Foulkes’ Top Campaign Advisor Perpetrated “The Big Lie” on RI in 2010

Foulkes’ Top Campaign Advisor Perpetrated “The Big Lie” on RI in 2010

Maybe no campaign deadpanned lied to voters in Rhode Island more than in the 2010 race in the First Congressional District.

 

At the time, a newly launched GoLocal unveiled that the City of Providence’s finances were in chaos under then-Mayor David Cicilline.  The report was based on an internal city memo.

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Cicilline was on his way out of City Hall. He was in the midst of a run for Congress, and while the city’s finances were collapsing, the Cicilline campaign continued to claim that the finances were “excellent.”

 

It was a constant retort by Cicilline on the campaign trail and in debates.

 

The architect for that campaign was Eric Hyers. Now, he is leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes’s messaging.

 

When asked about the city's failing financial condition, the Cicilline campaign said in a statement to GoLocal in June of 2010, “Fortunately, the strong fiscal health that Providence has maintained under Mayor Cicilline’s leadership made it possible to hold the line on taxes and still balance the City’s budget. That made a lot more sense than raising taxes in the middle of a painful recession.”

 

"In fact, the Mayor's good fiscal management has earned the City A bond ratings and awards for excellence in financial reporting," the campaign added.

 

But it was not true. But it did serve Cicilline well during the campaign.

 

Cicilline defeated Republican John Loughlin in a close battle — winning 50-44%.

 

"Category Five" Financial Crisis

But within months, the city’s fiscal situation unraveled, leaving newly elected Angel Taveras to manage a fiscal crisis. Taveras called it a "category five" financial crisis. Cicilline was widely criticized for misleading voters about the city's financial health.

 

Cicilline’s fiscal mismanagement made national news.  The New York Times reported,  “Mr. Taveras’s predecessor, David Cicilline, a fellow Democrat who was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2010, has come under criticism for not being candid about the city’s financial crisis. Last month, he apologized for saying during his campaign for Congress that Providence was in excellent financial condition.”

 

The Atlantic wrote about the post-Cicilline financial meltdown, 'The number itself was surprising,' [Providence Director of Administration Michael] D’Amico recalls, 'but the percentage that that represented was even more shocking." Providence was looking at a $600 million annual budget that would now demand concessions from everyone — the firefighters, police, teachers, city union employees, taxpayers, retirees, and major community institutions.'”

 

In 2012, Cicilline, after one term in Congress, faced a highly contested Democratic primary. Businessman Anthony Gemma both challenged Cicilline in the Democratic primary.

 

“David Cicilline ruined Providence’s finances, he lied about it throughout the 2010 election cycle, and he’s lying about it today,” Gemma said in January of 2012. “Through the final weeks of his congressional campaign, David Cicilline denied tapping the undesignated surplus, or rainy day fund. He looked us in the eye and told us that close to $30 million was left in that account. He was lying through his teeth. The real number was around ten percent of that figure. And he knew it.”

 

When asked about his messaging for the Cicilline campaign, Hyers claimed that GoLocal wrote bad stories about the Cicilline campaign because it would not advertise in 2010. He declined any other comment.

 

Hyers refused to answer questions about the Cicilline campaign's misleading statements in 2010.

 

Under Taveras, the city was forced to impose massive tax increases, lay off city workers, and even sell some city streets.

 

Today, Hyers is back in Rhode Island. Foulkes's campaign paid Hyers’s firm, Outperform Strategies, just under $150,000 in 2025 and to date in 2026 for consulting work, according to Rhode Island campaign finance reports.

 

 

Loughlin Looks Back

Loughlin looks back at Cicilline's false statements. Today, Loughlin is a candidate for Rhode Island Lt. Governor.

 

"Police cars that were hidden on the top floor of the garage that weren't running, and they didn't have the money to get them fixed. It was very widespread and very pervasive that the city was on its heels financially, and the mayor didn't own up to any of it. He just denied it all," said Loughlin in a recent interview.

 

Loughlin outlined how frustrating it was because the Cicilline campaign repeatedly lied about the city’s finances.  “So, Eric. There are campaign operatives that will say anything if they feel it will get their candidate elected. I would not hire somebody like that. They will say anything they have to say if it gets them across the finishing line,” said Loughlin in an interview with GoLocal.

 

Asked about the situation and if these types of situations are better or worse, Loughlin said, "It's probably gotten actually a little better, and largely because of the rise of independent news outlets like yourself. There are more ways to get to the truth than ever before. So, because of that, you're not dependent solely on the Gray Lady, the Providence Journal."

 

Hyers bio states, “Eric Hyers is one of the country’s most successful campaign managers, with more than a decade of experience electing Democrats to statewide and federal office in tough states. He managed winning congressional campaigns for David Cicilline (RI-01, 2012 and 2010), and successful gubernatorial wins for Gina Raimondo (RI, 2014) and Steve Bullock (MT, 2016).”

 

He also ran Biden’s 2020 campaign in Michigan, according to his bio.

 

Today, Cicilline is the head of the non-profit Rhode Island Foundation and is paid more than $840,000 a year.