Campaign Donors on Transition Teams

Campaign Donors on Transition Teams

Roughly half the members of the transition teams and committees for the new Governor, Attorney General, and General Treasurer were campaign contributors in the recent election, according to a GoLocalProv review of state campaign finance records.

Of the 12 people on the transition leadership team and advisory committee for Governor-elect Lincoln Chafee, seven were big-dollar donors, with the average contribution exceeding $800. For incoming Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, five out of 13 were donors who contributed an average of $560. General Treasurer-elect Gina Raimondo has five donors on her nine-member transition team, each of whom gave an average of $655.

Not unusual for donors to be on transitions

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A political scientist and ethicist who spoke with GoLocalProv said there should be no surprise that donors have ended up on transition teams.

John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island and himself a member of the transition team for Providence Mayor-elect Angel Taveras, has no objections to donors being involved as long as their past contributions are disclosed. “There are some people who give some donations who might have some wisdom to share with people,” Marion said.

Former Brown University political science Professor Darrell West agreed. “It is not unusual for winning candidates to put donors on their transition teams,” said West, who is now a vice president at the Brookings Institution. “These are the individuals who worked on behalf of the campaign and often have expertise relevant for governing. They generally have ideas about how to handle various policy issues and identify other people who can serve in government.”

‘Nexus’ of lobbyists, money, and policy ‘disconcerting’

Earlier this week, GoLocalProv reported that nearly 20 percent of transition team members are also registered lobbyists with the state. Of the transition members, three people are both lobbyists and donors—Leonard Lopes on the Kilmartin team and Nellie Gorbea and David Preston on the Raimondo team.

Marion called the “nexus” of lobbying, money, and policy “disconcerting” but he said he it doesn’t quite rise to the level of a conflict of interest, also known as pay-to-play. “That starts to edge closer to a line that we don’t want people to cross but I don’t think that necessarily crosses a line,” Marion said. “They’re still powerless at this point. Once they get into office you need to keep that bright line really bright.”

Spokesmen say high ethical standards maintained

Spokesmen for all three transition teams said they had picked members based on their experience and knowledge of the particular office. “The prime criterion was strong category knowledge and expertise that enhances the ability of these people to work to the benefit of Rhode Island,” said Mike Trainor, the deputy director for Governor-elect Lincoln Chafee’s transition team.

Neither Raimondo nor Kilmartin have a formal ethics statement that they require team members to sign, but both teams have maintained high ethical standards according to Joe Shekarchi, a spokesman for Raimondo, and Brett Broesder, who is with the Kilmartin transition.

Chafee, on the other hand, does have a formal code of ethics that all transition staff must sign. The two-page code is meant to guard against potential conflicts of interest and abuses of governmental power. Those who sign it promise to avoid any involvement in financial conflicts of interest, refrain from using their position to obtain special privileges for themselves or others, and also follow the state code of ethics.