Fecteau: RI Democratic Party State Chair McNamara Should Resign
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
State Rep. Joseph McNamara should resign as RI Democratic Party state Chair. Rep. McNamara is a hypocrite, a manipulator, and a ‘do nothing’ legislator only known for making calamari the Rhode Island’s official appetizer (now that I think of it, maybe he is a good fit for the RI Democrat establishment?). He gives all Democrats a bad name, and is a huge liability to our party.
Since the abrupt resignation of RI Democratic Party state Chair David A. Caprio because of a political scandal (imagine that!), Mr. Joseph ‘calamari’ McNamara took the helm promising transparency, and ethical decision making. Well, that apparently was a bad joke. Under McNamara’s reign, the corruption hasn’t ceased, there have been more scandals than ever. Where is the accountability we were promised?
Let’s forget the higher profile Rhode Island political scandals as of late (e.g. the state probe involving House Finance Chairman Raymond E. Gallison Jr’s activities, state Rep. Joseph S. Almeida’s arrest, and Providence councilman Kevin Jackson’s arrest). My own state Senator, Jamie Doyle from Pawtucket, also has his own ‘run-ins’ with the law, and again, you hear crickets chirp from the Democratic leaders such as McNamara. Senator Doyle, son of the former mayor of Pawtucket James Doyle, is ignoring a court order to repay a local business order $7,000, and has been found in contempt of court (if you or I did that, we would be in jail).
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTJust like state Rep. Gallison, Doyle is ironically on a Finance Committee too. Mr. Doyle is best known for his abrasive personality telling voters to “come at” him, and spending campaign funds on lavish dinners (a bully and a spoiled brat). Doyle, just like McNamara, has done nothing for the people he represents. He was also willing to let the PawSox relocate without a peep because Doyle and McNamara are birds of a feather. No wonder why the Democratic leadership has Doyle’s back.
Why hasn’t Mr. McNamara asked President of the Senate, Teresa Paiva-Weed, to remove Doyle from the Senate Finance committee? After Gallison, what message does this send? The Senate Finance committee, much like the House Finance Committee, is designed to protect and serve small business owners, not take advantage them. Even more recently, former gubernatorial candidate Ken Block disclosed that Mr. Jamie Doyle has not included income on his ethics filings; again, all quiet from establishment Democrats such as Mr. McNamara.
Maybe if Mr. Jamie Doyle is sentenced to a prison term, McNamara would utter some bland condemnation? If Doyle were a Republican, would a Democratic lynch mob form just outside the capital building demanding his resignation? Just food for thought.
You see, McNamara only opposes unethical behavior that involves non-Democratic and anti-establishment members. During the June 9th 2015 special election for the House District 33 seat, Mr. McNamara and the rest of the Democratic establishment filed an ethics complaint against the other three non-Democratic candidates. Apparently, they did not file the appropriate financial disclosure statements with the state Ethics Commission. A travesty if I ever heard one!
With this case, McNamara was front and center condemning such “unethical behavior.” Shame on them McNamara said. He went on to say in a statement, “It's troubling that … three [non-Democratic candidates] have failed to file their own ethics statements as required by law.” However, just like with Doyle, Mr. Block did some digging and turns out, McNamara has his own dirty laundry; McNamara NEVER reported he was chair of the RI Democratic State Committee on his own ethics filings -- hypocrisy at its finest.
With Mr. McNamara as chair of the Rhode Island Democratic committee, the question isn’t if there is going to be another political scandal, it is when will the next one occur, and can you get good seats during the trial. As a Democrat, I am disgusted with the corruption that involves my fellow Democrats, but with each resignation, arrest, or investigation, there is one common denominator: Mr. Joseph ‘calamari’ McNamara.
Mr. McNamara, please step down.
Matt Fecteau ([email protected]), of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, lost to U.S. Rep. David Cicilline in 2014’s Democratic primary. He is a former White House national security intern and Iraq war veteran.
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