Providence.
When the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University conducted a study last fall of the quality and effectiveness of “e-government” throughout the U.S., Rhode Island didn’t fare so well.
In fact, according to Darrell M. West, a professor of political science at Brown and director of the Taubman Center, Rhode Island finished dead last.
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West and a team of researchers examined 1,813 Web sites, searching each for 27 different features.
The researchers rated the government sites on “whether they gave citizens clear information about contacting government offices, offered online services like vehicle registration or searchable records, provided high-quality access for citizens with disabilities or limited English, and had policies to protect security and privacy.”
Rhode Island’s poor showing did not surprise West. Several smaller states, he said, scored poorly. But he suggested that the report should serve as a wake-up call.
“Most states are moving toward e-government,” said West. “People don’t want to wait in lines. They want 24/7 government.”
Senate Majority Leader William V. Irons appears to have gotten the message.
Getting plugged in
On a Thursday morning in November 2000, Irons was delivering an important speech
— his first to the business community as leader of the Senate. The event was
a Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Providence Marriott,
just weeks after the release of the e-government report.
It was the early days of Irons’ transition to power and there was much speculation as to which Senators would emerge as major players under his leadership.
While not tipping his hand as to specific assignments, Irons did single out several Senate colleagues, including Catherine Graziano, Joseph Montalbano, Frank Caprio, William A. Walaska and John Celona.
The above are political veterans, of sorts — recognizable names to most political pundits.
And Irons mentioned another name. Sen. Daniel DaPonte, an East Providence Democrat, first elected on Nov. 3, 1998.
DaPonte’s assignment? E-government.
DaPonte has been tapped by Irons to get state government better plugged in to technology.
At that Chamber breakfast, Irons pointed out that the Brown study ranked Rhode Island among the country’s least technologically savvy states.
“That is unacceptable to me,” he said. “We do not want to give business people the impression that Rhode Island is quaint, that it is backward.”
Irons’ answer is to single out a Senator to follow-up on the issue – and that Senator is DaPonte.
The Internet intrigues DaPonte. It is the focus of his generation – a fact not lost upon Irons.
“Dan is from a generation where technology is common in his life,” said Irons. “It is not a learning process, it is a process he has learned.”
DaPonte is a May 2000 graduate of URI with a degree in business administration.
He will turn 23 next month and has just started a job with Tucker Anthony Investments.
He is used to the obligatory questions about his age, such as how did you find yourself running for the General Assembly at 20?
“My father was always involved in politics,” he said. “I grew up around politics, leaf-letting door-to-door.”
A number of those campaign leaflets were for former state senator, now General Treasurer Paul Tavares. It was Tavares’ vacant East Providence Senate seat that DaPonte won in 1998.
“Young people can be apathetic,” said DaPonte. “But I knew I could represent a lot of my generation that is out there. And talk about what issues impact us and what needs to be changed.”
No issue is more important to his generation than capitalizing on available technologies.
No more lines
When DaPonte was a freshman at the URI, there were long lines when it came time to register for classes. By his sophomore and junior years, the lines were gone. He registered for classes via a computer.
DaPonte remembers that experience and sees possibilities. He envisions small business owners securing permits from the state Department of Environmental Management online, motorists renewing licenses at the state Department of Motor Vehicles online.
“I’ve seen it work,” he said.
DaPonte understand his challenge. Rhode Islanders, after all, tend to approach change with caution. If their tax dollars are to be spent on something so new, so innovative, they want to see results — not hear about them.
“A basic principle of business is that you have to spend money to make money,” said DaPonte. “We have to do this, for the citizenry.”
DaPonte said he will work to make people understand that e-government benefits everyone by expanding economic opportunities.
“If we can provide services online – and cut into time and red tape – that’s attractive to businesses that might want to relocate here,” he said.
Endless possibilities
Like Irons, General Treasurer Tavares thinks DaPonte is the right person for the job.
“Dan is hard working and brings enthusiasm to this project,” said Tavares. “He is in tune with the computer age.”
Tavares is all for expanding e-government. In his office, 55,000 records of people in the state retirement system are now online – until recently, their records were paper only, stored in bins in saturated closets and drawers.
“There is definitely a need,” said Tavares.
Irons is equally convinced.
“We are going to push this heavily,” he said. “You can’t grow in this new world without quality Web sites.”
When the Senate reconvened last week, DaPonte was ready.
His goal is to put together some focus groups. And make himself available to colleagues who remain a bit intimidated by the Internet. He wants to make sure, for example, that all Senators can access their e-mail.
“We’re going to try and move toward a paperless Chamber,” he said.
That would mean laptops on the Senate floor. And why not? asks DaPonte.
“It’s about practicing what we preach,” he said.
