hard deadlines

Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts has decided not to run for Governor, opting instead to seek re-election, she announced on her blog today. While most commentors on her Facebook page supported her decision, a few expressed disappointment that she was not going to be seeking the top spot on the ticket.

In a statement, Robert said, "I’ve spent the past few months exploring a run for governor, and I want to thank all of my supporters and let them know that I will continue to work to turn the page on politics as usual in Rhode Island.”

Roberts pledged to use a second term to continue her work on affordable health care for Rhode Islanders. “I will continue to fight for quality health care for all; a stronger, more diverse Rhode Island economy; and honest, open and effective government," said Roberts. "These have been, and will continue to be, the focus of my public service.”

Resources:
ElizabethRoberts.org
ElizabethRoberts on Facebook
LtGovRoberts on Twitter

The Minnesota Supreme Court has declared Democrat Al Franken the winner in the long-contested Senate race, the New York Times reports.

Engineer Bill McGlinn and defeated candidate Joe Magliocco look on as new Board member Ted Czech signs paperwork.

A full day of voting at the Portsmouth Water and Fire District saw two newcomers narrowly edge out incumbents by razor thin margins in a race where only 284 votes were cast.

The race for Tax Collector was never in doubt, as long-serving (and unopposed) incumbent Guy Polselli racked up an impressive 198 votes.

But in the Tax Assessors' race, two new faces, Ted Czech and Jeff Richard, were challenging the incumbents George Crockett and Joe Magliocco for the two seats. The first run of numbers from the machine were close enough to trigger a machine recount, and then a hand sort which took over two hours. In the end, the numbers were in a pretty tight grouping, with the final count giving Czech 147, Richard at 140, and Magliocco just one vote behind at 139.

Everyone shook hands and called it shortly after 11pm, and they finally unlocked the Water Board office and let everyone go home.

Prior updates:
Update 3 hand count result matches first tape--Richard back in lead Richard 140 | Magliocco 139

Update 2: hand count underway for tax asessor Richard v Magliocco

Update: machine recount now has tie for second position
Top 2: Czech 144 | Richard 137 | Magliocco 137 | Crockett 116
Unopposed Poliselli 198

[Originally posted and updated live onsite with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Reminder: today is election day at the Portsmouth Water and Fire District. Voting is quick and easy, just head on down to the office at 1744 East Main Road until 9pm. harddeadlines endorses the incumbents. For tax assessor: George D. Crockett Joseph A. Magliocco For tax collector: Gaetano Polselli.

Update:
As of about 8:30am, there were only 22 votes cast. (Hint, hint) Verified with poll workers that I will be able to report on the tallies after polls close. Will post shortly after 9pm.

Election day for the Portsmouth Water and Fire District is Wednesday, June 10, and even if you never voted before, you should this year. Here's why: Running against the incumbents is at least one person with close ties to the PCC, and if they get their base to the polls, they can easily tip a small election like this.

Why should you care? The PCC has worked hard to cut budgets in the Town government and the Schools. Do you really want anti-taxers to make decisions about our water supply?

Very few people turn out for these elections, so your support for is crucial. It's quick and easy, just head on down to the office at 1744 East Main Road between 7am and 9pm on Wednesday. harddeadlines endorses the incumbents.

For tax assessor:
George D. Crockett
Joseph A. Magliocco

For tax collector:
Gaetano Polselli

I'll tell you my paranoid theory about why tax rebels would be interested: Infrastructure. You can starve development if you can control water supply. Or maybe, just maybe, they took my suggestion that the District is the natural home for any sewer project seriously. You can read my earlier coverage here.

Full disclosure: My uncle, Steve Kirkwood, served on the board in the 1960s.

Terri Cortvriend at PHS gym mezzanine opening October, 2008.

If the headline didn't tip you off, let me say right up front that I am biased in favor of appointing someone to the Portsmouth School Committee with recent experience, familiarity with the issues, and the best interests of our students at heart, and I strongly believe Terri Cortvriend meets those key criteria. With the Town Council meeting Monday night to consider applicants for a vacancy, I would urge all parents and school supporters to show up and stand to say a few words; it makes a big difference to our elected officials when they see a long line of people queued up at the microphone on an issue. Let's be sure the friends of our schools are well represented.

This should be a no-brainer: Cortvriend ran a write-in campaign for School Committee last November and received 1,496 votes. (As a snarky aside, let me note that the turnout at the 2006 Tent Meeting which gutted the school budget was only 1,284*). The only reason Cortvriend was not an endorsed Democratic candidate was that she made the decision to run after their deadline. She has clearly earned wide support in the community and the Council should consider that.

And I want to make a personal observation. There are some politicians who lose elections and disappear. They stop showing up at Council or School Committee meetings. Six months later there's no sign of them. My metric for whether someone really cares is whether they show up and participate even if they lose or get voted off. Terri has been at just about every School Committee meeting since November, and she engages and is on top of issues. I know, because I cover these meetings.

Qualifications? Cortvriend has served for four years on the School Committee, and in the last two has led the Gym Construction Oversight Committee (GCOC) which saw the successful opening of the new facility and the buildout of the mezzanine weight room. She has been [and continues to be*] an appointed member of the Facilities Committee which has been analyzing the current school buildings and developing recommendations for enhancing and sustaining our infrastructure. She was a participant in the two-day (1/10/09, 1/11/09) Future Search workshop to generate a strategic plan for the District.

When Cortvriend announced her write-in candidacy last October, standing with her at the Portsmouth Playground were fellow committee members Sylvia Wedge and Marge Levesque, former member Dave Croston, Rep. Amy Rice, and Sen. Chuck Levesque.

Also on hand were State Senator Chuck Levesque and Rep. Amy Rice. Calling the school committee the "toughest job in the state of Rhode Island," Levesque voiced his support for Cortvriend's candidacy. "With Sylvia Wedge, I give her credit for restoring the financial integrity of the schools," said Levesque. Rep. Rice [...] added her endorsement. "Terri has worked really hard for the Town of Portsmouth, the children, and the teachers," said Rice, "I support her wholeheartedly."
— hard deadlines, 10/1/08

School Committee member Marge Levesque endorsed Cortvriend in a letter to the editor published here, and which I think is on point for the deliberation of filling a vacancy:

"A Member must first be dedicated to the students not just in words but in actions, secondly, s/he must understand or investigate all issues brought forward, in other words s/he does her home work, and thirdly, s/he listens to all sides before making a decision. Every decision that is made makes some happy and others not. As you, the voters, have been bombarded with this stuff let me cut to the chase; the records of Terri Cortvriend and Sylvia Wedge stand committed to the students. You need only to look at our new gym and the recently completed mezzanine for proof."
— School Committee member Marge Levesque

I don't have to tell you this is a difficult time for our town or our schools. We need someone who can hit the ground running. If you can't be there Monday night, please take a few minutes this weekend to let the Council know how deep Terri's support is. Thanks for everything you do.

Resources:
TerriCortvriend.com
Agenda on file at Secretary of State Web site (20k PDF)

2008 Election coverage
Letter to the Editor from Terri Cortvriend
Save Our Schools endorses Cortvriend
Former committee member Dave Croston endorses Cortvriend
Cortvriend announces write-in campaign, quotes from Levesgue, Rice

Town Council phone numbers available on the Portsmouth Town Council page, or use their e-mails: pmcintyre@portsmouthri.com, hlittle@portsmouthri.com, dcanario@portsmouthri.com, kgleason@portsmouthri.com, khamilton@portsmouthri.com, jplumb@portsmouthri.com, jseveney@portsmouthri.com

Full disclosure: I supported Cortvriend last November. I am an appointed member of the school Facilities Committee. I am a Democrat. I have a child in the Portsmouth school system. My wife is a teacher (in Massachusetts). I operate a local news blog and cover the School Committee and Town Council. I am writing this sentence.

*Clarifications: The turnout for the Tent Meeting was obviously just about twice this number; this is the number of citizens who remained in the tent and voted for the cut. Terri currently serves on the Facilities Committee, where she is secretary. I did not mark this post updated since these were not corrections but clarifications.

According to Portsmouth Canvasser Madeleine Pencak, the RI Board of Elections has confirmed that Jim Seveney has defeated Joe Robicheau for the 7th seat on the Town Council. When reached by phone this morning, Ms. Pencak did not have the final tally from the Board of Elections, but she did confirm that the result was official.