Insiders React to Gemma’s Voter Fraud Claim
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Did Anthony Gemma toss up a Hail Mary or knock it out of the park with is claims of rampant voter fraud in the city of Providence?
GoLocalProv will use this space to post reaction as it comes in.
Eric Hyers, Cngressman David Cicilline's campaign manager
"This was nothing more than another bizarre and outrageous political stunt. Mr. Gemma has not one shred of evidence that David has done anything wrong. Instead he produced nothing more than bizarre statements about witnesses holed up in attics with weapons and a state representative wearing disguises to vote at multiple locations. David believes that the people of Rhode Island deserve a real discussion of the serious issues we face, not more irresponsible political games from Anthony Gemma."
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“Voter fraud is a serious offense and if individuals have evidence of voter fraud I would encourage them to contact the proper authorities immediately. Today, Mr. Gemma may or may not have produced evidence of voter fraud in Providence. If he has and the evidence has been turned over to the proper authorities, that is a good thing,” said Pacheco. “That being said, Mr. Gemma has offered no credible evidence that Congressman Cicilline was involved in these allegations.
“In short, Mr. Gemma’s approach to this matter has been highly irresponsible. This race is too important. I am calling on Mr. Gemma to return to the issues and put the theatrics aside. In his own words, he has stated that law enforcement authorities have asked him not to discuss this matter. Instead, for his own political gain, Mr. Gemma is attempting to tear down Congressman Cicilline by linking him to these accusations. A link he was unable to make.
“As an attorney, Mr. Gemma should know it is highly irresponsible to cast unsubstantiated accusations without providing supporting documentation.
“The voters of Rhode Island deserve more than campaign antics, they deserve solutions to the real problems they are facing every day.”
Republican Congressional candidate Brendan Doherty
“I am greatly troubled by the allegations of voter fraud leveled today against Congressman Cicilline and his campaign. Having spent my entire adult life in law enforcement, I have learned the importance of knowing the facts and circumstances before reaching a conclusion. In my years as a criminal investigator, I relied on objective facts rather than emotion or intuition. I trust that our law enforcement agencies will conduct a thorough and competent investigation.
“Fair and free elections are the cornerstone of the democratic process in America and there is nothing more important than protecting their integrity. Given the nature of these allegations and the fact that they involve a sitting Congressman, Rhode Islanders deserve an immediate, clear and truthful response from their elected representative. Regardless of the final outcome, these allegations cast a cloud of suspicion over the electoral process. I am running for Congress to replace this cloud with a proven model of leadership, honesty and integrity.”
Mark Zaccaria, chairman of the State Republican Party
“What was compelling was not the allegations, themselves, as much as the apparent volume of research that went into establishing they are true.
“Until the Rhode Island State Police or some other reputable law enforcement organization presents the results of an official investigation we should resist the temptation to make wild assumptions about how far the supposed network extends, and even whether it exists at all.
“Right now all Rhode Islanders need to encourage the progress of an official investigation so that these inflammatory allegations can be either Ruled Out or Ruled In as soon as possible.
“If it ultimately proves that Mr. Gemma has uncovered provable fraud it could say much about the 75 year tenure of the Democrat Super-Majority in the state General Assembly. It could also explain how the majority seems to always win the close races.”
Dan Harrop, former Providence Mayoral candidate
“It’s ridiculous. I strongly support Brendan Doherty for Congress this year, and hope to retire the Congressman in November, but I see no basis for these accusations. Even in my internal polling, I never got above 20% of the possible vote, and finished with about 18% on election day. While I disagreed with almost every position Mayor Cicilline took in that election, and six years later find myself correct on any number of issues we debated, the current Congressman was throughout the campaign respectful and a gentleman. Frankly, there would have been absolutely no reason to buy votes to defeat me. As the current Finance Chairman of the Rhode Island GOP and an elected delegate to the Republican National Convention next week, I am a supporter of our strong slate of statewide Republican candidates, but fair is fair – baseless accusations add nothing to the debate we need to have about the direction of our country. Mr. Cicilline is wrong on so many issues, but I find this charge preposterous.”
