EDITORIAL: No on Magaziner, His Disrespect of Rhode Islanders Continues

EDITORIAL: No on Magaziner, His Disrespect of Rhode Islanders Continues

GoLocal strongly urges all Rhode Islanders to participate in this election and vote.

But, we also find that one candidate has repeatedly lied to Rhode Islanders, and he does not deserve the vote of residents of the second congressional district.

Seth Magaziner has a history of ethical lapses and perpetrating significant falsehoods. 

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Magaziner, who was elected to represent the second congressional district, continues to live in the first congressional district.

He promised repeatedly to move into the district he represents.

Federal law only requires members of Congress to live in the state they represent, not the district.

It is believed Magaziner is the only member of Congress to be so disrespectful to his constituents that he does not live in the district he was elected to represent.

He can't vote for himself; why should you?

To put it another way, there are 435 members of the House of Representatives, and only Magaziner does not live in his own district.

No Trump ally or progressive is so impudent. 

Instead of residing with the folks of Cranston, Warwick, or Coventry in "his" district, Magaziner has opted to stay in his million-dollar-plus home on the East Side of Providence—not in the district he represents.

We wish the Republicans had run a credible candidate, but they did not. GOP candidate Steven Corvi has done little campaigning and given little effort. We do not endorse Corvi.

There is no partisanship here. We strongly support the reelection of Gabe Amo to the House of Representatives. He has been a much-welcomed addition to the Rhode Island Congressional delegation.

If this was Magaziner’s first expression of arrogance and political abuse it would be one thing, but it is just another episode in thumbing his nose at Rhode Islanders and the spirit of the law.

Magaziner’s tenure in public office has been riddled with behavior that disturbs us;  one is significantly more important than the other.

The first followed a GoLocal investigation that uncovered that Ira Magaziner — the father of Seth — had a significant relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Ira Magaziner was one of the names in the convicted pedophile’s “little black book” and according to flight logs, Ira Magaziner flew on numerous flights with Epstein.

GoLocal reached out repeatedly to the senior Magaziner, and never to Seth, for comment.

However, GoLocal received a statement on the Magaziner-Epstein link from a member of Seth’s office.  The use of a taxpayer-funded public employee to respond to GoLocal’s questions to Ira Magaziner was perverse.

GoLocal asked legitimate questions of wealthy business consultant and Democratic policy guru Ira Magaziner, the then-head of the Clinton Health Access Initiative.  (Bill Clinton also had connections with Epstein.) He, Ira Magaziner, could choose to answer or not. For his son to insert himself into this matter was bizarre and an abuse of his public office for his family’s protection.

And then Seth Magaziner’s office, seemingly in revenge, removed GoLocal from its news-media-distribution list for public information relating to state business.

This behavior, while immature and unprofessional, should not, by itself, disqualify him from higher office.

What should, however, is his repeated refusal for more than eight years to disclose the source of $800,000 that he loaned his campaign in his first run for the treasurer job.

He has admitted that the money was not his but has repeatedly refused to directly answer questions about the money, instead simply saying that his family happens to be rich.

It’s possible that funding may have been from a third party with an interest in the activities in the treasurer’s office, and the source of the funds may have profited as a result.

Further, this financing was most likely illegal. The lack of disclosure was not acceptable and should have disqualified Seth Magaziner from public office.

But the entitled Magaziner believes rules, ethics and laws are for others.

Magaziner is a brat, a spoiled, arrogant brat. Rhode Island’s citizens deserve better.

We encourage all to leave that slot blank and passionately vote for the other candidates on the ballot who have worked hard and been honest with voters.