TGIF: Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for Feb. 13, 2026

Does it make for a lucky love connection, or not so much, when Friday the 13th and Valentine’s Day run smack dab into one another? We’ll ask Mrs. TGIF. Thanks for stopping by for my weekly column. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go.

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Rhode Island’s judicial-political nexus is back in the spotlight. Consider: 1) Former Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey – who encountered some sharp opposition on his way to the bench – received a private swearing-in (in the Senate president’s office) for his new role as a District Court judge, per Kathy Gregg; 2) Maureen McKenna Goldberg, one of three justices on the Rhode Island Supreme Court who is 75 or older, revealed this week that she will retire next month. While she attracted glowing tributes, her rise was not without legislative politics; 3) House Speaker Joe Shekarchi didn’t want to step on McKenna Goldberg’s news, although he’s not ruling out possible interest in becoming a justice on the state’s top court; 4) Former Sen. Stephen Archambault of Smithfield is the latest former lawmaker under consideration for a judicial position. Any number of current or former lawmakers and legislative staffers have moved up to become a judge or magistrate. Supporters might argue these people are qualified in part since they understand government from the inside – and not coincidentally, the speaker and house majority leader is almost always a lawyer.

However, according to John Marion, executive director of Common Cause of Rhode Island, “The judicial selection process in Rhode Island has not worked as planned. It was changed in 1994,” with the creation of the Judicial Nominating Commission, “in part to stop the revolving door between the legislature and the bench and reduce the role of patronage, but that clearly has not happened. It has been somewhat successful in diversifying the bench, particularly under Gov. Raimondo, and has allowed the public to weigh in, as we saw with the recent appointment of former Sen. Michael McCaffrey.” Marion said it would take a lot to improve the process, “including removing the power of General Assembly leaders to make appointments to the Judicial Nominating Commission and staffing that commission properly. Other improvements could include barring commissioners from communicating with outside parties about potential appointments. Common Cause Rhode Island would support efforts to make those changes, but we currently don’t have the capacity to lead a fight, which is what will be necessary to get the legislature to give up their role in the process.”

As just the third woman appointed to the state Supreme Court, Justice McKenna Goldberg was a pioneer. Her plan to retire was greeted with tributes extolling her decades as a mentor, role model and jurist. Her lengthy tenure in public life dates to a different, more picaresque era in Rhode Island politics, with a set of bookends featuring Buddy Cianci. As Katie Mulvaney notes, McKenna Goldberg was the prosecutor who unsuccessfully sought jail time and mental health counseling for Cianci after his harrowing 1983 assault on Raymond DeLeo. Years later, after lawmakers rejected Gov. Lincoln Almond’s Supreme Court nomination of Margaret Curran, McKenna Goldberg got the appointment instead – and Curran went on to be the U.S attorney overseeing the Plunder Dome prosecution that landed Cianci in prison.

After recently announcing his decision not to run for governor, House Speaker Joe Shekarchi dismissed suggestions he might be entering lame-duck territory and he said his plan is to seek re-election and another term leading the House of Representatives. Then an opening on Rhode Island’s top court fell out of the sky. Shekarchi remains guarded on his plans, telling me and other reporters that he’s not ruling anything in or out. But serving on the Supreme Court might strike Shekarchi, after rejecting bids for Congress and governor, as an appealing capstone for his long run in public life.

Change is one of the few constants in politics, as in life, and this year could see a larger than usual degree of turnover in the House of Representatives. Rep. Pat Serpa (D-West Warwick) has revealed that she won’t be seeking re-election. In a statement, she said, “After six years on the West Warwick School Committee and 20 years as a state representative, I have decided that I will not be seeking re-election. One of the highlights of my life is being elected and re-elected by my constituents to serve them. I hope I have represented them with honor and integrity. As chairwoman for the past ten years, I am especially proud that I have elevated the House Oversight Committee to the level of respect and attention that it deserves.”

Meanwhile, Rep. David Morales (D-Providence), who is running for mayor of Providence, this week picked up an endorsement from the housing-focused progressive group Reclaim RI. Another incumbent leaving to pursue a different office is Jason Knight (D-Barrington), who is running for attorney general. The June filing deadline is still months away, but we’re hearing chatter about a number of other reps who may not seek re-election.

If the Department of Homeland Security shuts down as expected tonight, Coast Guard employees could miss paychecks. And that could hit the Ocean State, where the maritime industry is worth billions. In an interview for next week’s edition of One on One, when U.S. Sen. Jack Reed was asked what Massachusetts and Rhode Island businesses should expect, he blamed Republicans. “If they want the government to operate and function, and they want to respond to the American people – which overwhelmingly says ‘fix ICE’ – then they’ve got to come up with a suitable language that we can accept and go forward.” Reed said he believes Democrats will maintain more party discipline than in past spending battles and he thinks Americans support the changes to ICE sought by Democrats.

In related news, some of U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner’s comments during testimony by ICE and Border Patrol leaders in the House Homeland Security Committee got some Internet attention this week.

Elsewhere in DC, U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo helped launch a bipartisan Community Foundation Caucus, winning support from his predecessor, Rhode Island Foundation President/CEO David Cicilline, who 24 years ago this week launched his uphill battle for mayor of Providence.

Allyn Meyers, the new state GOP chair, sat down with me this week on One on One for an extended talk. Meyers said he’s encouraged by GOP victories on some municipal councils and he thinks the party is doing a better job building a farm team from the ground up. As it stands, Republicans hold just 14 of 113 General Assembly seats and some candidates underperform President Trump’s 41.8% showing in Rhode Island in 2024. Meyers hedged when asked if he agreed with Trump that Joe Biden stole the 2020 election. “Well, he certainly was the president for four years and he was our president of the United States – and there’s no disputing that – for four years. I think ‘stolen’ is a hard word. I think we’re seeing some irregularities that are being brought up now in Pennsylvania and other places. But President Biden was the president for four years, and that’s my story.”

For Valentine’s Day, treat yourself and watch this fun story from colleague David Wright on how an RISPCA fundraiser is weaponizing the litter box to scorn ex-lovers who’ve done you dirty. As Stephanie Van Patten, the RISPCA’s director of community engagement, explains, “We use our cats to provide ‘retripution’ for any ex-lover or thing you don’t like and want to get back at.” That’s “retripution,” as in P-U!

Records released this week by the City of Providence offer a glimpse into the police response to the shooting at Brown University in December. More here from Ben Berke.

1) Meet the Cranston man who was the barber to the Mob, via Pamela Watts; 2) Congrats to WPRI’s Tim White on The Last Don of Providence winning favor at film festivals on Block Island and in New Bedford.

Is it just a matter of time until our AI-assisted robot overlords are running the show? AI “is going to touch, and it is touching, every aspect of our lives,” former U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin, now distinguished chair at The Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies at Rhode Island College, told my colleague Luis Hernandez during a recent visit to RIC’s Cyber Range. “Whether it’s in our personal lives or in education or in the field of the job market – you name it, it’s really having a profound effect, and will more and more as time goes on.” More here.