Archive for the 'Press Releases' Category

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Path to Prosperity, or the Road to Double Dip Recession?

Posted on March 9, 2011 by The Ocean State Republican

Travis Rowley, Chairman of the Rhode Island Young Republicans, stated his displeasure with the Governor’s budget proposal: “The man sitting at the helm of one of the highest taxed states in the country has just decided that the solution to our problems is more taxes.”

Rowley continued, “Liberals always have a list in their pocket of things they can tax whenever their reckless policies run their course. Until progressives and Democrats decide to attack the state’s structural overspending habits, the root of Rhode Island’s problems, we will continue to sink further away from economic recovery.

Patrick Sweeney, board member of the Young Republicans and candidate for RIGOP Chairman was also extremely disappointed with the Governor’s budget: “While Rhode Islanders are suffering from the 4th highest unemployment rate in the nation with over 65,000 people out of work, they are also forced to deal with a governor who finds it prudent to raise taxes on clothing, heating oil, textbooks, and water. Chafee just increased the tax burden on Rhode Islanders struggling to keep their jobs and save their homes from foreclosure.”

“Rhode Island doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem,” Sweeney explained. “Before the Governor starts raising taxes, he should take a hard look at the fraud, waste, and duplicative programs within the bloated and inefficient government that the Democrats have constructed for us.”

Rowley had more to say concerning public employees: “Everyone knows that Governor Chafee is in the pocket of the public unions, so we knew any knock public employees were going to take would be minimal. Governor Chafee’s call for public employees to contribute more to their pensions seems to be a smokescreen of fiscal responsibility, as it only requires the contribution for one year. This is another one-time fix, which is really just a desperate effort to heal a pension plan that has been raided and unfunded for decades.”

Source: Travis Rowley | travis [dot] rowley [at] rhodeislandyr [dot] com | 401.225.5629

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Filed Under: Press Releases, Rhode Island and The Missing Linc Closed

Smiley Slams Cicilline on Providence Budget Mess

Posted on March 7, 2011 by The Ocean State Republican

Mark Smiley, President of the Republican State Chairman’s Caucus commented yesterday on the financial nightmare in the city of Providence left behind by previous Mayor David Cicilline. Providence is in a fiscal crisis after Cicilline robbed the cities rainy day fund and borrowed millions to balance the budget last year.

“David Cicilline chose not to make the hard choices and reign in the financial storm that was occurring while he was mayor. He chose to rob Providence of its future and to continue the poor practices already in place. Cicilline attempted to balance the budget utilizing stimulus money that he knew wasn’t coming so that his mismanagement of Providence wouldn’t interfere with his run for Congress. ” said Smiley.

According to Mayor Angel Taveras’ Municipal Finances Review Panel, Providence is dealing with a pension that is underfunded by $2.3 billion and additionally the unfunded liability is even more severe in health-care costs for retirees. The city has just $1 million saved to cover an unfunded liability of $1.5 billion, according to the report.

“Now we know why David Cicilline chose to run for Congress rather than seek another term as Mayor of Providence. It was time to run away from the mess he created and leave the city holding the bag. It is clear that Congressman Cicilline cares more about his own career than the citizens he supposedly represents. He has also left the union rank and file in an extremely bad position given Providence will not be able to deliver what it promised.” said Smiley.

Mark Smiley was elected to President of the Republican State Chairmen’s Caucus last month and is also the Chairman of the Warren Republican Town Committee.

Source: Press Release

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Filed Under: Corruption, Liberals and Leftists, Press Releases and Republican Committees Closed

Ken McKay (Officially) Announces RIGOP Chair Candidacy

Posted on February 7, 2011 by The Ocean State Republican

The worst kept secret in RI Republican politics is now officially no longer a secret — former RNC Chief of Staff and Carcieri campaign manager Ken McKay is running as a candidate for Chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party. His only announced opposition thus far is Patrick Sweeney. The following is an e-mail which he sent to RIGOP Delegates, as well as some members of the media today:

Republicans are faced with an incredible opportunity to win elections in Rhode Island. We have great incumbents and candidates. We have incredibly hard working activists.

Respectfully, I hope to earn your support and vote to become Chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party in March. Over the last few weeks I have talked to many Rhode Island Republicans about our future. I will continue that outreach through our March meeting.

I humbly believe that if we all pull together against liberal, Democrat policies and leaders we can win elections here. In my opinion, Republican ideas represent the majority opinion in Rhode Island. Liberals and Democrats continue to take us in the wrong direction. We must organize the like-minded majority, and identify our vote, and turn them out on election day, if we do we will find ourselves in the majority and in control of our destiny.

Before serving on the Rick Scott for Governor campaign in Florida last summer and fall I had the honor to serve our party as Chief of Staff at the National Committee. When I arrived there shortly after President Obama’s inauguration Washington wrote us off. We were not expected to win. Frankly, the question was how big the Democrat majority could get? We worked in the face of skepticism but we remained excited and pulled together to beat Democrats. We helped challenge the liberal health care takeover, we helped successful Governor’s races, we raised money. We spent every day organizing. It was not easy. Doubt was in the air. We took steps though towards success and we pressed every day until we achieved victory and we can do that in Rhode Island.

A little about me:

Married for 18 years and we have three boys
My wife and I are from Rhode Island
Managed two successful campaigns for Governor Carcieri
Served as Chief of Staff to Governor Carcieri for his first term
Veteran of the United States Army Infantry
As Chief of Staff at RNC made sure RI was supported
Assisted in RIGOP fundraising
Took a leave of absence from Governor Carcieri’s office to assist in 2004 legislative races

Attached is a letter that I ask you to read regarding my candidacy for Chair of our great Party, and again, I ask for your support.

Please forward this to other Republicans who have in interest in our party and its future. As better contact information becomes available for delegates I will continue to send this to them.

Source: Press Release from Ken McKay

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Filed Under: 2011 Elections, Press Releases and Republican Party Closed

Statement from Mayor Fung on Misleading Chafee Mailer

Posted on October 31, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

FUNG STATEMENT ON LINCOLN GROUP POLITICAL MAILER

Mayor Allan Fung today expressed his extreme disappointment with the misleading political mailer distributed by the Lincoln Group to Cranston residents. This mailer caused some residents to believe that Mayor Fung had implicitly endorsed Lincoln Chafee for Governor.

“I endorsed Republican John Robitaille several weeks ago and he has my continued support,” stated Fung. “I strongly feel that he’s the best candidate to lead our state through these difficult fiscal times. It is unfortunate that the Lincoln Group feels a need to resort to misrepresentations for political gain.”

“I’ll be joining John tomorrow at 3:30pm at Taco Manufacturing in Cranston as a show of my support for his candidacy for Governor.”

Press Release: Cranston Mayor Allan Fung

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Press Releases and Republican Candidates 2 Comments

RIGOP Asks Why Obama Won’t Endorse Caprio

Posted on October 22, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

RIGOP ASKS OBVIOUS QUESTIONS (The Donkey in the Room?)
WHY WON’T OBAMA ENDORSE CAPRIO?

With President Obama set to come to Rhode Island on Monday to shore up the faltering campaign of leftist Providence Mayor, David Cicilline, there has been quite a buzz in political circles as to why the President hasn’t endorsed his Party’s candidate for Governor.

RIGOP Chairman Giovanni Cicione today asks the Rhode Island Democratic Party the following questions:

Is Obama rewarding Lincoln Chafee, who endorsed the President’s candidacy (while snubbing John McCain who was in Rhode Island the day Chafee announced his support for Obama), by staying out of the race?

Is Obama considering endorsing Chafee as a punishment for Caprio’s dalliances earlier this year with the Republican Party?

Has Caprio asked the President NOT to endorse him because he is trying to look like a responsible conservative instead of a tax hiking liberal?

Will Caprio be campaigning with the President on Monday, standing arm and arm with his Party’s leader and with David Cicilline?

Does Frank Caprio support Obama’s massive spending binge?

“The voters deserve to know,” said RIGOP Chair Giovanni Cicione. “It’s time for the candidates to stand up and let us know who they really are – either they are career politicians playing career politicians games, who look like shape shifting versions of a candidate that attempt to conform to the polling results of the day, or they are leaders like John Robitaille, who present the one and only real version of themselves to the voters.”

Press Release: Rhode Island Republican Party

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Press Releases, Republican Party and The Obamessiah Closed

RIGOP Chair Reacts to Board of Elections Decision

Posted on September 22, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

RI REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN GIOVANNI CICIONE REACTS TO BOARD OF ELECTIONS DECISION

Warwick – RI Republican Party Chairman Giovanni Cicione today applauded the dismissal by the RI Board of Elections of a complaint filed by Kara Russo, unsuccessful candidate for RI Lieutenant Governor and US Representative. “I would like to thank the RI Board of Elections for rendering its decision this afternoon to reject Ms. Russo’s frivolous claim. I hope that today’s decision will bring an end to Ms. Russo’s relentless campaign of self-promotion, at least for this election cycle,” stated Cicione.

“Ms. Russo made mockery of the electoral process by declaring her candidacy for two offices at the same time,” continued Chairman Cicione. “Knowing full well that she could not possibly serve in both positions for which she was on the ballot, Ms. Russo has no right to claim that she was a legitimate candidate for either. Further, realizing that her conflicting candidacies could not be taken seriously, she never even requested an endorsement from the RI Republican Party, but instead chose to run disruptive primary campaigns against both Heidi Rogers and John Loughlin, our endorsed Republican candidates.”

Ms. Russo continued her 2010 campaign of shameless self promotion by filing a frivilous complaint with the Board of Elections. “Clearly, Ms. Russo gave no thought to the dangerous precedent that would have been set had she succeeded with her ill-advised request for the Board of Elections to override Rhode Island’s statutory and Constitutional process of elections in favor of her own self-interest,” concluded Cicione.

Press Release: Rhode Island Republican Party

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Press Releases and Republican Party Closed

RISC Calls for Probe of Bristol-Warren NEA Activity

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Rhode Island Red

The Rhode Island Statewide Coalition (RISC) is calling on the Superintendent of the Bristol-Warren School district to immediately investigate whether inappropriate – -and possibly illegal- -political campaign activity associated with the approaching Primary election was conducted during a portion of the teachers’ official orientation session held Monday, August 30th.

Superintendent Melinda Thies has received an official complaint by Bristol Rep. Doug Gablinske who claims that Pat Crowley of the statewide National Education Association (NEA) delivered political remarks and went so far as to urge teachers in attendance for an official orientation session to vote against Gablinske in the approaching September 14th Primary. Gablinske has been a supporter of reforms to public employees’ pensions and other elements of their contract compensation packages as well as a supporter of the state’s new Education Aid Formula.

“It’s outrageous, it’s inappropriate and RISC is demanding to know if, in fact, there was illegal political campaign activity conducted by the local teachers’ union and statewide NEA during an official teachers’ orientation, on public school grounds, during a professional teachers’ forum,” blasts RISC President Jim Beale. Beale notes that several hundred teachers and other school staff assembled for the orientation are paid for such out-of-classroom orientation days by the school district as part of the duties associated with their professional contract. Continue reading ‘RISC Calls for Probe of Bristol-Warren NEA Activity’

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Filed Under: Big Labor, Liberals and Leftists, Press Releases and Reformers Closed

Erik Wallin: Kilmartin is Part of the Problem

Posted on August 27, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

Attorney General Candidate Erik Wallin today congratulated Representative Kilmartin for his proposal to “crack down” on public corruption in Rhode Island. “In a press release today, Representative Kilmartin detailed what he would do to enhance a public corruption unit in the Attorney General’s office and create a tip-line — and, since he clearly just took my proposal and put his name on it, I will say that I agree with him.”

For over a year, Wallin has spoken about the need for a Public Corruption Unit/Task Force staffed by three seasoned prosecutors and a forensic auditor as well as a 24-hr tip-line all working together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Rhode Island State Police. Each of these proposals, including increasing prison and pension penalties, and more, are all embodied in Wallin’s twenty-four page Honest Operation of Public Entities (HOPE) Act (which was released on May 25, 2010 and can be found at www.wallinforag.com).

“As an almost 20 year veteran of the General Assembly – many of those years serving in the leadership – Representative Kilmartin has had ample opportunity to get passed this type of proposal. My HOPE Act codifies this Public Corruption Unit as I believe it is more important than any one Attorney General and should always exist to protect Rhode Islanders. So I ask: where was Representative Kilmartin on this issue for the last 20 years and if public corruption “never sleeps” then what was the 20-year delay?”

Wallin continued, “We don’t need a 20-year political insider as Attorney General – someone who feels that it is appropriate to hold a political press conference inside a courtroom just a few short weeks ago. That type of thinking clearly shows that he’s part of the problem – not the solution.”

Press Release: Erik Wallin for Attorney General

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Corruption, Press Releases and Republican Candidates Closed

Rhode Island’s Gubernatorial Wonder Twins

Posted on August 20, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

With former Senate Finance Chairman Frank Caprio recently obtaining the endorsement of the Laborers’ Union, it is now official that there are two candidates in the race for Governor that the public employee union bosses can count on as Governor. Mr. Caprio now openly joins former Mayor Lincoln Chafee, who received the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers, as the Choice of Public Employees Unions.

The Rhode Island Republican Party notes that with Republican John Robitaille as the only credible voice left for the taxpayers, the voters will fortunately have a clear choice in the race for Governor – between one of the Wonder Twins and a real reformer.

Like the fictional Wonder Twins, Caprio and Chafee think they can change their image during this campaign in order to fool the voters into thinking they are something they are not. Caprio is still a creature of the financially irresponsible General Assembly, and Chafee is still a waffling politician who is beholden to special interest groups. Don’t be fooled.

Many know how Mayor Chafee gave a sweet heart deal to the Warwick Teachers’ union by circumventing the School Committee to give teachers a 19.4 % pay raise with no health insurance premium co-share (ProJo 5/3/94). A deal that a former Warwick School Committee Chairperson was quoted at the time as saying “the city taxpayers could not have done any worse” and that “[e]ven a monkey can manage to give everything away.” (ProJo 5/3/94 and 5/4/94).

But not as many know the story of how Caprio as Senate Finance Chairman tried to the increase the pension benefits of state workers who belonged to the Laborers Union. In the final days of the 2001 legislative session, Caprio introduced a “controversial union-pension bill”. (Projo 6/30/01) This bill required “an estimated $250,000 in state payments to a second pension fund for 1,100 state workers who belong to the Laborers International Union of North America.” (ProJo 6/28/01)

Caprio “introduced the bill at the request of … top Laborers officials”. (ProJo 6/28/2001) Legislators such as Senator Michael Lenihan and Representative Tony Pires dubbed it a “double-pension bill”, which would put the state “on the hook and making it fiscally responsible for a pension system over which it has no control.” (ProJo 6/28/2001)

After hearing this criticism Caprio acknowledged that the wording needed “some attention to clarify the issues” (Projo 6/28/2001), but after he made changes to the bill’s wording it still died in the House (Projo 6/30/2001). Also, in 2001, Caprio co-sponsored legislation, along with Senator Tassoni, to give pensions to state workers after only five years of service instead of ten years (01-S176).

The teachers union bosses never forgot what Chafee did for them as mayor and know what Chafee will do for them as Governor. Caprio appears to be calling in his chits with the Laborers and expecting the same payback. If either of the Wonder Twins is elected Governor, the taxpayers will be left wondering what new super taxes they will be stuck paying to cover those hefty political debts to the union bosses.

Press Release: Rhode Island Republican Party

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Press Releases and Republican Party Closed

RI Clean Slate: A New Hope, A New Beginning

Posted on August 16, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

A press conference about the RI Clean Slate will be held by the RIGOP at the RI State House today at 1:00 PM.

The state of our State is a little bit frightening these days, and if we did not have some hope that we could turn things around, most of us, like so many other people already have, would probably pack up and leave.

We stay, however, not just because we love our home state, but because we share a vision for making Rhode Island great again. We have a strong hope and we see a clear path to returning Rhode Island to economic, cultural, and political vitality. And we trust in our fellow citizens to rise up against the status quo and let our voices be heard.

If you share our optimism, if you share our belief in a future here for our children and families, if you know that Rhode Island should be first and not last, then please join us in taking a stand.

Whatever your party affiliation, and whatever your view of the national political scene, if you believe that one party rule is bad for all of us, and that the lively experiment needs a new direction, then help us wipe the slate clean.

We can do no worse with a clean slate, and if our 90 candidates are right, then we will do much, much better.

Press Release: Rhode Island Republican Party

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Coming Events, Press Releases, Reformers and Republican Party Closed