FIGHT THE POWER Progressive group pledges to ride the waves BY IAN DONNIS

When the progressive activists at Ocean State Action were looking for a good concept for a fund-raiser, they didn’t have to look far. The organization’s name — along with the familiar mission of tilting against various windmills in the fight for social progress — yielded the inevitable "Rock the Boat"-themed dance party planned for this Friday, April 30, at the Edgewood Yacht Club, Shaw Avenue (off Narragansett Boulevard) in Cranston.

"We have done other fundraisers in the past, but this is the first of the rock the boat variety," says Marti Rosenberg, Ocean State’s executive director. "We can foresee it becoming an annual event. Since we spend our days trying to rock the boat at the State House for social justice, we thought it would be a good idea to call it that."

Standard admission for the dance party fundraiser, slated to run from 8 p.m. until midnight, is $25 ("captains" can pay $100, and the tab for low-income guests and students is $15). Veteran activist Kate Coyne-McCoy, and Rich Brooks, director of United Nurses & Allied Professionals, will host the event. Scheduled guest deejays include Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline; state Representative Joseph Almeida (D-Providence); state Senator Elizabeth Roberts (D-Cranston); Rodney Davis of RI Pride; Alisa Gallo of the Hotel and Restaurant Workers; Wanda Gonzalez and Greg Pehrson of the United Workers Committee at Progreso Latino; Matthew Jerzyk of the drive to unionize child-care workers; Rachel Miller of Rhode Island Jobs With Justice, the Phoenix’s own Brian (and Judy) Jones; Kate Monteiro, president of the Rhode Island Alliance for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights; and Bob Walsh of the National Educational Association’s Rhode Island chapter.

Proceeds will benefit the advocacy of Ocean State Action (www.oceanstateaction.org/), a coalition of progressive community organizations that have been fighting since 1988 for social, racial, and economic justice. Promoting the issue of same-sex marriage has been one of the top issues for Ocean State in the current legislative session, and, Rosenberg says, "We still have hopes. We’re talking to legislators every day about it. We all know we’re going to have gay marriage in Rhode Island some day, it’s only a matter of time."

Other leading concerns for the progressive coalition include creating smoke-free workplaces and promoting more stringent health insurance regulation. "The current sort of attention being paid is like music to our ears," Rosenberg says, referring to the recent focus of Governor Donald L. Carcieri and other state officials on Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

As part of the One Rhode Island coalition, which advocates on behalf of low-income Rhode Islanders, Ocean State is also concerned about cuts in state-funded child-care and other social programs. "We have high hopes that the assembly will stand up for the needs of low- and moderate-income residents of our state, and that they will see that it’s an economic development issue to fund these adequately," Rosenberg says.

Although Carcieri has proven popular with many residents, "the governor has this year really shown some different priorities than ours," says the Ocean State Action leader. "We’re prioritizing the ability of working families to survive, and his budget flies in the face of that." (Carcieri has defended his cuts as part of an effort to put the state on a stronger financial footing.) Referring to further plans for rocking the boat, Rosenberg says, "We have people throughout the state that understand the value of what we’re fighting for, and they are fighting right alongside us."