Ethics Commission: No Conflict for Raimondo

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Greg Berman, GoLocalProv News Contributor

The state Ethics Commission voted unanimously yesterday that state Treasurer Gina Raimondo had taken sufficient steps to avoid any conflict of interest between her elected position and her ties to a Point Judith, a venture capital fund in which the state has invested $5 million dollars.

Prior to her election, Raimondo served as a partner in Port Judith from 2001-2010. Back in 2007, the state entered into a 10-year contract with the firm. The investment, however, is a “passive” one, meaning that after signing into the agreement, the State Investment Commission (SIC) has no say in the fund’s ongoing management—making it highly unlikely that any matter relating to Point Judith would actually come before the SIC.

Since her election, Raimondo has taken a series of steps to distance herself from Point Judith. In addition to her resignation from all official positions, Raimondo has also placed all her remaining rights, title and interest in the fund into a blind trust. The trust will exist for the duration of her time as treasurer, and it is to be managed solely by a third-party trustee, without any participation by Raimondo.

Furthermore, Raimondo has also said that she will recuse from any matters coming before her office involving Point Judith. Upon her recusal, such matters will be handled by the Director of the Department of the administration, the ex officio Secretary of the SIC.

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Ethics Commission: No Conflict for Raimondo

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