Campaign Update – Mollis Returns Fire on Raptakis
Friday, September 10, 2010
Robitaille responds to news reports that Caprio courted the state GOP. Caprio says that the Schilling deal just got worse while Chafee says new details raise red flags. Gemma calls for Cicilline to end his campaign immediately. Mollis returns fire on Raptakis… and more from the campaign trail.
Mollis Rips Raptakis for Being a ‘Part-Time’ Senator, But Taking Full Pay
Secretary of State Ralph Mollis called on his Democratic primary opponent, Lou Raptakis, to explain why he was accepting his full pay as a state senator even though he had missed more than a quarter of votes since 2008.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“He doesn’t show up for a part-time job. How can Rhode Islanders expect him to show up for a full-time job?” Mollis said. “At a time when everyday Rhode Islanders are hurting, how can he look at them in the face?”
Mollis claimed that Raptakis had the fourth worst voting record and one of the worst attendance records in the state Senate, citing rhodeislandvotes.org, which is maintained by the non-partisan Ocean State Policy Research Institute.
Raptakis spokeswoman Erin Arcand issued the following statement in response:
“Lou Raptakis has a proud record of fighting for reform in the State House, and that reputation continued into the 2009-2010 session. This past year, again Raptakis had the courage to challenge the leadership when they suspended the Open Meetings Law to pass hundreds of bills at the last minute; he was a vocal opponent of the National Grid and Blue Cross rate hikes; he challenged the budget and voted against the Deepwater deal to circumvent the PUC—the same Deepwater that employed Ralph Mollis' lobbyist-ghostwriters to do their bidding.
On every issue that faced the state this past spring and summer, Raptakis was fighting for his district and the taxpayers of Rhode Island—while running his own business full-time and serving part-time in the state Senate. Where was Ralph Mollis?
… the fact that Mr. Mollis has to forage for information on another group’s Web site is a sad acknowledgement of his own failure to put legislative information online for the general public to see.”
Caprio: Schilling Deal Just Got Worse
Democratic candidate for governor Frank Caprio said the state’s deal with Curt Schilling just went from “bad to worse,” after the deal was modified so his video game company got only a $51 million loan guarantee, instead of the original $75 million. But $20 million will be held in a reserve fund as part of the deal.
“These terms are a slap in the face to small businesses who need access to capital and could really use $20 million that's now tied up guaranteeing a deal that's gone from bad to worse,” Caprio said.
Chafee: New Schilling Deal Raises ‘Red Flags’
Lincoln Chafee said new details that have emerged about the state’s deal with Curt Schilling’s video game company raise a number of red flags. He said his biggest concern is over $4 million that had been set aside for “fees and expenses” related to the deal. “Four million dollars is a lot of money, particularly when taxpayers are footing the bill,” Chafee said.
"I believe that the public has a right to know where its money is going and who is benefiting from this deal. With that in mind, I call on the RIEDC to fully disclose the projected fund disbursement and closing fees associated with the 38 Studios loan guaranty. Who is getting this taxpayer money?” Chafee added.
Like Caprio, he also took issue with the $20 million reserve fund created in case Schilling’s company can’t make its monthly payments on its debt. “To me, this is like the canary in the coal mine - a sure warning sign that some party in this deal anticipates that 38 Studios will be unable to stand on its own feet to pay its debt obligations,” Chafee said.
Robitaille Says Caprio’s Candidacy Is ‘For Sale’
Republican candidate for governor John Robitaille called Democrat Frank Caprio an opportunist after news reports surfaced that he had courted the state GOP about the possibility of running as a Republican.
"Unfortunately, this type of behavior has become routine for Frank Caprio,” Robitaille said. “Knowing that 2010 would be a difficult year for Democrats, he shopped his candidacy to state and national Republicans in hopes that they would embrace him with open arms. But his overtures were greeted with a firm rebuke from party leaders. Opportunism has been the mainstay of Frank Caprio's career, and we shouldn't expect anything less in the biggest race of his life."
The issue went national yesterday, getting picked up by the National Review, a conservative magazine.
Gemma Says Cicilline Should End His Campaign
Anthony Gemma yesterday sent a letter to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee requesting that it ask David Cicilline to end his campaign—after it was reported that he had made $20,000 more than he should have as mayor.
In the letter, Gemma noted, “In my opinion, independently documented patterns of deception, misconduct, and dereliction of duty demonstrated by Mr. Cicilline both as mayor of Providence and as a candidate for Congress are at variance with the core principles of the Democratic Party and violate even the most forgiving standards for campaign conduct,” Gemma says in the letter.
“Mr. Cicilline thus poses a grave threat to the ability of the Democratic Party to hold the congressional seat in which Representative Patrick J. Kennedy has served with great distinction for eight terms. Even if, as now seems likely, Mr. Cicilline does not prevail in the upcoming Democratic Primary, his actions which I herein reference are sufficiently egregious as to taint – perhaps even fatally – the General Election campaign of our eventual nominee.”
Cicilline: Obama Should Back Steelworkers Against China
Congressional candidate David Cicilline urged President Obama to back up the United Steelworkers after news that they would file a claim with the U.S. trade Representative over China’s “unfair” trade policies.
“Our government’s continued failure to address the use of unfair trade policies by other countries remains a significant hurdle to putting Americans back to work,” said Cicilline said. “Since I started my campaign for Congress, I have been talking about the importance of investing in manufacturing and fair trade policies that give American companies a fighting chance. It is the responsibility of our federal government to guarantee that countries like China cannot stack the deck with impunity to guarantee themselves an edge in any area of manufacturing, but especially in the burgeoning clean-energy sector.”
Chafee Endorsed by Defenders of Wildlife
The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund has endorsed Lincoln Chafee for governor, his campaign announced yesterday. “Lincoln Chafee is a rare, true champion of the environment,” said Defenders Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen in a press release. “His independence and willingness to do what is right regardless of pressure from special and political party interests have been hallmarks of his career. Rhode Islanders can be confident he will carry those traits into the governor's [office].”
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