Why is this so? In part it’s because we’ve taken to gauging our success by whether Jerry Blue gets fired. We made it personal when the reality is that you don’t get to choose your political opponent; and as attractive as it seems, removing someone you dislike outside of regular political channels is always a tough, usually impossible task. Just ask Henry Hyde.

Look at the facts. Over the last couple of years, through the hard-work, persistence and skill not just of Common Council members but a broad swath of Islanders, we’ve actually succeeded in drawing attention to legitimate questions about some of the deficiencies and dangers in Dr. Blue’s policies and performance. Two years ago Dr. Blue was sent here with the undisputed authority and the mandate of a popularly-elected governor to implement a policy of reducing, preferably to zero, the island’s dependence on public funds while figuring out a way of developing as many revenue streams as possible for the State out of the island’s assets. Today, his power to act is under steady erosion His own boss, DHCR Commissioner Joe Lynch, responding to concerns that Dr. Blue was struggling, told the New York Times that "if we can help him do his job, that’s a good thing," in other words, the bureaucratic equivalent of a knife in the back. Lynch not only helped engineer the appointment of RIRA President Patrick Stewart and Island resident Susan Whitaker to the RIOC Board, but he created two new committees, half of whose members are residents, including Stewart, to advise RIOC on future development for the Island.

And now that we’ve gained a seat at the table, I’d suggest channeling our energy and enthusiasm towards developing three strategic goals. First, and most important, we can’t simply oppose everything, while reacting defensively from crisis to crisis – we have to proactively figure out and then articulate what we’re actually for. Second, we should recognize that progress from here on out will depend as much on clever and nuanced negotiating tactics as on our proven skill at campaigns and sloganeering. So we’ll have to become fact-bearing experts in every relevant detail of city and state policy, law and regulation. Third, as we become more enmeshed in politics we’ll need to do more of what we’re already doing – building the broadest network of personal relationships and alliances, on and off the island, that are the lifeblood of successful political endeavor.