Government Watchdog Group Picks New Leadership

Government Watchdog Group Picks New Leadership

Operation Clean Government (OCG) has appointed Margaret Kane as its new president, replacing Marie Sorman who will remain on the board.

Kane, a realtor in Bristol and former executive director of the American Lung Association of Rhode Island, has already demonstrated a clear understanding of legislative activism. During her 16 years as executive director of the Rhode Island branch of ALA, she led the successful legislative effort to ban smoking in all public places, worksites, restaurants and bars.

The government watchdog group has also appointed five new board members.

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Focus on legislative agenda

"I'm excited. I think we've got quite a legislative agenda laid out," Kane told GoLocalProv. "There's a lot of good pending government issues. ... I think it's a good place to be."

Key priorities for the next legislative session will be pushing to give the state Ethics Commission more oversight over the House and Senate, eliminating straight-ticket voting, and establishing an Inspector General to weed out waste and fraud in state government. OCG attempted to get the ethics and ballot reforms passed last year. Kane said the prospects for at least one of those has brightened - over the course of the summer, incumbent Secretary of State Ralph Mollis expressed support for doing away with straight-ticket voting, also known as the master lever.

OCG will also be focusing on recruiting new members in 2011, telling frustrated citizens that instead of "railing against the darkness" they can do something proactive about cleaning up government, Kane said.

New board members

OCG also has appointed the following five new board members, according to a news release:

• Frank Lemon is a West Point graduate who served two combat missions in Vietnam, one as a Green Beret. He later was a Reuters correspondent in the Middle East and a terrorism analyst for MSNBC. He also organized the RI Aviation Hall of Fame.
• Matt Leonard is a Business Assessment Engineer, with expertise in Risk Management and Disaster Recovery. He was sent to New York to help major corporations recover data after the terror attack of 9/11 and was named Employee of the Year for Iron Mountain for his work. He now provides risk management consulting services to local companies and serves on the North Kingstown Audit Committee. He also works for a local fourth-generation food distribution company.
• Peter Fogarty is a forensic accounting & fraud examiner and a managing partner for the national forensic accounting firm HSNO. He specializes in evaluation of damage claims and frauds and court testimony. He is also active on Smithfield zoning and planning committees.
• Sandy Riojas is an activist involved in local issues affecting women and urban populations. She currently teaches in Providence and serves on a half dozen local boards and political action committees, including the State Police Citizens Advisory Board.
• Robert 'Al' Benson is returning to the OCG board after a year's absence. He is a retired electrical engineer, who now chairs OCG's legislative committee. He has testified on a variety of ethics issues and supported initiatives to prevent town officials who are also union members from negotiating contracts with their own unions.