West

PROVIDENCE — Darrell M. West, the often-quoted Brown University political-science professor who has provided polling data, analysis and commentary on politics in Rhode Island and the nation over the past 26 years, is leaving to join the Brookings Institution.

West, 53, of Providence, will join the Washington, D.C., think tank on July 1 as vice president and director of governance studies.

He is leaving his positions as director of Brown’s Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions and director of the John Hazen White Sr. Public Opinion Laboratory.

“I really love Brown and Rhode Island, so it’s very difficult to leave,” West said yesterday. “But Brookings is the premier think tank in America, and being in Washington, you are right in the middle of the whole national political dialogue.”

This is a particularly interesting time to go to Washington because the country will soon have a new president, West noted. “It’s an opportunity to help shape what happens,” he said. “Governance studies has about 30 scholars who study the whole gamut of Congress, the presidency, courts, elections, education policy and health care, so my job is to help focus people’s efforts on those areas and how to make the political system work better.”

So what is West’s proudest accomplishment while at Brown? “Not getting indicted for anything,” he joked. “Actually, I’m proud of the public opinion lab. There was not a very active polling presence when I arrived, and now the public has a chance to weigh in, in a serious manner, on a wide range of policy issues.”

West said he enjoyed tracing the ups and downs of public officials, and he recalled dubbing former Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. the “Teflon mayor” when 69 percent of those polled said Cianci was doing a good or excellent job despite allegations of corruption at City Hall. Cianci ended up serving 4½ years in prison on a racketeering conspiracy charge.

What will he miss the least? “The political infighting,” West said. “I’ve been around long enough to see the recession of early 1980s, early 1990s and 2000s, and you see the same arguments without any resolution. The state always seems to struggle with job creation and taking care of people. It’s frustrating when the state has so many continuing problems.”

What’s his favorite Rhode Island story? West said he once made a negative comment about former Gov. Edward D. DiPrete, who ended up serving a year in prison after pleading guilty to 18 crimes of corruption. West ran into a friend of DiPrete’s who told him: “You have to be careful about making comments about public officials here because you never know — they might plant cocaine on you.”

“He was not being threatening,” West explained, while declining to name DiPrete’s friend. “It was like fatherly advice.” He said he found the advice humorous, adding, “I go to bed by 9 p.m.”

West said, “One of the fun things about Rhode Island is doing political analysis about officials and then running into them at the supermarket. In D.C., you are not going to make negative comments about President Bush and see him at the drugstore.”

So is he ready to be a political commentator on the national stage? “After being worked over on 10 News Conference, I’m sure Meet the Press will be a breeze,” West joked.

During his eight years as director, the Taubman Center’s budget increased from $400,000 to $1.5 million, and West raised about $10 million in endowment funds. Also, West is the author of 15 books on American politics, elections, mass media and technology. His books include Patrick Kennedy: The Rise to Power; Celebrity Politics; and Digital Government: Technology and Public Sector Performance.

West, who grew up in the Midwest, received a doctorate in political science from Indiana University in 1981, and from 1980-81 he was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, which is a nonprofit public policy organization. The New York Times has described the Brookings Institution as liberal, liberal-centrist and centrist.

Now, West will be replacing Pietro Nivola as Brookings’ director of governance studies.

“We are incredibly pleased that Darrell will be back at Brookings after a wonderful career at Brown University,” Brookings President Strobe Talbott said in a statement. “Darrell’s track record in building the Taubman Center covers the full range of challenges facing American politics. He is the perfect person to build upon Pietro Nivola’s legacy of making Brookings the go-to place for strengthening America’s democratic institutions.”

efitzpat@projo.com