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Mattiello and Ruggerio Deny Violating Law That Limits Advertising and Promotion During Campaign

Thursday, June 14, 2018

GoLocalProv News Team

Government website features Speaker Mattiello at a ribbon cutting with Cranston Mayor Fung

Both Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello and Senate President Domenic Ruggerio appear to be violating the state law prohibiting using state assets to promote their likenesses during the election cycle.

And, while the two legislative leaders claim that their attorney says the statute does not apply to them, other Rhode Island officials have already removed their images from their taxpayer-supported websites to meet the requirements of the statute.

According to RI Law 17-23-18 Political advertising from official budgets prohibited. “(a) No elected official shall permit the expenditure of public funds from any official budget under his or her authority for any publication, advertisement, broadcast, or telecast of his or her photograph, voice, or other likeness to be broadcast or distributed to the public during the one hundred and twenty (120) days preceding any primary or general election in which he or she is a candidate.”

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Primary day is September 12 and election day is November 6.

The statue covers everything from state ads, mailers, videos or websites — anything distributed to the public during the 120 days prior to “any primary or general election.” The clock started back in May.

Governor Gina Raimondo, Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, and Treasurer Seth Magaziner are in compliance with the law.

When the matter was brought to the attention Lt. Governor Daniel McKee’s office, his spokesperson said, "Since the Lt. Governor’s Office does not have authority over any related budget and does not pay for the operation of the office website, we do not believe a violation has occurred.”

“However, we are in the process of removing any images and videos of the Lt. Governor from the website,” said Andrea Palagi, Communications Director for McKee.

Ruggerio reading to school children featured on the state's website

Mattiello and Ruggerio don't deny that they have budget or control authority over the General Assembly's website which is littered with photos of the two leaders doing everything from reading to children to attending a bill signing ceremonies to ribbon cutting ceremonies.

The images are typical of photos found on campaign websites. Of the dozen of photos on the legislature's website, there is barely a photo of a Republican member of the legislature. The General Assembly site also features more than 40 videos of top lawmakers promoting a range of political issues. The highly produced videos are regularly posted on social media. The photos, videos, and website maintenance and programing are all conducted at Rhode Island taxpayer expense.

While the General Officers are adhering, Mattiello and Ruggerio are balking.

“Our legal counsel is of the opinion that this statute does not apply to official state public information websites and state government social media. The Board of Elections has been contacted, and the Assembly is requesting an advisory opinion from the board, which we anticipate will be considered at its June 28th meeting,” said Larry Berman, House spokesman, and Greg Pare, Senate spokesman in a joint statement to GoLocal.

Conviction in MA for Former Gubernatorial Candidate

In Massachusetts using state resources to promote an elected official is serious business. In 2012, MA Attorney General filed charges against former Treasurer Tim Cahill.

“We allege that Treasurer Cahill gained an unwarranted and unlawful privilege by his ability to launch a television ad campaign, ostensibly on behalf of the Massachusetts State Lottery, but one that was actually carefully coordinated primarily to promote his own campaign for governor,” Ms. Coakley said during a news conference,” reported the New York Times in 2012.

Tim Cahill indicted by AG in MA, paid $100k fine.

“According to Ms. Coakley, campaign focus groups in July 2010 found that Mr. Cahill could benefit from messages promoting his management of the Lottery. Shortly thereafter, she said, a campaign staff member met with Mr. Cahill and then sent a colleague a series of text messages, including one that read, ‘I just got the go-ahead on everything we discussed. Yes on lottery ads and he has plenty of money,’’ added the Times.

Cahill's name or image was never mentioned in the ads that triggered the investigation.

GoLocalWorcester reported in 2013, that Cahill will not be retried by Attorney General Martha Coakley for allegedly misusing a state lottery ad campaign for his own benefit. Instead, Cahill paid a $100,000 civil fine to resolve the case.

A mistrial was declared in the corruption case against Cahill after the jury deadlocked on the charges stemming from state lottery ads that ran during Cahill's campaign for governor in 2010.

The jury acquitted Cahill's former chief of staff Scott Campbell, who faced similar charges.

A grand jury had indicted Cahill, a GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™, in April 2012 following an investigation involving taxpayer-funded state lottery advertisements that his office produced while he was running for Governor.

Related Slideshow: GoLocal Statewide Poll - Conducted by Harvard’s Della Volpe - June, 2018

Registered Voters

Q1: Are you registered to vote in Rhode Island?

Total 501 100%
Yes: 501 100%
No: 0 0%
Don't know: 0 0%

Gender

Q2: Are you ...
Total
Total: 100%
Male: 44%
Female: 56%

Age

Q3: In which age group are you?

18-24: 7%
25-34: 16%
35-44: 15%
45-54: 20%
55-64: 17%
65+ 25%

Political Party

Q4: When it comes to voting, do you consider yourself to be affiliated with the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, Moderate, or Unaffiliated with a major party?

Democrat: 38%
Republican:14%
Moderate: 6%
Unaffiliated: 39%
Don't know/Refused: 3%

Likely Voters

Q5: Next year, in November of 2018, there will be a statewide general election for Governor and many other state offices. How likely is it that you will vote in this election? Will you definitely be voting, will you probably be voting, are you 50-50...

Definitely be voting.............................. 81%

Probably be voting............................... 19%

All others............................................. 0%

Top Issue

Q6: What would you say is the number one problem facing Rhode Island that you would like the Governor to address?

Taxes.................................................. .18%

Jobs and economy.............................. 16%

State budget.........................................11%

Roads...................................................10%

Education............................................ 8%

Healthcare........................................... 5%

Corruption/Public integrity.................... 4%

Immigration.......................................... 4%

Housing.............................................. ..2%

Governor............................................. ..2%

Homelessness.......................................1%

Other.. ............................................... 14%

Don’t know.......................................... 6%

Direction

Q7: In general, would you say things in Rhode Island are headed in the right direction or are they off on the wrong track?

Right track........................................... 19%

Wrong track......................................... 36%

Mixed.................................................. 45%

Optimism

Q8: Thinking ahead several years, is your outlook about Rhode Island more optimistic or more pessimistic?

Optimistic............................................ 52%

Pessimistic...........................................48%

Finances

Q9: Over the last three years or so, has your family's financial situation improved, gotten worse, or not changed at all?

Changed for the better......................... 24%

Changed for the worse......................... 33%

Not changed at all................................ 43%

Governor

Q10: Which of the following comes closest to your view regarding each of the following potential candidates for governor of Rhode Island?

Gina Raimondo, a Democrat

I am sure to vote for her: 9%

There is a good chance I will vote for her: 19%

It is possible that I vote for her: 24%

It is unlikely that I will vote for her: 18%

I will never vote for her: 31%

Governor

Q11: Which of the following comes closest to your view regarding each of the following potential candidates for governor of Rhode Island?

Matt Brown, a Democrat

I am sure to vote for him: 4%

There is a good chance I will vote for him: 8%

It is possible that I vote for him: 40%

It is unlikely that I will vote for him: 30%

I will never vote for him: 17%

Governor

Q12: Which of the following comes closest to your view regarding each of the following potential candidates for governor of Rhode Island?

Spencer Dickinson, a Democrat

I am sure to vote for him: 3%

There is a good chance I will vote for him: 7%

It is possible that I vote for him: 37%

It is unlikely that I will vote for him: 35%

I will never vote for him: 18%

Governor

Q13: Which of the following comes closest to your view regarding each of the following potential candidates for governor of Rhode Island?

Paul Roselli, a Democrat

I am sure to vote for him: 2%

There is a good chance I will vote for him: 7%

It is possible that I vote for him: 35%

It is unlikely that I will vote for him: 37%

I will never vote for him: 19%

Governor

Q14: Which of the following comes closest to your view regarding each of the following potential candidates for governor of Rhode Island?

Allan Fung, a Republican

I am sure to vote for him: 7%

There is a good chance I will vote for him: 18%

It is possible that I vote for him: 28%

It is unlikely that I will vote for him: 25%

I will never vote for him: 21%

Governor

Q15: Which of the following comes closest to your view regarding each of the following potential candidates for governor of Rhode Island?

Patricia Morgan, a Republican

I am sure to vote for her: 3%

There is a good chance I will vote for her.: 9%

It is possible that I vote for her: 32%

It is unlikely that I will vote for her: 35%

I will never vote for her: 21%

Governor

Q16: Which of the following comes closest to your view regarding each of the following potential candidates for governor of Rhode Island?

Giovanni Feroce, a Republican

I am sure to vote for him: 2%

There is a good chance I will vote for him: 5%

It is possible that I vote for him: 24%

It is unlikely that I will vote for him: 35%

I will never vote for him: 34%

Governor

Q17: Which of the following comes closest to your view regarding each of the following potential candidates for governor of Rhode Island?

Luis-Daniel Muñoz, an Independent

I am sure to vote for him: 3%

There is a good chance I will vote for him: 6%

It is possible that I vote for him: 33%

It is unlikely that I will vote for him: 38%

I will never vote for him: 21%

Governor

Q18: Which of the following comes closest to your view regarding each of the following potential candidates for governor of Rhode Island?

Joe Trillo, an Independent

I am sure to vote for him: 1%

There is a good chance I will vote for him: 8%

It is possible that I vote for him: 37%

It is unlikely that I will vote for him: 34%

I will never vote for him: 19%

Governor

Q20: If the election for Governor were held today and the candidates were: Democrat Gina Raimondo, Republican Allan Fung and Independent Joe Trillo - for whom would you vote?

Allan Fung, a Republican..................... 33%

Gina Raimondo, a Democrat................ 33%

Joe Trillo, and Independent.................. 16%

Don't know 18%

Governor

Q20: If the election for Governor were held today and the candidates were: Democrat Gina Raimondo, Republican Patricia Morgan and Independent Joe Trillo - for whom would you vote?

Gina Raimondo, a Democrat................ 39%

Patricia Morgan, a Republican............. 20%

Joe Trillo, an Independent................... 19%

Don't know ......................................... 22%

Governor

Q21: If the election for Governor were held today and the candidates were: Democrat Matt Brown, Republican Allan Fung and Independent Joe Trillo - for whom would you vote?

Allan Fung, a Republican..................... 35%

Matt Brown, a Democrat...................... 25%

Joe Trillo, an Independent.................... 14%

Don't know .......................................... 27%

Governor

Q22: If the election for Governor were held today and the candidates were: Democrat Matt Brown, Republican Patricia Morgan and Independent Joe Trillo - for whom would you vote?

Matt Brown, a Democrat...................... 30%

Patricia Morgan, a Republican............. 20%

Joe Trillo, an Independent.................... 18%

Don't know .......................................... 33%

U.S. Senate

Q23: If the election for the U.S. Senate were held today and the candidates were: [ROTATE] Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse and Republican Robert Nardolillo - for whom would you vote?

Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat........... 53%

Robert 'Bobby' Nardolillo, a Republican.. 31%

Don't know............................................... 16%

U.S. Senate

Q24: If the election for the U.S. Senate were held today and the candidates were: [ROTATE] Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse and Republican Robert Flanders - for whom would you vote?

Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat........ 54%

Robert Flanders, a Republican............. 32%

Don't know.......................................... 14%

Schools

Q25: If there was an election today, would you vote to approve or reject issuing $250 million in financing supported general obligation bonds to repair Rhode Island's deteriorating school buildings and bring them up to minimum standards called "warm, safe and dry"?

Net: Approve...................................... 74%

Definitely approve............................... 36%

Probably approve................................ 38%

Net: Reject......................................... 17%

Probably reject.................................... 9%

Definitely reject.................................... 7%

Don't know.......................................... 9%

PawSox

Q26: The Rhode Island General Assembly is in the process of negotiating a $40 million public financing deal with the Pawtucket Red Sox for a new stadium, hoping to bring a vote before the House and Senate this summer.

In general, do you favor or oppose the use of public funds to help finance a new stadium for the Pawtucket Red Sox?

Net: Favor.......................................... 33%

Strongly favor...................................... 13%

Somewhat favor.................................. 21%

Net: Oppose....................................... 59%

Somewhat oppose.............................. 21%

Strongly oppose.................................. 38%

Don't know.......................................... 8%

Fane Tower

Q27: The City of Providence and the state of Rhode Island are considering a proposal by New York developer Jason Fane to build a 46-story luxury residence tower in Providence, next to a public riverfront park. The developer will invest $250 to $300 million of his own funds. The project is called the Hope Point Tower, it would be 170-feet taller than the Superman building and would require waiving height restrictions and the use of state tax credits.

In general, do you favor or oppose development of the Hope Point Tower?

Net: Favor.......................................... 39%

Strongly favor...................................... 13%

Somewhat favor.................................. 27%

Net: Oppose....................................... 50%

Somewhat oppose.............................. 23%

Strongly oppose.................................. 27%

Don't know.......................................... 11%

Elorza/Traffic Cameras

Q28: How would you rate the job that Mayor Jorge Elorza has done managing issues related to speed cameras in Providence?

Net: Excellent/Good.......................... 26%

Excellent............................................. 6%

Good................................................... 20%

Net: Fair/Poor.................................... 74%

Fair...................................................... 29%

Poor.................................................... 45%

Q29: Since it was launched in 2016, UHIP -- the Rhode Island program designed to improve customer service for those who receive federal benefits -- has run into significant problems, including long lines, cost overruns, lost applications, over- and under-charging of patients and families.

Based on what you know at this time, what percent of blame for this do you assign to:

Deloitte, the consulting company who
produced the system........................... 53.3%

Governor Gina Raimondo, who has
been governor since the system
launch in September 2016................... 47.1%

NIMBYism

Q30: Presently, there are local groups opposing the development of a natural gas facility in Burrillville, solar projects in Exeter, a LNG facility in Providence and wind projects in North Kingstown.
Some people say that it is important for local groups to play a role in opposition of projects like these that could be dangerous or harmful to citizens;

Others say that local groups have gone too far to the detriment of the state’s long-term energy needs.

Which statement comes closer to your own view?

Local groups play an important role...... 46%

Local groups have gone too far............. 31%

Not sure................................................. 24%

Corruption

Q31: Compared to other states, do you think there is:

More political corruption in RI................. 63%

Less political corruption in RI................ 7%

About the same level as other states..... 30%

Income

Q32: The next question is about the total income of YOUR HOUSEHOLD for the PAST 12 MONTHS. Please include your income PLUS the income of all members living in your household (including cohabiting partners and armed forces members living at home).

$50,000 or less.................................... 33%

More $50,000 but less than $75,000..... 18%

More $75,000 but less than $100,000... 16%

More $100,000 but less than $150,000. 13%

$150,000 or more................................ 10%

Don't know/refused.............................. 10%

Ethnicity

Q33: What particular ethnic group or nationality - such as English, French, Italian, Irish, Latino, Jewish, African American, and so forth - do you consider yourself a part of or feel closest to?

Net: White, Non-Hispanic..................... 82%

Black or African American.................... 6%

Latino/Hispanic.................................... 5%

Other.................................................... 7%

Geography

Q34: City/Town Into Region.

West Bay............................................ 28%

Metro-Providence................................ 28%

Blackstone Valley................................ 21%

South County...................................... 10%

East Bay............................................. 13%

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