Raimondo’s Husband Teaches at Brown & Other Interesting Disclosures in Latest RI Ethics Filings
Friday, June 02, 2017
The recently filed annual financial disclosure forms filed by the State’s five general officers give a snap shot to the wealth and economic holdings of the top elected officials, but also raise some questions.
One such disclosure is that Governor Gina Raimondo’s husband, Andy Moffit, is a member of the Brown University faculty as an adjunct professor. Brown University in the 2017 fiscal year received 65 grants from the State of Rhode Island totaling $797,524.55.
Of the 65 grants, 62 of them were made by the RI Department of Health and three were let by the RI Department of Education.
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In addition, the RI Commerce Corporation, which is chaired by Raimondo, approved nearly $40 million in incentives for the new 195 Commission’s Wexford project. Brown University is one of two tenants in the Wexford project. The developer, Brown University, and RI Commerce have all repeatedly refused to disclose provisions of the lease agreement or the rent being paid by Brown.
Moffit’s primary income derives from the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company where he serves as Director of Industry Learning. He also taught in the first semester of 2016 at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.
Whether Raimondo should have sought an advisory opinion from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission may be in question as she is the chief executive for the state - and Brown receives hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funding.
“It's never a bad idea to seek an advisory opinion. The analysis from the Ethics Commission would involve determining whether her decisions with respect to Brown would financially impact her husband as an employee,” said John Marion, Executive Director of RI Common Cause. “It's hard to imagine that a governor's decision would impact an adjunct professor, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.”
Raimondo's office said there was not a conflict situation. “Brown University is one of Rhode Island's largest employers, and there's no prohibition against the Governor's spouse doing work in Rhode Island. And of course Andy is plainly qualified to teach anywhere,” said David Ortiz, spokesperson for the Governor.
Other issues disclosed include Kilmartin’s real estate holdings, travel and public compensation that may be as high as $400,000 annually. And more.
Related Slideshow: 2017 Statewide Official Disclosures
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