Congressional Candidate Meltdowns - 23 Who Made a Difference in RI in 2023

Monday, January 01, 2024

GoLocalProv Political Team

 

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Left to Right: Democratic candidates Sabina Matos and Aaron Regunberg

The two frontrunners for the Democratic nomination for the first congressional district seat hit major bumps during the 2023 campaign cycle.

When GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle tried to ask Rhode Island Lt. Governor Sabina Matos questions about the ongoing investigations into her campaign's signatures, New York Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) repeatedly interrupted Nagle's questions.

Espaillat was in Rhode Island to campaign with Matos.

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There is currently an ongoing Rhode Island State Police and Rhode Island Attorney General investigation and at the time, the Rhode Island Board of Elections voted to consider issuing subpoenas to Matos' ballot signature collectors following the primary. The Attorney General's investigation has gone on for four months.

Nagle first asked Matos if she had spoken with her campaign's signature collectors. 

 

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“The campaign signature collectors — have you had conversations with each and every one of them? Obviously, there is now the potential for subpoenas following the primary," said Nagle. "You say you have enough signatures; you’ve had several hundred signatures tossed out. What if in the event there is something that is found that signatures aren’t in fact valid?”

But each time Nagle tried to ask Matos questions, Congressman Espaillat interrupted her.

The exchange became more heated when the Congressman said, “I don’t know who you are [referring to Nagle]— we’re not going to allow you to victimize the victim.”

Nagle interjected, saying she asked Matos the question -- not Espaillat. 

“You’re in our state, sir,” said Nagle to his dismissive comment by the Congressman as he continued to speak over Nagle.

“She’s a decent woman. We trust her. We’re here to support her. The Board of Elections said that there’s nothing there. We’re not going to engage in a conversation where she’s victimized again,” he continued. 

Nagle continued to press Matos for an answer.

“As a woman, do you appreciate being interrupted by a man when you have a job to do?” Nagle asked Matos.

“You’re doing your job as a reporter and you get interrupted often as a reporter,” said Matos.

“I’m not having any conversations with signature collectors. Right now, we have to wait for the process to continue,” said Matos. 

 

Regunberg’s Father-in-Law Was Big Supporter - His Firm Is Mired in Investor Lawsuit & Petroleum Investments

Aaron Regunberg’s campaign for Congress got a big boost during the campaign with the support of the political action committee (PAC) Progress Rhode Island.

The PAC was funded almost entirely by Regunberg’s father-in-law Jim Cielinski. He is a top player at a global investment firm Janus Henderson — a firm that is now facing a major class action lawsuit and was hit in the past year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cielinski provided $125,000 to the Progress Rhode Island PAC, according to the Federal Election Commission.

While Regunberg claims he is the champion of the poor and fights for the middle class, he benefited from his father-in-law's mega-wealth.

“Government should be working to improve the lives of the middle class, working families, and poorer people, not the folks who already have more wealth than they know what to do with. Aaron believes that progressive taxation is a critical mechanism for reducing the staggering economic and political inequality that has plagued our society and democracy,” according to Regunberg’s campaign website.

"He [Regunberg] supports The For the 99.8% Act to lower the estate tax exemption, a millionaires surtax on income over $2 million, a wealth tax applied to the fortunes of the ultra-wealthy, and the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act," claims the campaign.

And, the Reguberg campaign was benefiting from PAC funded by his father-in-law.

Cielinski is Global Head of Fixed Income at Janus Henderson Investors — he is ranked second on the firm’s executive committee — only under the CEO. He is often the face of Janus Henderson — a firm with nearly $300 billion under management.

Cielinski can be viewed on the global financial shows providing expertise about emerging markets and expounding why his firm is investing in Russia or the benefits of the Trump presidency on the economy.

GoLocal asked Regunberg if there was an inherent inconsistency between his progressive political positions and his campaign benefitting from his father-in-law’s wealth and company’s practices.

 

Making Big Returns of Petroleum Investments

For Cielinski's firm Janus Henderson, the investments in the fossil fuel industry are in two major players, according to FossilFuelFunds: 

1. EOG Resources Inc.    $200.75 million    

2. Atlas Energy Solutions Inc Class A   $30.33 million

EOG at the time, reported quarterly earnings with revenues of $5.57 billion for the quarter ended June 2023, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.89%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $7.41 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. EOG has seen significant growth this year. It has climbed 29% over the 52-week low.

Atlas Energy Solutions describes itself on its investor website, "Atlas is a leader in the proppant and proppant logistics industry and is currently solely focused on serving customers in the Permian Basin of West Texas & New Mexico, the most active oil and natural gas producing regions in North America...Our core mission is to maximize value for our stockholders by generating strong cash flow and allocating our capital resources efficiently, including providing a regular and durable return of capital to our investors through industry cycles." Atlas' stock is up 40% over its 52-week low.

Regunberg did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

 

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