Smiley Hit With Ethics Fine
GoLocalProv News Team
Smiley Hit With Ethics Fine
This is the latest ethical issue for Smiley or one of his companies over the past decade.
SEE MORE BELOW
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSmiley, who is running for Mayor of Providence in 2022, admitted in February 2021 that he improperly received nearly $9,000 from state contractors as Raimondo’s Director of Administration — and returned them.
“It is important that candidates for office, and all elected officials, hold themselves to the highest possible standards. This is exactly why I sought an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission before raising one dime for my campaign, and why I immediately returned the six contributions I received from people with state contracts as soon as I was made aware that the donors had business before the state,” said Smiley in a statement Tuesday.
“I never knowingly solicited contributions from vendors, and as the Ethics Commission makes clear, I never discussed state contracts with any donor,” he added. “I appreciate the thorough process conducted by the Ethics Commission and their help in putting this matter to rest so I can focus on our campaign to improve the quality of life for residents across our city.”
RI GOP Chairwoman Sue Cienki told GoLocal following the decision that the party — which had filed the complaint — was pleased.
“We’re delighted they took this seriously enough and fined him,” said Cienki. “That’s a high fine for the ethics commission.”
Mayoral Opponent Blasts Smiley — Who Responds Back
Immediately following the announcement of the settlement, Gonzalo Cuervo — who is facing Smiley in the Democratic mayoral primary — took a shot at his opponent.
“I applaud the RI State Ethics Commission for following through on this matter and call upon Mr. Smiley to return all campaign contributions that he received from all vendors and their associates doing business with the State of Rhode Island, and lobbyists who lobbied the Department of Administration, while he served as the state’s Director of Administration - beyond those listed in the complaint,” said Cuervo in a statement.
“The people of Providence cannot afford a return to the days of pay to play at City Hall,” he added. “This is unacceptable and it makes Mr. Smiley unfit to lead the City of Providence.”
Smiley fired back and called Cuervo’s assertions “dishonest.”
“It’s a dishonest statement from him that there are any other donations [that need to be returned],” said Smiley. “There was an exhaustive investigation that out of the [approximately] 800 donations [reviewed], 6 were returned that were found to have had business from the state.”
“The Ethics Committee did an exemplary job. As soon as I was aware, they were returned,” Smiley added. “At no time were state contracts discussed; I had no knowledge they were state vendors.”
Latest for Smiley
A GoLocal investigative series published in 2017 found that while Smiley served in top positions for Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and then Raimondo, he simultaneously had an ownership interest in a complex web of companies involved in political consulting. His firms represented a range of politicians that needed to come before him in his official role in government.
He officially exited his political consulting firm in 2020.
As GoLocal reported in 2014 -- when Smiley first ran for Mayor of Providence:
Democratic candidate for Mayor of Providence Brett Smiley's consulting firm, The CFO Consulting Group, was responsible for failing to report $1 million in spending during a Congressional campaign -- and pundits and opponents are questioning whether the transgression will play a role, or not, during the 2014 election season.
Smiley's Campaign Finance Officers had a $30,000 contract to compile and file reports for the re-election campaign of U.S. Representative Heath Shuler in 2010 -- but failed to report $1 million in advertising spending in the final weeks of the campaign, according to AP reports in 2011.
"Forgetting to report $1 million in spending is considered a major error. The FEC documents aren't entirely clear about how the error was discovered. Smiley didn't personally commit the error, but he is ultimately responsible for it," said Jennifer Duffy with The Cook Political Report.