PROVIDENCE Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr.
1. Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr.
The mayor of the capital city rises to the top of this year’s list of people to watch in part because of all he has done to drive the ongoing renaissance in Providence – and because it is impossible to ignore the fact that the FBI is in the midst of conducting its “Plun-derdome” investigation within the walls of Providence City Hall. It has been a year of ups and downs for perhaps the state’s most colorful political figure. He appeared on NBC’s Providence, helped to open Providence Place and presided over the “Splendor of Florence,” a cultural exchange. He also became the longest running mayor in the country’s history. But 1999 also saw three city workers indicted on corruption charges, mostly within the city’s tax assessor’s office. And that probe – though not reaching the mayor’s office – is ongoing.
Prospects: Cianci is expected to move forward with his ambitious “New Cities” proposal, which would develop hundreds of acres in the city. The relocation of Route 195 should also begin to present opportunities upon which the city may capitalize. And 2000 should bring an end to the “Plunderdome” investigation – and the speculation that has accompanied it.
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2. George A. Vecchione, Lifespan
The president and chief executive officer of Lifespan heads an organization that is poised to monopolize Rhode Island’s health care arena. Lifespan’s proposal to merge with Care New England would leave but a handful of hospitals and health care agencies independent. With 15 months under his belt, Vecchione has had ample time to assess the situation and put the kind of team he wants in place. Now it will be interesting to see what impact Lifespan and Vecchione will have on an industry that touches so many lives and businesses.
Prospects: Through the balance of 1999, Vecchione had managed to stay in the background — but that won’t be possible in 2000. If merged with Care New England, Lifespan may represent the most dominant health care system in the country in terms of market share. The issue of health care – and health insurance – has now reached a crisis point in the minds of consumers. Vecchione has the opportunity to make a major impact.
3. Ronald Battista, president of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
It wasn’t that long ago that Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island was suffering through a series of deficits, leading the state’s leading health care insurer to look for a merger partner outside the state. Much of last year, Battista and other officials at Blue Cross Blue Shield were exploring merger possibilities, only to reject the concept in the end after the local entity recorded its first positive financial in a few years. While Blue Cross Blue Shield was showing some signs of recovery, two other health insurers – Harvard Pilgrim Health and Tufts — abandoned Rhode Island because they were simply losing too much money here.
Prospects: Much to the chagrin of businesses and consumers, prospects were for considerable rate increases from Blue Cross Blue Shield as it attempts to ensure that it will remain fiscally viable and independent. Battista will surely be prominent at the General Assembly as legislators introduce a host of health care and health insurance related bills that they believe will bring order to the chaos that now surrounds the entire health care field. Blue Cross Blue Shield, meanwhile, will be the greatest beneficiary of the abandonment of Rhode Island by Harvard and Tufts, picking up the majority of those individuals and groups that were left to find a new health insurer.
4. Dr. Patricia Nolan, director Rhode Island Department of Health
The head of the state’s health department returns to our list for many of the same reasons that landed her here last year – chiefly, that it only makes sense that her expertise in health-related issues should be tapped as Rhode Island looks to make some sense of the spiraling health care industry. The health department has enormous responsibilities ranging from signing off on hospital mergers to instituting programs for disadvantaged children.
Prospects: Nolan has always come across as an intelligent, reasoned individual. We hope that she steps forward and spearheads some kind of health care summit that would allow Rhode Island to answer some of the questions surrounding the health care industry – questions that will not go away in 2000.
5. Jan Reitsma, director Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
A 1982 Brown University graduate who once worked for Save The Bay, Reitsma came on board at DEM in the spring of 1999. Reitsma succeeded Andrew McLeod, who resigned in November 1998. He is a lawyer who has specialized in environmental law, land use, real estate and bankruptcy. The DEM has been an agency marked by turmoil and one that has often clashed with the business community.
Prospects: While several legislators have put forth proposals of their own to revamp DEM in recent years, Reitsma is convinced that many of the changes called for by state legislators can be made by the department on its own. Reitsma is attempting to streamline the permitting process and make the department more accountable to the public, but some legislators may file bills in the coming weeks that spell out their own plans to overhaul the department.
6. Gov. Lincoln Almond
The governor enters the second year of his second term with much left to accomplish. Nineteen-ninety nine was not Almond’s most productive year in office. Yes, Providence Place opened to much fanfare and the governor’s persistence helped to make the mall’s financing package a better deal for the state. And yes, Fidelity Investments made progress on a building that will double the size of its Smithfield facility, bringing hundreds of new jobs to Rhode Island. But 1999 will also be remembered as the year of the Bob Carothers saga. The president of the University of Rhode Island fell out of favor with the Board of Governors for Higher Education, which initially didn’t want to offer him a contract and then, at the governor’s urging, offered him a one-year deal. But the state’s business community, community activists, the general public and URI students rallied in support of Carothers, pressuring the board to offer Carothers a three year contract extension. And the governor did not fare well on another personnel issue as well, complimenting John Swen, just hours after the executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation resigned in the wake of the credit card scandal, where Swen and other at EDC acknowledged using state-issued credit cards for personal use.
Prospects: With three years left to serve, Almond has plenty of time to regain the momentum that marked his first term. We wonder what his plans are now for Quonset Point, and whether he will continue to push for the development of a shipping port there. He also has some important appointments to make, including a replacement for Swen, but none more important than a chairperson and a commissioner for the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. The new PUC chairperson and commissioner will be responsible for balancing the interests of utilities and customers at a time of unprecedented change in the energy sector. Will Rhode Island be able to keep to its promised auto excise tax relief, even though sources suggest that the state told Moody’s, the rating agency, that it would forego the plan if it appeared it put too great a fiscal strain on the state. And Almond surely will be drawn into the health care debate, one that is certain to consume much of the state’s and nation’s attention.
7. Diana Lam, Providence Superintendent of Schools
The capital city’s new school superintendent arrived from San Antonio in September 1999. A native of Lima, Peru, Lam talks about embracing the ethnic diversity of the school district and fostering a relationship between city schools and the surrounding business community.
Prospects: Lam has a big job ahead of her – but one filled with opportunities. The Providence school system has a significant population of students who do not speak English and a track record of low-test scores. It is a district that may be turning off talented teachers with a residency requirement. But it is also a district that has the potential to serve as a model for other urban communities in the country. Lam’s first full year on the job – 2000 – will go a long way to determining if that is possible.
8. Jay Sidhu, chief executive officer of Sovereign Bancorp
Sovereign Bank is the new kid on the block, the winner in the sweepstakes for the branches that Fleet and BankBoston were forced to divest for approval of Fleet’s acquisition of BankBoston. Sovereign, headquartered in Pennsylvania, has until now maintained its business in the mid-Atlantic states. There are some who believe that Fleet chose Sovereign because it did not see it as a major competitor, and felt it would be marginally successful in opening an operation in New England.
Prospects: We suspect Sovereign will move rapidly to establish its presence in New England, not only from a financial services standpoint, but as a member of the community. While Sidhu is responsible for the entire operation, it is clear he will have considerable and overriding influence on how Sovereign meets the challenge of entering a market in which it must first gain name recognition. In Rhode Island, Sovereign will take over all of the BankBoston branches. Sovereign will face stiff competition for customers from Citizens Bank, and several community banks.
9. Christopher Bergstrom, Executive Director, Economic Policy Council
Bergstrom is a proponent of the “regional economy” theory, which suggests that Rhode Island is part of a bigger metro-region economy and as a result should tap into the resources of cities like Boston. He has been busy studying ways to capitalize on Rhode Island’s assets and can make valuable information available to the EPC board of directors.
Prospects: Bergstrom has quietly made a solid impression as the EPC’s executive director. He has developed an interesting and logical theory of a regional economy, ranging from transportation to technological developments. Bergstrom will be active in promoting the regional economy theory and his and the EPC’s ability to convey the message will go a long way toward turning theory into actual policy.
10. Joseph Newsome, executive director of the South Providence Development Corporation
Newsome is a former state legislator who devotes much of his time now to making sure that residents of the inner city have the job skills – and opportunities – to better their lives. Newsome has a gift for making things happen. He seems to know what buttons to push – and when to push them. With so much going on in terms of the city’s renaissance, it is people like Newsome who become critical to ensure that some of that prosperity finds its way to the neighborhoods.
Prospects: We suspect that Newsome’s influence in South Providence and the surrounding area will only continue to grow. And as the city moves toward the next chapter in its renaissance, Newsome will likely play a key role – whether it is through job training programs, or helping entrepreneurs start small businesses. And who knows, maybe the political bug will bite him once again.
Honorable mention: URI President Bob Carothers/Sarah Dowling, chair of the Board of Governors for Higher Education; Congressional Candidates in 2000; Wayne Turner, an aquaculture specialist and president of Hope Shellfish Co., LLC. in Portsmouth; Scott Wolf, executive director of Grow Smart.
