My new hippest friend
I’m a few days late in mentioning it, but according to the Providence Phoenix my friend David Segal is “the hippest guy in [Rhode Island's] state government”. I always knew David was a hip guy, but until now, I didn’t realize just how hip he was. Apparently one friend likens Dave to “Adrian Grenier’s hip actor character on the HBO hit Entourage”
At 22 Dave shook up Providence politics with a surprise victory in Ward 1’s 2002 election for city councilman. Since he ran as a Green, he ended up becoming the council’s minority leader (no republicans were elected). Even though he had only moved to Providence in 2001, he won over skeptics by committing to his post full time. The position only pays $18,000, so most city councilman do additional work on the side. For a hip young guy like Dave however, 18k is more than enough, plus he needed plenty of time to wander around Brown University and maintain his activist lifestyle.
Dave has since become a Democrat, as well as a State Representative. Since his current job only pays him for 6 months out of the year, his salary has dropped to $14,000. Perhaps that’s why he’s became a cofounder of the Providence Daily Dose, the other blog with which I’m affiliated. After his plug in The Phoenix, I’m sure the site will explode any day now. Also I think he’s been studying for the LSATs, so maybe there’s some way that could lead to additional income.
For now though, Dave continues his modest (but also amazingly hip) lifestyle based out of his Ives Street apartment, nicknamed “Telescope” (the article failed to mention that bit). Even though Telescope contains “an easy chair that once belonged to New York Times’ journalistic heir Arthur Gregg Sulzberger,” the Pheonix referred the apartment as “unremarkable for a 20-something in Providence”. As a 20-something I respectfully disagree.
Just last spring I remarked (during a potluck in fact) how unusual it was that their kitchen contained only one knife, a cleaver our friend Ian accidently left several months prior. For years I also remarked that they might want to finally get internet (I eventually gave them an old computer to get the ball rolling), or perhaps hook up the stereo sitting in the middle of their living room (our friend Tim eventually took care of that). To be fair, after reading this article about my hometown Senator I no longer think Dave’s lifestyle choice is that uncommon for an elected official.