Avedisian, Fung + Fleming on Newsmakers

Speaking generically, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian says that closing the door to renewed negotiations isn't a good practice and that it has negative consequences.

He made the remark in response to a question I asked this morning during a taping of WPRI/WNAC-TV's Newsmakers: Does he support Governor Carcieri's stance in his clash with Council 94? Avedisian responded by saying he supports the governor as the leader of the state, but that when it comes to negotiations, it's best to remain open to continued talks.

Avedisian, who has taken himself out of the 2010 gubernatorial race, says his friend Linc Chafee is getting closer to making a decision about whether to run.

Also joining guest host Mike Montecalvo, Arlene Violet, and mysefl were Cranston GOP mayoral candidate Allan Fung and political analyst Joe Fleming. (Fung's Democratic opponent, Cynthia Fogarty, couldn't make today's taping and is supposed to appear on a future show.)

Fung is among the relatively few bright spots for the RI GOP, so I asked how he expects the tradition divide between conservative and moderate elements to play out if Steve Laffey and Chafee are among the gubernatorial combatants in 2010. Fung, who was a Laffey ally when the latter was mayor of Cranston, says he hopes the  divisions could be minimized.

Fleming, for his part, believes that a Democrat will be the one most advantaged if the three-way gubernatorial scenario comes to fruition in 2010. While Laffey and Chafee could be credible contenders, Fleming says, a Democrat starts with about 40 percent of the vote.

Given the wild card of Rhode Island's budget and economic fortunes, however, the outlook could be more unpredictable. We'll have to wait and see.