No Dirty Deals, Candidates Promise

No Dirty Deals, Candidates Promise

Not on my watch—that’s what several candidates for governor and other state offices said yesterday when asked if they would refrain from handing out contracts for state work to campaign contributors.

“The right thing to do is make sure you institute a system of checks and balances and make sure you’re not doing anything that could might be perceived as improper,” said J.R. Pagliarini, campaign manager for Independent candidate for governor Lincoln Chafee.

A system of checks and balances ensures that neutral decisions are made in the awarding of contracts, Pagliarini said. “Anybody in violation of that deserves to suffer the consequences,” he concluded.

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GoLocalProv posed the question about awarding contracts to candidates after an investigation found that the former legal counsel to Governor Don Carcieri, Kerry King, recommend that the state hire—without going out to bid—the law firm of a friend and donor to his 2006 campaign for lieutenant governor. King is now running for General Treasurer.

Republican candidate for governor Victor Moffitt said he thought it was a conflict of interest to do business as an elected official with a campaign contributor and he said he would support a state law banning the practice—known as “pay to play.”

Until such a law passes, Moffitt promised he would refrain from the practice—unless the contributor was a “previous long-time investment or tax client and the contribution was nominal.”

No Bids Needed for Legal Work

State law does not require bids for legal work, but whenever possible, contracts should go out to bid said the Moderate Party candidate for governor, Ken Block. “In the best possible scenario, you go out to bid, but I can see where it’s not possible,” Block said.

Block said there may be situations where the state needs a law firm that specializes in an arcane area of law and can find only a few qualified firms in the country. In those situations - where going out to bid may not be practical - he said the state needs to meticulously document why it is selected a particular firm.

Moffitt, on the other hand, said contracts for legal services should follow the same bidding rules as other state contracts.

Candidates Call for Federal Regulation

Democratic candidate Patrick Lynch’s campaign responded by pointing out that he had already proposed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ban campaign contributions from investment groups “soliciting government contracts” and tighten regulations on third parties that investment firms hire to channel donations to government officials.

But the beyond donations from investment firms, the Lynch campaign wouldn’t comment about giving contracts to other companies or individuals who had donated to a campaign.  

Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate for General Treasurer, Gina Raimondo also is calling for an SEC ban on investment advisors doing work with public pension funds managed by candidates whose campaigns they had supported.

“We’re all about accountability. We’re all about transparency. We’re all about performance and merit,” said Raimondo campaign manager Joe Shekarchi. “That’s how we’re running the campaign and that’s how Gina will run the Treasurer’s office.”

Two gubernatorial candidates—Republican John Robitaille and Democrat Frank Caprio—did not respond to the GoLocalProv query.