Archive for the 'RI General Assembly' Category

I’ll match my facts against Sen. Tassoni anytime, anywhere.

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Phil Hirons

In the 7/21/2011 Observer (http://breezepapers.com/2011/07/20/observer/tassoni-says-gop-boss-hirons-should-get-his-facts-straight) the senator takes some liberties with the truth concerning statements made earlier by John Dionne and myself. Below is my response to the Observer.

Sen.Tassoni says Mr Dionne and I need to get our facts straight. I am up for that challenge.

Mr Dionne said the senator’s sponsorship and support of Binding Arbitration was based on his past relationship with labor unions. The senator’s  answer was that he’s no longer employed by a union. Correct. But that does not change the fact that he was in the past as Mr Dionne stated. Not to mention his newspaper’s (http://www.commongroundnews.net) advertisements are at least half for unions, affiliated organizations or businesses owned by fellow democrat politicians. While the senator is no longer a public union employee, he  is clearly in good standing with the public sector union political action committees. In the 2nd quarter of this non-election year he received over $2500 in public sector PAC donations. (http://www.ricampaignfinance.com/RIPublic/Filings.aspx)

Moving on to the Binding Arbitration Bill (S0794   http://www.rilin.state.ri.us//BillText11/SenateText11/S0794A.pdf )and the Senate votes on it on June 29th. (The Senate Journal http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/journals11/senatejournals11/SJournal6-28.pdf). Sen.Tassoni sponsored the bill. If it is a conflict to vote for a bill, how can it not be to sponsor it?

There were 7 votes related to the bill. 5 amendments,  a motion to move the final vote to June 30th and the actual vote on the bill. Sen.Tassoni recorded no vote on the first 6 votes and finally abstained on the 7th. Final total 6 walks, 1 abstention.

Is binding arbitration bad for Smithfield and North Smithfield? I am not an expert so I’ll defer to the elected municipal officials. Of the 21 elected municipal officials (Smithfield 5 council, 5 school committee; N. Smithfield 5 council, 5 school committee, 1 administrator), 15 are listed in opposition at the RI Coalition Against Binding Arbitration website (www.ricaba.org). The rest have not answered, yet. The opposed includes the 3 members of the democratic majority on the Smithfield School Committee.

Clearly the municipal officials in the 22nd senate district  think this idea is a bad one. From the national media it appears states are not enacting this idea right now. Most are running away from it. 

Yes, sometimes our General Assembly members should recuse themselves. Sen.Tassoni has sponsored hundreds of bills in his time in the RI Senate. He generally makes the top 5 in the number of senate bill filled every year. Researching how many time he has recused himself since his election is not an easy task. However, I would bet the number can be counted on 2 hands.

Recusing oneself from an issue should include not submitting bills on the subject, not voting on the subject and not advocating for the subject. About a third of the senator’s letter was singing the praises of the binding arbitration bill he submitted. Score 1 out of 3 on recusing.

Phil Hirons, Jr.

Chair, Smithfield Republican Town Committee

Vice President, RIRA

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Filed Under: Big Labor, Commentary, Democrats, Liberals and Leftists, Public Policy, Republican Committees and RI General Assembly Closed

The Binding Arbritration Bill Is Dead… For Now

Posted on July 1, 2011 by The Ocean State Republican

Thank you to all the individuals and grassroots groups who actively opposed the corrupt binding arbitration legislation for public school teachers, which would have pushed many municipalities in Rhode Island over the edge and many more people out of our state. Although the bill just barely passed through the Rhode Island Senate (20-17), Speaker Fox has indicated that it will not taken up by the Rhode Island House this session.

We want to encourage you to remember the 20 Senators who voted against your city, your right to elected representation, and of course, your wallet. If you live in their district, please consider running against them or helping those who will be.

The 20 have a “Y” between to their last name and district number and are highlighted in red below:

CALENDAR
ITEM 30 2011S 794 SUB A
McCAFFREY LABOR
School Teachers’ Arbitration
PASSAGE

YEAS – 20 NAYS – 17 NOT VOTING – 1

SENATOR VOTE DISTRICT CITY/TOWN

ALGIERE N
BATES N
CICCONE Y 7 PROVIDENCE/NORTH PROVIDENCE
COTE N
CROWLEY N
DaPONTE Y 14 EAST PROVIDENCE/PAWTUCKET
DeVALL Y 18 EAST PROVIDENCE
DiPALMA Y 12 LITTLE COMPTON/MIDDLETOWN/NEWPORT/TIVERTON
DOYLE Y 8 PAWTUCKET
FELAG N
FOGARTY N
GALLO Y 27 CRANSTON
GOODWIN Y 1 PROVIDENCE
HODGSON N
JABOUR Y 5 PROVIDENCE
KETTLE N
LANZI Y 26 CRANSTON
LOMBARDO N
LYNCH Y 31 WARWICK
MAHER N
McCAFFREY Y 29 WARWICK
METTS Y 6 PROVIDENCE
MILLER Y 28 CRANSTON/WARWICK
MOURA N
NESSELBUSH N
O’NEILL, E. N
OTTIANO N
PERRY Y 3 PROVIDENCE
PICARD N
PICHARDO Y 2 PROVIDENCE
PINGA N
RUGGERIO Y 4 PROVIDENCE/NORTH PROVIDENCE
SHEEHAN Y 36 NARRAGANSETT/NORTH KINGSTOWN
SHIBLEY N
SOSNOWSKI Y 37 NEW SHOREHAM/SOUTH KINGSTOWN
TASSONI NV 22 SMITHFIELD/NORTH SMITHFIELD
WALASKA Y 30 WARWICK
PAIVA WEED Y 13 NEWPORT/JAMESTOWN

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Filed Under: 2012 Elections, Big Labor and RI General Assembly Closed

Young Republicans Blast House Budget as an ‘Absolute Joke’

Posted on June 22, 2011 by The Ocean State Republican

Chairman of the RI Young Republicans Travis Rowley pulled no punches on the recently proposed 2012 state budget that just made its way out of the Finance Committee, calling it an “absolute joke.” Rowley contends, “I can’t imagine any Republican signing their name to a budget that raises taxes, and offers pay raises to state employees during a deep economic recession. This budget is an absolute joke.”

“Unless your name is Stephen Iannazzi, there is no hope for Rhode Island’s younger generation if this is the best that we can do,” Rowley said, referring to the union-connected 25 year-old collecting an $88,000 salary while working as a staffer for the State Senate.

Rowley expounded on his objection: “My generation has been fleeing the Ocean State in droves. We simply aren’t free to pursue our dreams here anymore. We can’t prosper in this tax climate, this horrid business environment. And this budget does nothing to address these issues. It simply balances the books with more taxes, and the smallest of cuts to the welfare and public labor community. That’s not good enough. We need a drastic change in direction. We need to cut taxes, reform pensions, and shrink the overall size and scope of state government. Democrats seem incapable of offering us any significant fundamental change.”

Rowley added, “We remain one of the highest taxed and most regulated states in the country. We still have one of the highest rates of public sector unionization, one of the most generous welfare systems, and one of the worst business climates imaginable. The Democrats’ budget proposal addresses none of this.”

Rowley also objected to the methods of the Finance Committee. “Republican legislators were entirely locked out of the process. This budget was designed by the Democratic leadership behind closed doors with zero Republican input. The process is a disgrace. I feel bad for our elected Republicans, who have been the only consistently responsible legislators on Smith Hill. Yet, they were denied access to the most basic of their legislative duties. You would think that after 70 years of abject failure, Democrats would have wanted some Republican advice. Instead, we were shut out.”

Press Release: Rhode Island Young Republicans

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Filed Under: Press Releases, RI General Assembly and Young Republicans Closed

Minuteman Project Coming to Providence | October 1

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Rhode Island Red

Minuteman Project Coming to Providence!

The Minuteman Project, in conjunction with Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement (RIILE), is coming to Providence, Rhode Island to support Rhode Island Democratic State Representative Peter G. Palumbo’s Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, an Arizona-style immigration law enforcement bill, the Governor’s E-Verify Executive order and Immigration Law Enforcement in general.

On October 1st, we hope to encourage the Rhode Island legislature to pass Representative Palumbo’s bill and E-Verify legislation, thus setting a precedent for the other New England states to follow.

Every state in the Union, including each New England state, is a border state with Mexico now. As California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas have become overwhelmed by a massive inflow of illegal aliens, previously untouched states are now the destination points of an endless stream of illegal aliens from around the world.

The Minuteman Project, and RIILE, will assemble at the Rhode Island State House in Providence, Rhode Island on October 1, 2010, 8:00 AM until 1:00 PM, to bring public awareness to the pejorative consequences of our nation’s decades-long, bureaucratically ignored, reckless disregard for U.S. immigration laws.

We invite political representatives, both incumbents and aspiring candidates and the leaders of Government watchdog groups along with their members from every state to join us in this public event advocating immigration law enforcement.

Representatives from and members of all political parties are welcome to participate in this event regardless of political party affiliation. Persons from recognized media outlets, or any law enforcement organization, are warmly welcomed to join us.

The event will be broadcast on the Helen Glover WHJJ Talk Radio Show.

If you have any questions please contact RIILE at riile2 [at] cox [dot] net or 401-475-2410 so that we can plan for your on-site presence.

See you in Providence on October 1, 2010.

Terry Gorman, RIILE

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Filed Under: Coming Events, Immigration Reform and RI General Assembly Closed

RI Voter Coalition Candidate Forum | September 16

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Rhode Island Red

Please join us for our second local Candidate Forum to be held in Bristol, RI at the Old Court House, 260 High Street. The Bristol County Courthouse is an historic courthouse and a great venue! The Federal style courthouse was built in 1816 by Russell Warren and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Please join us for an open question and answer forum with the following invited candidates:

District 66 Representative: Joy Hearn, Margaret Kane, and Joel Hellmann

District 32 Senate David Bates, Jim Hasenfus

District 18 Senate Frank Devall, Steve Gerling, James Miller

District 67 Jan Malik, Joseph DePasquale

District 68 Doug Gablinske, Tom Carroll, Rich Morrison

The Forum will commence at 6:00pm. Each candidate will have the opportunity to give an opening statement of approximately 3 minutes. Questions will then be taken from the audience.

This is your opportunity to interact one-on-one with your local candidates and ask the questions that are important to YOU! We look forward to seeing you there!

This event is FREE and is open to the public.

Hope to see you there!

Marina Peterson
East Bay Patriots

Press Release: Rhode Island Voter Coalition

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Coming Events and RI General Assembly Closed

Video: Rhode Island Senate Misuse of Power

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Will Ricci

If you want to know why Rhode Island is in the shape its in, this video will help. It’s from a few months ago, when Senate president Theresa Paiva-Weed, who was determined not to have a particular bill dealing with illegal immigration voted on (despite half the Senate being cosponsors) used parliamentary tactics to kill a bill, and violated a number of procedures in the process. I had previously heard it on radio, but this video is literally appalling.

Almost equally as appalling is Paiva-Weed’s obvious ignorance of proper procedure.

YouTube Preview Image
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Filed Under: Corruption, Immigration Reform and RI General Assembly Closed

Robitaille Urges Gov. Carcieri to Veto FY2011 Budget

Posted on June 10, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

John Robitaille Urges Governor to Veto the FY2011 Budget

“While this budget contains some important reforms, it falls far short of what the taxpayers are demanding” said Robitaille. “Without providing our cities and towns with relief from unfunded mandates, it simply shifts the burden to the property taxpayers.”
Governor Carcieri had originally submitted a series of budget articles, including the suspension of the Carrulo Act, that would have given the cities and towns some tools to balance their budgets. However, the General Assembly eliminated all of the municipal relief articles from the Governor’s budget proposal.

“The General Assembly once again has failed to make the tough decisions” said Robitaille. “They didn’t go far enough with public employee pension reforms and benefit reforms, nor did they make the structural changes in the budget that would make state government more affordable for the taxpayers.”

“The General Assembly’s smoke and mirrors budget is not balanced.” A gaping $100 million hole has not been closed and there is no plan in the event the additional federal stimulus money fails to materialize. “While the taxpayers are crying out for real reforms, the General Assembly leadership is hanging them out, along with the next governor, to dry” said Robitaille.

If the feds fail to pass the additional “Jobs” bill the next governor will have to make across the board cuts to make up for the $100 million. The budget was transmitted to the governor by the General Assembly over the weekend, and he must take action within five days. The governor can either sign it, let it become law without his signature or veto it.

“I strongly urge Governor Carcieri to send the budget back, and tell the Democrat controlled General Assembly to find the courage they need to do what’s right for the taxpayers.”

Press Release: Robitaille for Governor

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Republican Candidates and RI General Assembly Closed

Alert: R.I. House Coming Back Into Session on Thursday

Posted on June 10, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

Speaker Gordon Fox just announced (as of 12:30 AM) that instead of continuing to go all night and morning and then “going home” as he stated earlier on Wednesday, that the Rhode Island House will be coming back into session on Thursday at 3:00 PM after all, so that they may consider the remaining business on the calendar (which is quite a lot)

Most of the evening was consumed by the Deepwater debate. That bill did eventually pass. However, be on the lookout for all sorts of other bad legislation, such as that relating to casino gaming and especially binding arbitration and perpetual contracts!

This is the most dangerous time of the year for Rhode Island, when the General Assembly ignores open meeting rules, and rushes through its business, just so it can go home early. Obviously, if you’re in a position to stop by the State House on Thursday to lobby your legislators, do so.

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Filed Under: Alerts and RI General Assembly Closed

RIGOP Chair to Hold State House Press Conference | Thursday

Posted on June 9, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

Republican Legislators and Prospective Republican Legislative Candidates to Stand in Support of Chairman Cicione on Budget

Rhode Island Republican Party Chairman Giovanni Cicione will address the media tomorrow, June 10, 2010 to discuss the Rhode Island State budget enacted this week by the General Assembly. Cicione will challenge the General Assembly to show the courage to enact a balanced budget, as opposed to the current plan to anticipate a windfall of cash from the federal government to balance the State’s books. Cicione will also call on Democrat Leaders in the Assembly to free cities and towns from the unfunded mandates that make it nearly impossible to balance their own budgets without raising taxes. Participants will also get a glimpse of some of the candidates who will stand up and challenge Democrat control over the General Assembly in the next election.

WHEN: Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: RI State House, South Side (facing Downtown Providence)

Source: Rhode Island Republican Party

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Coming Events, Economics, Republican Party and RI General Assembly Closed

Erich Sturn for State Representative Kick-off | June 7

Posted on June 6, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

Erich Sturn, Republican candidate for the District 4 seat in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, will officially announce his grassroots campaign to bring positive change to Rhode Island at a campaign kickoff event on Monday evening, June 7. Sturn intends to challenge Speaker of the House Gordon Fox (D) for the East Side House seat, representing the Blackstone, Mount Hope, and Summit neighborhoods.

Sturn invites Rhode Islanders representing a wide spectrum of political beliefs who see the need for new leadership and positive change to attend the kick-off celebration on Monday, June 7 from 6-9 p.m. at Zooma, 245 Atwells Ave., Providence, and learn more about Erich’s vision for a better Rhode Island. Donations are appreciated and supporters are asked to make checks payable to “Friends of Erich Sturn.”

Sturn will be talking to the voters of Dist. 4 from now until Election Day. “My guiding principles are lowering taxes, controlling spending, supporting equal rights, improving educational and job opportunities, cutting through government red tape, and protecting our Constitutional rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he said.

Erich, 24, is an independently-minded Republican who will work across party lines and build a broad base of support to understand and represent the diverse neighborhoods and needs of the East Side. Erich currently works for a local bank. On a daily basis, he sees the plight of people trying to make ends meet and hears the stories of how Rhode Island’s small businesses are struggling. He is an independent man who will follow his intellect, conscience, and the needs and desires of his constituents when making legislative decisions.

Press Release: Friends of Erich Sturn

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Coming Events, Republican Candidates and RI General Assembly Closed