slides: Common Cause Scorecard: How Did Each Senator Do?

Sunday, August 03, 2014

GoLocalProv News Team and Jack Andrade

Common Cause recently released it's biennial Legislative Scorecard, and the organization expressed frustration with the lack of major government reform in Rhode Island.

See Slides of Senators and Their Scores Below

"We are disappointed that the Assembly did not take up more systematic reform to strengthen ethics and increase participation in our democracy" says John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island. "In the wake of an election with significant lines in 2012 and an FBI raid of the State House there is much work that needed to be done to draw citizens into our democracy and limit conflicts of interest."

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Common Cause Rhode Island is a nonpartisan organization "whose mission is to promote representative democracy by ensuring open, ethical, accountable, effective government processes at local, state and national levels by educating and mobilizing the citizens of Rhode Island."

Senator Dawson Hodgson (Republican, District 35) was the highest scoring Senator at 64%. The lowest scoring Senator (45%) was Dominick J. Ruggerio (Democrat, District 4). 

The average score for members of the Senate was 56%, a rise from all-time low of 51%  in 2009-2010. 

Common Cause used 25 House Bills and 23 Senate Bills in calculating scores for each legislator.  Common Cause focuses on core issues: "campaign finance and election reform, ethics, judicial selection, open government and legislative rules, and separation of powers."

Common Cause never endorses candidates for any public office. The scorecard reports only how members of the General Assembly voted on particular bills of concern to Common Cause. Scoring does not constitute opposition or endorsement.

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Related Slideshow: RI Senators Scorecard

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