RI Campaign Update – Providence Councilman Criticizes AG Candidate
GoLocalProv Politics Team
RI Campaign Update – Providence Councilman Criticizes AG Candidate
Providence council leader criticizes AG candidate. Gemma calls Cicilline a “hypocrite” on campaign finance reform. … and more from the campaign trail.
The majority leader of the Providence City Council is accusing Attorney General candidate Joe Fernandez of ‘misleading’ Rhode Islanders about his record as city solicitor.
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He disputed several claims that Fernandez has made – including taking credit for revoking the pensions of corrupt city officials.
“Mr. Fernandez has … claimed that he eliminated pensions for retired officials," Hassett said. "Yet as a recent investigation found, many of these retired officials are still receiving pensions, which has cost taxpayers in Providence over one million dollars to date. Furthermore, Mr. Fernandez is trying to take credit for the actions of the city’s retirement board, which Mr. Fernandez did not sit on.”
He also said Fernandez had “nothing to do” with a 30 percent reduction in crime in Providence and criticized him for not prosecuting Mayor David Cicilline’s brother when he wrote two bad checks to get a tax lien lifted on his property.
The Fernandez campaign could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
Congressional candidate Anthony Gemma urged voters to hold his three Democratic primary opponents accountable for taking donations from lobbyists, special interests, and political action committees, or PACs.
“Cicilline, Lynch, and Segal all claim to support the Fair Elections Now Act, yet all of them accept money from lobbyists, special interest groups, and/or PACs,” Gemma said. “I, on the other hand, have not accepted a dime from them, and I never will.”
He singled out Cicilline, who has often said on the campaign trail that the country needs to break the connection between money and politics—but has accepted nearly $50,000 in donations from lobbyists, PACs, and other special interest money, according to Gemma.
“Once again, David Cicilline is being a hypocrite,” Gemma said. “He has stated publicly, ‘We will not fix Washington and what is broken in Washington until we break the connections between money and politics.’ He has spoken from one side of his mouth about the ‘power of money over campaigns.’ At the same time, but from the other side of his mouth, Cicilline has said ‘yes’ to donations from bankers, and the gaming and insurance industry.”
The Cicilline campaign issued this response:
“David Cicilline has never taken a penny that comes with strings attached, nor will he in Congress. That is why he has called for a lifetime ban on members of Congress becoming lobbyists, reversing the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United so corporations cannot influence elections, and passing the Fair Elections Now Act to allow for public financing of campaigns.”
It’s Debate Week at ABC 6
ABC 6 kicked off its series of debates last night with a forum featuring three Republican candidates for the Second Congressional District seat—Mark Zaccaria, Bill Clegg, and Michael Gardiner. Click here for a brief recap of the debate.
The series continues tonight with a debate among the four Democratic candidates for the First Congressional District seat. The debate, which is sponsored by the League of Women Voters, will air at 8 p.m. on ABC 6’s round-the-clock news channel, Cox Channel 5.