This just in from the LG's office, and the impending departure of Paul Tencher seems surprising:

PROVIDENCE— Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts announced today that her chief of staff Paul Tencher will be leaving her office to pursue outside opportunities. Tencher has served as chief of staff since Roberts' inauguration in January 2007.

 

"I have always known that great things await Paul in his professional future," said Roberts. "I cannot thank Paul enough for his commitment to me, my campaign, and most recently, to Rhode Islanders as a hard-working, diligent employee. I have been lucky to keep Paul around for as long as I have, and he has my gratitude and full support as he pursues opportunities outside of my office."

 

Tencher joined Roberts on her campaign for lieutenant governor in January of 2006 and successfully navigated the campaign to decisive victories in both the primary and general elections. As part of his duties, Tencher managed the administrative affairs of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and coordinated the work and meetings of the Emergency Management Advisory Council.

 

"I am proud of the good work that Lt. Gov. Roberts has done and continues to do," said Tencher. "I have made the decision to pursue new endeavors and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to positively impact the lives of Rhode Islanders on issues like health care, the economy, and emergency preparedness."

 

Tencher will continue to serve as chief of staff through May 1. Roberts has not immediately made any decision about a replacement.

More woes concerning the Carcieri administration's problem-plagued Rhode Island Department of Transportation, as revealed by today's Boston Globe:

 

Michael P. Lewis didn't retire from his longtime post as the head of the Big Dig project as the state previously said, but was actually fired last year by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

But for Lewis, the news wasn't bad.

The move allowed him to more than triple his state pension, from $23,000 to $72,578 a year, according to state records. Last month, Lewis, 46, received the first of the Massachusetts pension checks that he will receive until he dies. As with other turnpike retirees, the state will also pay 80 percent of his health insurance for life.

Lewis also landed on his feet with a new job. He began working last month in his new position as Rhode Island's transportation secretary, earning $130,000 a year.

Contacted yesterday through his office in Rhode Island, he declined to be interviewed, but continued to characterize his departure as a retirement.

The pension increase for Lewis was the result of a state law intended to protect state employees from politically motivated dismissals. Employees with more than 20 years of service are eligible for enhanced pensions if they can prove they were not fired because of poor performance or malfeasance. In his case, the reason was that his job was eliminated.

"These types of benefits are way too rich in a time of dire fiscal straits," said Mary Z. Connaughton, a Turnpike Authority board member, who learned of Lewis's enhanced pension from the Globe. "The average working person doesn't get benefits nearly as generous and yet is paying for these public employee benefits."

Employees dismissed in this fashion can be denied the increased pension if there is any evidence of collusion with a superior to make what is in fact a resignation appear to be a termination, according to state regulations. There is no indication of investigation in this case, and two state boards have already approved it.

It's not hard to find critics -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- who will find fault with Governor Carcieri's staff. Now, Jeff Neal, the governor's spokesman, and someone about whom is never heard a discouraging word, is preparing to leave the administration, in or before late June. From the gov's office:

“Jeff Neal has been an important part of my administration since the very beginning,” Governor Carcieri said. “Day after day for over five years, Jeff has accurately, effectively and aggressively communicated my administration's policies to the media and to the people of Rhode Island. I appreciate his skill, hard work and determination to make sure the administration's side of every story is always represented. Jeff has been a great asset to my administration and he will be sorely missed.”

 

“Over the last five years, I have enjoyed working to support Governor Carcieri's reform agenda for Rhode Island,” Jeff Neal said. “In that time, the Governor has achieved a number of notable successes. I want to thank the Governor for providing me with the opportunity to serve his administration, and for the trust and faith he has shown in my abilities.”

 

“After five years, however, I believe it is time to begin seeking new challenges and opportunities,” Neal concluded. “I first approached the Governor about leaving state service in September. He asked me to stay on, first through January and later through the end of the current legislative session. As a result, I will be leaving by the end of June. After my departure, I will continue to support the Governor and his efforts to bring change to the Ocean State.”

Neal is everything that a spokesman should be: he returns calls promptly, he is informed, and he will find the answers if he doesn't already have them. He is articulate, a forceful advocate for his employer, and he manages to have a sense of humor at the same time. I've enjoyed working with Jeff, and I wish him well as he prepares to move on.

I just learned from Matt the sad news that veteran RI political staffer Tony Marcella has died after an illness. He was just 42.

In my experience with Tony, he was insightful, funny, and I'd echo Matt's description of him as a modest individual who preferred staying out of the limelight. Even as he wrestled with growing health problems, he seemed to maintain his humor. My sympathy goes out to Tony's family and friends.

Here's part of Matt's report:

While seemingly knowing everybody in Rhode Island, Tony was incredibly humble.  He avoided the spotlight at all costs (evidenced by few to no references on the Internet).  It is a testament to Tony's selflessness that few people even knew the amount of pain and suffering he was enduring in the last 18 months.  

Tony served his candidates and his causes passionately and with every bit of his soul.  Literally, politics was his life.  I can remember vividly now getting phone calls at all hours starting with "did you hear that..."

Here is Patrick Kennedy's statement: 

“It is with a heavy heart that I bid goodbye to my dear friend, Tony Marcella who passed away last night. I offer my deepest sympathies to his loving parents for their loss, Angela and Anthony Sr. and his sister Kim and brother-in-law Chris who have stayed by his side throughout his lengthy illness. Tony will be sorely missed by me, my family and all his many friends he spent time with over the years.”

“Lately, as his health was failing, we would talk about the politics of the day and reminisce about times gone by. Tony was always at the center of Rhode Island politics, working behind the scenes on my campaigns and for Democrats around Rhode Island, always staying steps ahead of the issue of the day. Politics was truly in his blood and he loved every detail.”

“Growing up in Massachusetts, he first entered the political arena as an aide to former Speaker George Keverian. Tony later approached my father at a political event and while making his pitch for a job, spilled a glass of water on him. My father told Tony to call his Senate office, which he did and was hired. Tony joined me in Rhode Island in the early nineties and we worked together serving the residents of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood in Providence in the General Assembly before my election to Congress in 1994. I will always be grateful to Tony for the nearly ten years he spent as my trusted advisor and Chief of Staff.”

Matt has the sad news concerning the longtime Democratic staffer:

Democratic activists know that Tony Marcella (former Patrick Kennedy chief of staff, Gordon Fox aide & Guillaume de Ramel campaign manager) has been going through some tough physical issues in the last year.  Tragically, this past week, he suffered a heart attack shortly after getting diagnosed with ALS. He was revived but is now in a coma at Mass General.  Pray for the best. 

It's not all that often that House Minority Leader Bob Watson and the Phoenix's Phillipe + Jorge are on the same page, but the swift ejection from the Carcieri administration of J.R. Pagliarini is just such an occasion.

From today's ProJo:

PROVIDENCE — In a highly unusual move, the House GOP leader has written Governor Carcieri to protest his dismissal of John “J.R.” Pagliarini — a longtime soldier in the Republican party trenches — as his chief of staff to open a slot for his current $115,837-a-year Department of Administration director, Beverly Najarian.

In a letter to Carcieri that he made public yesterday, House Minority Leader Robert A. Watson, R-East Greenwich, told the governor he was “appalled” at the way Pagliarini’s termination — with no explanation — was presented to the media.

Describing Pagliarini as a friend since their days at Bishop Hendricken High School three decades ago, Watson told the governor: “I hope we can avoid such unseemly and unconstructive moments going forward and I hope we can find a way to repair the negative perception that now clouds a very decent and honorable man.”

“Our party will never achieve the success we deserve if we continually cast aside the most talented among us,” Watson added. “Steeped in government and political experience, J.R. is one of the most astute political advisers the Republican farm team has to offer.”

The gov's office isn't saying much about this, but P+J share their thoughts today:

If you see someone walking down the street with a knife sticking out of his back, chances are that it’s political operative extraordinaire J.R Pagliari, our good amigo.
 
J.R., an esteemed veteran player in Little Rhody political circles, was until recently a top Senate aide to the aforementioned Linc Chafee. Last week, an unseen and unexpected hand cashiered J.R. from his post as Governor Carcieri’s deputy chief of staff (further evidence of the deck chairs being rearranged on — pick one — the Titanic/Andrea Doria/Poseidon.)
 
The move allowed Bev Najarian, the former Department of Administration head, to assume Pagliarini’s position. This went down because Najarian faced a Senate confirmation vote for her DoA appointment for which she had slim and no chance of winning, and her nomination was pulled to avoid ensuing embarrassment.

Quite a battle shaping up between Obama and Clinton here in Little Rhody.

Here's the word from the Clinton campaign on its newly announced RI staff:

The Hillary Clinton for President campaign today announced a seasoned team of campaign veterans to lead its Rhode Island efforts leading up to the March 4 presidential primary. Christine Heenhan joins the campaign as Rhode Island's Communications Director, and Roger Lau comes aboard as the State Director. Gina Ormand will serve as the Political Director, and Jennifer Bramley will be the Deputy Communications Director.

The leadership team will run the day to day operations of the campaign in Rhode Island, reaching out to voters across the Ocean State and talking about why Hillary Clinton is the best candidate to deliver real solutions for Rhode Island's working families.

Heenan, who worked in Bill Clinton's White House, is familiar as the founder and president of the Clarendon Group, located a stone's throw away from the Phoenix office in Providence's Jewelry District. And Bramley, with her husband, Bill Fischer, who served as Sheldon Whitehouse's chief of staff when Whitehouse was AG, runs Cranston-based Vision Strategies.

UPDATED: with additional detail.

. . . .

Former state representative Tom Palangio has left his position as the City of Providence's legislative lobbyist.

Palangio, who turned down a job with the city's Department of Inspections and Standards, says he left the lobbyist post because he felt he had "taken it as far as I could." In terms of the timing, he says, "I just wanted to make sure that whoever ended up taking up those responsibilities had some time before the [new legislative] session began."

Palangio, who came into the legislative lobbyist position following David Cicilline's election as mayor in 2002, says "we were all upset by" the lack of legislative budgetary relief this year. He says he was not asked to leave and that it was "pretty much" his decision.

Cicilline spokeswoman Karen Southern says Palangio "felt it was just time to move on."

She says the city is in the process "of determining how we are going to approach lobbying in the General Assembly in the future. The administration expects to make that determination well in advance of the next legislative session."

On September 13, Palangio sent a system-wide e-mail to other city employees, expressing regret about leaving. He thanked his fellow workers, describing his time in the post as a "wonderful experience," and he called the city "a truly unique place to work."

Palangio, the brother of John Palangio, the director of executive operations for Attorney General Patrick Lynch, says he is looking at opportunities to lobby "for a couple of other private groups."

Palangio's departure, and Deb Brayton's recent move to become Cicilline's chief of staff are part of several other changes in the mayor's office. Gonzalo Cuervo is shifting to a senior speechwriting and internal communications position, and Ani Haroian, a former high-ranking Lynch aide, and Serena Conley, previously Cicilline's scheduler, are moving to the Office of Neighborhood Services Community Relations.

From the gov's office: 

Governor Donald L. Carcieri today appointed former State Budget Officer Lee D. Grossi as interim Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (OHHS).  Grossi replaces Jane Hayward, who will retire from state service on October 5, 2007.  Grossi has agreed to serve without a salary.

 

In appointing Grossi, Governor Carcieri cited his budget expertise as well as his familiarity with programs offered at the Departments of Human Services (DHS) and Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).  In addition to his role as State Budget Officer from 1985 to 1990, Grossi served as Associate Director of DHS from 1990 to 1995 and Associate Director of DCYF from 1979 to 1982 and again from 1995 to 1997.

 

“I’m very pleased that Lee Grossi has agreed to temporarily return to state government in order to serve as the interim Secretary of Health and Human Services,” Governor Carcieri said.  “Rhode Island’s health and human service programs are at a crossroads.  Human service programs offered at five state departments make up the lion’s share of the state budget, while the costs of those programs are growing every year.  At the same time, the state is facing yet another serious budget deficit.”

 

“As a former state budget officer who also possesses important experience with many of the state’s human service programs, Lee Grossi is the ideal candidate to head this important office at this critical time,” Carcieri continued.  “For over a month, I have been working intensively with all my department directors, including the human service departments, to craft a plan to resolve the state’s budget problems.  In his new position, Lee Grossi will play a vital role in those discussions.”

Bill Lynch was seemingly loaded for bear had Kerry King survived last year's GOP primary for lieutenant governor.

From a Democratic Party news release:

PAWTUCKET- Rhode Island Democratic Party chairman Bill Lynch expressed surprise and disappointment today after learning that Gov. Carcieri plans to dole out a high-paying State House job to a one-time GOP statewide candidate whose former company has a highly-questionable ethics past.

Carcieri has announced that he is appointing Kernan King, former GOP candidate for lt. governor, to be his new executive counsel. King, who ran as the “anti-corruption” candidate in the 2006 Republican primary election, is a former executive counsel, vice president and member of the executive committee and board of directors of The New England, also known as The New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, New England Life and New England Financial.

“Everything about this hiring stinks. The governor is reaching into the taxpayers’ wallets to pay back a Republican candidate whom he originally endorsed, and then dropped flat when someone better came along,” Lynch said.

King was originally embraced by Gov. Carcieri in his bid for lt. governor, but was then “left at the altar” when Ret. Gen. Reginald Centracchio entered the primary race. Centracchio went on to easily beat King nearly 2-1 in the September primary.

“This is clearly political patronage at its worst. The governor talks about laying off one thousand state employees during a budget crisis but never misses an opportunity to hand out high-paying jobs to his Republican friends,” Lynch said.

“Can anyone in the governor’s office tell us when was the last time Kerry King actually practiced law?” Lynch asked

Patronage politics aside, the former company King helped lead paid tens of thousands of dollars in Massachusetts Ethics Commission fines for illegal lobbying efforts in the Massachusetts Legislature.

Illegal lobbying in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission fined The New England Mutual Life Insurance Company $20,000 for providing lawmakers with golf outings, drinks, dinners and limousines. The fine was for 48 separate violations from June 1988 to November 1989. (Boston Globe, 9/23/94)

At the time The New England was engaging in its illegal lobbying efforts, King served as the company’s executive vice president of law, secretary and general counsel.

“The Governor has reached a startling new level of hypocrisy. Kerry King ran for lt. governor making wild accusations and filing charges at the ethics commission about Rhode Island legislators without ever disclosing the fact that he essentially participated in an effort to buy off lawmakers in Massachusetts in the late 1980s. I can’t be the only one that’s detecting the irony of this situation,” Lynch said.

According to the same Boston Globe article, the ethics commission cited reports from a senior vice president at The New England that legislation was “defeated or passed due in part to the company’s lobbying efforts.”

Deceptive practices in Rhode Island

In 1996 The New England was fined $25,000 by the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation for misleading customers about policies and violating other state laws (Providence Journal 03/02/96).

A DBR review of The New England and its subsidiary covered three years, from 1991 to 1993, identifying 86 separate violations and 25 cases in which existing policies were replaced by policies issued by the companies in contravention of state reporting requirements.

At this time King was on The New England’s executive committee, serving on the board of directors from 1990 through 1996. In 1993 he was named executive vice president of New England Life.

“Is this really who the governor wants as his top lawyer? Are we really supposed to believe that Mr. King didn’t know what was going on at the time his company was involved with illegal lobbying efforts?” Lynch questioned.

Governor Caricieri's office just announced that Kerry King will be joining the administration as its executive counsel in late September, replacing the departed Andrew Hodgkin. The move is particularly interesting since Carcieri enthusiastically endorsed King when he jumped into the 2006 lieutenant governor's race, and then, like many Republicans, backed away when eventual primary winner Reggie Centracchio got in after a fair bit of wavering. The change led King to charge at the time that the process was rigged.

King, of course, had spent much of his recent life out-of-state, making himself susceptible to charges of being a carpet-bagger. And with Elizabeth Roberts handily beating Centracchio last year, the GOP choice didn't seem to matter all that much.

Carcieri is now talking nice about King.

From a statement:

“Kerry King will be a great addition to my team,” Governor Carcieri said.  “He has the legal background necessary to provide me with excellent advice over the coming years.  As a seasoned manager, Kerry will also help oversee legal services throughout state government.”

Not coincidentally, the same statement mentions how Claire Richards, the governor's special counsel since 2003, will be leaving state service in a few weeks, so King's hire seems like an opportunity to mend fences while plugging what could become a growing number of administrative departures in the run-up to 2008.

Charlie Bakst yesterday broke the interesting news that Brett Smiley, who helmed Charles Fogarty's gubernatorial run last year, has signed on with Providence Mayor David Cicilline's political organization. Bakst also noted how Cicilline fundraiser Amy Gabarra is now with Frank Caprio, one of the mayor's prospective gubernatorial rivals for 2010.

As previously noted here, Cicilline has already hired on such stalwarts as Deb Brayton and Ani Haroian. The addition of Smiley is just the latest evidence of the mayor's all-but-announced plan to go statewide.

Karl Rove won't be the last person in politics to suffer from an excess of hubris, and the Bush Jr. years seem likely to do little to fuilfil his vision of "a permanent Republican majority."

So how will history remember Rove?

Writing today in the New York Times, Adam Nagourney takes a crack at this question.

A look at the roster of every Republican presidential candidate finds people who have worked with him, and they have brought some of his methods to this race.

But Mr. Rove leaves the White House anything but victorious. His legendary reputation, forged by steering George W. Bush to two arguably unlikely victories, was seriously diminished by the Republican defeats of 2006. He is blamed in Republican circles for many of the political problems President Bush has suffered in a difficult second term — problems that occurred as Mr. Rove expanded his writ and tried his hand at policy.

Those setbacks have contributed to a partywide sense of foreboding about keeping the White House in Republican hands.

“He gets more credit and more blame than he deserves,” said John Weaver, a former senior adviser to Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who has had a long history of fighting with and working with Mr. Rove. “At the end of the day, he was the head coach of the political team that won the equivalent of the Super Bowl two times in a row. But other things he did are more subjective: the kind of campaigns that were run and their impact on governing.”

Certainly, Mr. Rove has to a considerable extent changed the way presidential politics are played. Modeled on his example, campaigns have become more disciplined in driving simple, often negative messages. They begin in trying to identify the vulnerabilities of potential opponents, and they do extensive negative research as they prepare to exploit those vulnerabilities early and often.

They seek to work out long-term, month-by-month game plans and stick with them, even in difficult times. And they methodically use marketing and other data to identify potential supporters and get them to the polls with an efficiency that had never been seen before, something Mr. Rove pushed along with his close ally, Ken Mehlman, the former Republican National Committee chairman.

“The Rove model was so impressive that the front-runner for the nomination is following the blueprint,” said Mark McKinnon, who worked with Mr. Rove in 2004 and is now advising Mr. McCain’s presidential campaign. “It is almost the Powell doctrine of politics: you just hit them with everything you got, everywhere and at the same time.” The front-runner he was referring to, Mr. McKinnon said, is a Democrat, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But whether Mr. Rove would be welcome to join any of the Republican presidential campaigns was a question met with silence when it was posed to campaign aides on Monday.

Ann Hudner, the well-spoken longtime director of external relations at the Rhode Island School of Design, has put out the word that she is leaving RISD as of July 6. She's starting her own consulting firm, HUDNER/Advanced Strategies.

In response to my recent question about her future, the former Providence-based press secretary for Lincoln Chafee brought me up to speed when she hailed me on Washington Street this morning. The bouyant Ms. Rich (not to be confused with this Debbie Rich) seems to have landed work as an extra in the Katherine Heigl movie 27 Dresses -- now shooting and blocking traffic around town -- and she's training as a comedian with Frank O'Donnell.

You go, Debbie!