Political Roundtable

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has talked for years about the rightward move of the Supreme Court and the influence of the Federalist Society in shifting the judiciary. Now, following revelations about how a wealthy GOP donor treated Clarence Thomas to luxury trips, more Americans’ share Whitehouse’s concerns. The post Political Roundtable: Whitehouse on debt ceiling showdown, Supreme Court overs...

Neil Steinberg is ending his time as president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, the state’s top philanthropic organization. He started 15 years ago, in 2008, in the teeth of the Great Recession, after working in leadership roles at Fleet Bank and Brown University. Steinberg is credited with more than doubling the assets of the Rhode Island Foundation, and almost doubling the number of grant...

The past year has been an eventful time for Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee. He won a narrow victory in a five-way Democratic primary last September. Then, in November, McKee crushed Republican opponent Ashley Kalus, to win his first full term as governor. The post Political Roundtable: McKee on his education plan, the chill on development, and RI’s healthcare landscape appeared first on TPR: The...

John Goncalves describes himself as the embodiment of Rhode Island’s motto of “hope.” Now the second-term Providence city councilman is one of the 15 Democrats running in RI's 1st Congressional District. The post Political Roundtable: Goncalves on his run in CD1, Providence schools and taxes for non-profits appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Rhode Island’s almost $10 billion state pension fund is in better shape than it was in 2011. That was when then-Treasurer Gina Raimondo spearheaded a plan to overhaul the pension. Raimondo said she wanted to shore up the under-funded pension, so the money would be there to pay future retirees. But public-employee unions sharply opposed […] The post Political Roundtable: Diossa on pension tra...

With a swing of a few thousand votes in 2018, Aaron Regunberg would have been on a path to become Rhode Island’s governor -- before his 30th birthday. The former two-term state representative from Providence is running for the open seat in Rhode Island’s First Congressional District. The post Political Roundtable: Regunberg on his run in CD1, almost winning in 2018, and our partisan divide appeare...

Cedric Huntley has been a leader in efforts to reduce violence in Providence for more than 20 years. He serves as executive director of the Nonviolence Institute, which deploys street workers to mediate conflicts and try to stop violence before it happens. The post Political Roundtable: Huntley on what it takes to reduce violence in Providence – and America appeared first on TPR: The Public's...

Christina Paxson marked her 10-year anniversary as president of Brown University last year. The post Political Roundtable: Paxson on Brown, RI’s healthcare landscape and the university’s plans in the Jewelry District appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Sabina Matos made history when she became Rhode Island’s first Latina Lieutenant Governor in 2021. Now, she’s trying to make history again, as the first Democratic woman to represent the Ocean State in Congress. The post Political Roundtable: Matos on her CD1 run, being lieutenant governor, and the slowdown on development in RI appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Helena Buonanno Foulkes announced this week she’s not running for the open seat in Rhode Island’s First Congressional District. Now that she’s not a candidate, what does the former CVS executive have to say about the top challenges facing Rhode Island? The post Political Roundtable: Foulkes on her political future, RI’s challenges, and the economy appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell claims credit for boosting investment in the port and positioning the former whaling capital to be a leader in the emerging offshore wind industry. New Bedford has a gold mine in its fishing port, arguably the most valuable one in the U.S. But businesses in the seafood industry fear a negative effect from the growth of wind power. What does Mitchell have to say about...

The 35 year-old congressman has emerged as a rising star in Massachusetts politics. The post Political Roundtable: Auchincloss on Ukraine, Biden, Fall River’s economy & more appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Peter Alviti is the longest serving cabinet member in state government in Rhode Island. But the RIDOT chief also has a share of critics. Some of them sounded off during a state Senate confirmation hearing this week, charging that Alviti is too focused on cars. The post Political Roundtable: Alviti on highways, mass transit answering his critics & more appeared first on TPR: The Public's...

Stefan Pryor started on the job as Rhode Island’s secretary of housing earlier this month. Pryor was previously the state’s top economic-development official. He has his work cut out for him in the new role. The post Political Roundtable: Pryor on next steps in confronting Rhode Island’s housing crisis appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Providence still faces problems that have persisted for years, including under-performing schools and an under-funded pension system. Will Smiley be able to make more progress than his predecessors? The post Political Roundtable: Smiley on his priorities, new public safety leadership, Providence schools and more appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

With an acute housing crisis in Rhode Island, Ian Donnis talks with the head of One Neighborhood Builders, a non-profit developer. The post Political Roundtable: Hawkins on Rhode Island’s housing crisis and where things go from here appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

The recent death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police came almost three years after the death of George Floyd. The clear question is, what will it take to stop this? What do police need to do differently to prevent minor infractions from escalating into violent tragedies? Welcome to Political Roundtable. I’m Ian […] The post Political Roundtable: Neronha on guns, RI’s hospita...

Rhode Island lawmakers have found themselves in unfamiliar territory in recent years, thanks to consecutive budget surpluses. The black bottom line is thanks to a windfall of federal COVID aid and higher than expected state tax revenue. Because of the surpluses, lawmakers have not had to wrestle recently with the big annual deficits that had been the norm for more than 20 years. The post DiBiase o...

COVID is bouncing back. Yeah, we’re all tired of the pandemic, but the XBB.1.5 variant really doesn’t care. This highly infectious bug is surging across the US, including in Rhode Island, where the number of COVID cases is spiking. So why does this matter, and where do things go from here? The post Political Roundtable: Ranney on Covid, RI’s hospital landscape, gun violence & more appeared fi...

Thirty-four-year-old Ryan Pearson is the first Millennial to hold a key leadership post in the Rhode Island Senate; he won election in November as the second-ranking member of the chamber. Pearson stopped by our studio to discuss housing, healthcare and a range of other issues, on Political Roundtable. The post Political Roundtable: Pearson on housing, education and healthcare appeared first on TP...

Ian Donnis: Rhode Island House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, welcome back to The Public’s Radio. Joe Shekarchi: Always a pleasure to be here, Ian. Donnis: Rhode Island has an estimated $610 million surplus headed into the next fiscal year. How can the state best use that money? Shekarchi: Well, I don’t like to call it a […] The post Political Roundtable: Shekarchi on legislative priorities, a $610...

Rhode Island moves ahead with legal adult-use recreational cannabis. Plus, the problem of hunger in the Ocean State. The post Political Roundtable: Matt Santacroce, head of RI’s Office of Cannabis Regulation; Andrew Schiff, CEO of RI Community Food Bank appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

State Representative Gregg Amore, an East Providence Democrat, won election last week as Rhode Island’s next secretary of state. He will succeed outgoing Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea in January. Amore stopped by our studio to discuss his approach to the office, the issue of denialism in elections and more. The post Political Roundtable: Secretary of State-elect Gregg Amore appeared first on TP...

Democrats defied expectations in the midterm election that ended Tuesday. In Rhode Island, Seth Magaziner shocked Republican Allan Fung by winning the open seat in the Second Congressional District, and as expected, Governor Dan McKee defeated GOP rival Ashley Kalus. Democrats pretty much ran the table in Rhode Island. But Republicans are expected to win control of the U.S. House, and that would m...

Rhode Islanders will decide a series of key political races when the current campaign season ends Tuesday. Will Allan Fung become the first Republican to win a U.S. House seat in Rhode Island in about 30 years? And will Democratic Governor Dan McKee win a full four-year term? And what does the relatively tepid turnout of mid-term elections say about the health of our democracy? The end of the elec...