Sean is a very special guy and I always enjoyed our banter. For those you who don't know, I was the mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island from 2002–2006 and took over a city that had the lowest bond rating in the United States of America and was 37 days from both defaulting on its debt and missing payroll. Sean was the lead reporter for Channel 12.. I always knew when Sean showed up there would be a little bit of dead panning and a slight wink in both of our eyes. This video is actually a pretty good history of my time as Mayor and a glimpse into some topics that actually don't exist today. For example, at around 13 minutes the issue of a fireman, smoking pot in a little boys room on election day while the school was actually open was a statewide story. I guess now you can probably smoke pot anywhere you want in front of whoever you want. Such as the way of the world that I do not understand.
I haven't seen Sean in many years and I know he has not seen his video and has retired but hopefully he'll get a chance to watch this. I do laugh out loud watching this as I have not watched it for about 15 years but also a great deal of sadness and that we were not able to change— at least not yet-- all of Rhode Island.
I was of the mistaken notion for many years that if I did in the public sector, what I was able to do in the private sector—which was take things that were terribly run and turn them into things that were well run, (and profitable!) that I would always get a promotion. Not so in politics. The thought that Rhode Island is still so terribly run,, so corrupt with bridges that can't be fixed, With the worst infrastructure in the USA, and with the Rhode Island still always being first into a recession and last out,But still never having the crisis that Cranston had that would allow me to be governor. So sad because the people are great, and interesting people with a very funny personality and I miss it greatly.
I miss my time with Sean and as I look through some of these other videos, I realize again that back in the day there was real news. There was and is a beautiful Patrice Wood! Gene Valecenti, who played one of the great TV gags on my during a snow storm! There was Scott Mayerowitz, Mark Arsenault, and Ed Achorn at the Province Journal (There is still Katherine Gregg!!) and so many people in the news actually searching for the truth. All of that really benefited me but seemingly almost none of it exists today. Even in 2002 everybody would have the morning paper but if I go back and visit Rhode Island today or go anywhere in America today or go to an airport, nobody has a newspaper (except me) and nows seemingly everybody's getting on Yahoo! “news” or some other non-news news source and reading what they want to read rather than what they need to read to find out the truth.
But I was very grateful for Sean's coverage and for the coverage of people like like him that I can't even mention here today that actually helped Cranston recover.
Anyway, if you see Sean tell him this is the video and if you wanna see a short history that is somewhat humorous of a four year period in Cranston this is probably the video for you.
If you remember, I ran for Mayor on a message that was so stark and so in your face that nobody has ever used it again. “I'm gonna have to take a gallon of cod liver oil and shove it down everybody's throat… You're not gonna like anything I have to do, but I will fix it.. I didn't come home to Cranston to live in Detroit.”
It's the message America needs, but the one they refuse to listen to.
Happy New Year from the Beach!
The Sun is setting! Or is it just coming up!?
Share this post