BREAKING NEWS: Democratic Party Chair Defends Cicilline’s Record
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Rhode Island Democratic Party Chairman Ed Pacheco defended Congressman David Cicilline in an exclusive interview with GoLocalProv today. Pacheco praised Cicilline for coming back to Rhode Island to defend his record and said voters should judge him by the work he’s doing in Washington.
“I’m happy the Congressman has taken the time to come back to Rhode Island and answer questions,” Pacheco said. “More importantly, we need to focus on what’s happening in Washington with some of these proposals laid out by Paul Ryan.”
A poll released by Brown University last month had the former Mayor of Providence as the least popular politician in the state with a 17-percent approval rating. Following the poll, the Capital City’s fiscal outlook became even gloomier and national ratings agencies began to take notice.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis week, Providence City Council fiscal adviser Gary Sasse issued a damming report about the way Cicilline handled the city’s finances in his final years as Mayor. A number of Council Members took the liberty to blast Cicilline following the report. Councilman Miguel Luna called the Congressman a “pathological liar” and suggested the Attorney General investigate the situation.
“I think that as elected officials we should be held accountable and the truth is that Cicilline did not ask for authorization,” Luna said Thursday. “He violated the charter. He violated ordinances.”
Pacheco said he was disappointed some Democrats have publicly criticized a fellow Democrat.
“Does it bother me? Sure it bothers me,” Pacheco said. “But this is a difficult situation and it's now important to focus on fixing the problems.”
Responding to a question about whether Cicilline will be the Democratic nominee for Congress in 2012, Pacheco said he had heard nothing from the National Party and plans to work hard to get the Congressman reelected.
“Democrats worked hard to get Congressman Cicilline elected last year and as the incumbent, they’ll work hard to keep him in office in 2012.”
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