Richie in MMPR season 2

I understand that his purpose his to serve as a red herring to the White Ranger's identity, but the point of a red herring is to have someone that actually does something to build up an idea. Richie is just... there. Oh, he's pretty, but... I guess Tommy is too? I know i'm jumping ahead here, but it wouldn't be so bad if he actually stuck around after the White Ranger showed up as a side character.