Questions Over Candidate’s Residence, Voting History Arise in North Providence
Monday, July 11, 2016
A candidate running for the Rhode Island House of Representatives in North Providence has claimed a homestead exemption at his North Providence address for the past eight years — but voting records show that he voted in Johnston between 2006 and 2012.
Tax records show that Democrat Bill Deware, who is running against Democratic incumbent William O’Brien in District 54, has had a property in his name in North Providence where he has gotten a homestead exemption since 2008.
Voting records show however that Deware voted in Johnston between 2006 and 2012, and only began voting in North Providence in 2014.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTA homestead exemption is reserved for those homeowners that live on the premises. In 2010, GoLocal reported that then-gubernatorial candidate Lincoln Chafee had 11 motor vehicles registered in Exeter, a homestead exemption in Providence, and a declaration of residency in Warwick —which Operation Clean Government deemed “not appropriate."
"When I first moved to North Providence at the end of 2009 I did what I think a lot of Rhode Islanders do; I forgot to change my voter registration. Despite living in the district in North Providence I was still voting in Johnston. My wife made the switch but I just never thought about it. My family was going through a lot with my daughter's conditions and it just slipped through the cracks. I wasn't involved in politics and never had any intention of running so I wasn't doing it out of any nefarious reason," wrote Deware in an email on Sunday night. "I had no reason to want to vote more in Johnston than North Providence and certainly didn't vote twice or anything crazy like that. I just forgot to switch and was used to going to the same place as always to vote."
Latest in Residency Controversies - and Political
The emergence of the North Providence revelations come following Republican Party Chair Brandon Bell filing an ethics complaint against Representative John Carnevale, after a WPRI investigation which questioned if Carnevale in fact lived in Providence. The complaint is based on where Carnevale is registered to vote.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Democrats have been after incumbent O’Brien, filing an ethics complaint in June alleging that O’Brien failed to submit required financial disclosure forms.
Following the complaint being filed, O’Brien responded with the following:
“[When] asked why I had not filed financial disclosure forms for the years that proceeded my campaigns for state representative in 2010 and 2012, I filed the reports that afternoon out of an abundance of caution. They disclose what folks in North Providence already know: I am Providence public school teacher with a house and a mortgage. It is unfortunate that my opponent, Bill Deware, and the Progressive caucus' chairman Sam Bell resort to petty politics while I want to talk about who is most qualified to represent the hard working families in North Providence. They should debate issues instead of piddle around,” said O’Brien.
Bell then fired back.
“I find it unfortunate that, instead of simply admitting wrongdoing, O'Brien chose to belittle the importance of Ethics Commission reports, even calling them 'petty politics.' Especially in the wake of the Gallison scandal, it is deeply troubling that the conservative establishment still doesn't take ethics seriously,” said Bell. “Furthermore, I find O'Brien's comment that he filed the reports 'out of an abundance of caution' disturbing. Is he implying that he thinks he didn't have to file them?”
After filing his amended returns, O'Brien currently is in full compliance with the ethics commission. The case was resolved through an informal resolution for a $100 civil penalty.
Related Slideshow: Races to Watch in 2016 - RI Progressive Democrats
Sam Bell, State Director for the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats, ran through a list of races to watch at the GA in 2016. Bell noted that as of June 1, Progressive Dems had yet to make endorsements. "This is just my take and analysis of these races," said Bell.
Bell noted other races as well that weren't on the list.
"Julie Casimiro, because of her positions on certain labor issues and some of her past work on education, but we view her as a real Democrat, we are certainly cheering her on, and some of our members may well help her out," said Bell, who noted it was similar for another Democrat. "Same for Lisa Tomasso, we certainly feel she is the much preferable candidate (to Republican Sherry) Roberts."
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