T. Napolitano as the mayor of Cranston.

First, State House lobbyist and former Republican mayoral candidate Allan Fung expressed interest in the job, as did Democratic Representatives Charlene Lima and Peter G. Palumbo.

(Palumbo has since backed off.)

But State House regular Dan Beardsley, who has been the executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns for the last 19 years, has since said he is “very serious” about gearing up for a run.

“I’ve had a longtime interest in elective office,” Beardsley, 61, said last week. “And needless to say, my 34 years at the League of Cities and Towns gives me a unique perspective on what works in local government.”

Other Democratic hopefuls as of this writing included Cranston City Council Vice President Paula B. McFarland and former council members Cynthia M. Fogarty and Mario Carlino.

--By Cynthia Needham and David Scharfenberg
Journal staff writers

Smith Hill politicians last week welcomed a group of young politicians and policy makers from Indonesia.

The group traveled to Providence as part of a trip to learn about state and local governments in this country and to talk about the nature of politics in a country made up of more than 17,500 islands.

The delegation is part of the American Council of Young Political Leaders which, despite its name, comprises young people involved in government in more than 90 countries.

During their 11-day tour, which also includes Washington, D.C., and Nebraska, the visitors are getting a taste of American culture.

-- By Cynthia Needham
Journal staff writer
with reports from Brandi Jefferson
projo.com staff writer