UPDATED: "Dog and Pony Show" - RI House GOP to Skip Chamber of Commerce Leg. Luncheon
GoLocalProv News Team
UPDATED: "Dog and Pony Show" - RI House GOP to Skip Chamber of Commerce Leg. Luncheon
On Tuesday, the RI House GOP announced that they declined the usual annual invite to state house legislative leaders to "sit on stage and take pre-planned questions" at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce’s annual legislative luncheon on March 12, 2025.
According to the Chamber, President Laurie White "will host a candid conversation with leaders of the Rhode Island House and Senate as they respond to questions regarding the many critical issues facing the business community today."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“I see no value in this event for anyone involved, legislators, attendees, or Chamber members,” said RI House GOP Leader Mike Chippendale. “It is just a fundraiser for the Chamber and nothing more. It has simply proven to be a waste of time.”
GoLocal reached out to the Chamber for comment, but they did not respond at the time of publication. Two hours later, they issued the following statement from White, "That’s unfortunate. I have always enjoyed hearing from Leader Chippendale and Leader Newberry. They have long participated in the Annual Legislative Outlook Luncheon. We run the event for the Chamber membership to encourage them to engage in the legislative process and get informed on the big public policy issues affecting our state -- in particular, our business community."
GOP on Record
“I sat on that stage for 6 years and realized it was just a dog and pony show,” said House Minority Leader Emeritus Brian Newberry. “The Chamber leadership has no interest in facilitating an actual debate. They just want to cozy up to the Speaker and Senate President and throw them some pre-selected softball questions to make them look good. Try to speak out against something they don’t favor, as I did with truck tolls in 2016, and they cut you off. Why anyone bothers going is beyond me.”
“The Greater Providence Chamber is allegedly supposed to speak for the Rhode Island ‘business community,'" said Chippendale. "The truth of the matter is that it is an incestuous group of top-level executives at the largest companies in the state, whose main goal is to not offend the Democratic leadership so they can get whatever legislative crumbs might get tossed their way."
"They certainly don’t represent the struggling small business community in the state, nor the general population, and they can always be counted on at election time to do the bidding of the Speaker and Senate President rather than support candidates who actually fight to help the overall business climate in Rhode Island," added Chippendale. "I am done hoping they will change their ways and am no longer going to play their game.”
The rest of the House Republican Caucus will also skip the event this year.
"Many have jobs to attend to and better things to do with their time," said the office in its statement.