New week, new speaker.
The Chris Blazejewski era officially begins this week in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, and the newly elected speaker is already gearing up for a busy couple of months. So what should we expect from Speaker Blazejewski?
Here are the first major tests facing the new speaker.
Get Shekarchi over the finish line
Former speaker Joe Shekarchi still has to clear a few Supreme Court hurdles on his own when it comes to the opening he is seeking, including fighting an ethics complaint and getting through the Judicial Nominating Commission. But then all eyes turn to Blazejewski, who as the new speaker will have enormous influence over the process. It’s possible that this gets worked out seamlessly behind the scenes, but if Governor Dan McKee is at all hesitant about appointing Shekarchi, it will be up to Blazejewski to blaze the path.
Protect his team
Blazejewski became speaker with unanimous support from House Democrats, which gives him no reason to support challengers against incumbents this summer. That makes life easier. But the newly created League of Rhode Island Businesses is supporting primary or general election opponents against several sitting lawmakers, including Representatives Tina Spears, Megan Cotter, Sam Azzinaro, Carol Hagan McEntee, and Kathy Fogarty.
Helping those incumbents is especially important in year one as speaker.
Land the budget plane
Things just got much smoother late last week when the Revenue Estimating Conference determined that the state has an extra $233 million to work with for the budget year that begins July 1. That’s going to create new pressure on Blazejewski to pump the brakes on the proposed millionaires tax, although the general consensus is that lawmakers will move forward with raising taxes on the wealthiest Rhode Islanders.
Find his passion project
Blazejewski is the most progressive speaker the state has seen in recent memory, but we don’t yet know what he actually cares about. Shekarchi made housing a top priority. Is Blazejewski willing to go all-in on education and all the potentially difficult decisions that can come with that issue (funding, charter schools, takeovers, etc.)? Will he seek to be all things to all people with a much broader policy agenda (like working families)? And what’s he going to do for Providence, the city he represents?
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.