Documents secured by GoLocalProv relating to the National Governor’s Association meeting held in Rhode Island showed that members of the Governor’s office promised major corporations access to the Governors and top federal officials in exchange for corporate payments.
In one email from Governor Gina Raimondo’s staff to Michael E. McKelvy, CEO of Gilbane Building Corporation, said, “You and you partners will have a chance to interact with Governors across the country in smaller receptions, as well as their staff members…”
The email went on, “There will be 30-40 Governors in attendance, potentially 2-3 Cabinet members related to key domestic priorities — Transportation, HHS, HUD, Education, and Commerce being most likely — a host of Administration staff, including White House staff members.”
Cara Cromwell, one of Raimondo's closest friends and paid to coordinate the NGA in RI
Cara Cromwell, one of Raimondo’s closest friends and the consultant hired by the Governor to run the NGA event, emailed back to Gilbane, “Thanks so much for your support - as well as the offer to use your space. Please send me the name and address of the person to whom the invoice will be sent and we'll get it processed.”
In another email, CVS government relations executives were told that CVS Larry Merlo would be the only CEO at a Governors-only event in an email from Cromwell, who said, “Mr Merlo is the only CEO in this session. He will be escorted from a green room to participate in the session. I defer to Tiffany [Shakleford of NGA] on the exact timing of his participation as she is in charge of the program but I do know that he will not be in the room for the entire session. There is no AV in the Governors-only sessions."
Corporate Sponsors Received Access to Closed Events and More
Providence Equity Partners, the Rhode Island-based private equity behemoth, also signed up to pay. “We are happy to support the governor on showcasing our great state. We will provide support at the Bronze level ($35,000). Copying our General Counsel Roman who has to approve this for compliance reasons,” wrote Paul Salem, is Senior Managing Director at Providence Equity and is now involved with the owners of the PawSox in trying to secure state funding for the project.
As GoLocal first reported in April, Salem joined the owners effort to build a new stadium at the former Apex site off of I-95.
As GoLocal reported on July 12 before the HGA event, “As part of IGT’s sponsorship, Don Sweitzer, a long-time Democratic party operative and Chairman of IGT’s Global Solutions Corporation, will present to a Governors-only presentation this week. The title of the one-hour presentation is, “CEO Roundtable: Innovative Leadership Ideas that Work.”
WaterFire Not for Public
The emails between one Raimondo staffer and Barnaby Evans shows that the WaterFire event was to be closed to the public.
"I have been told by our counsel staff that we can support the requested event for the Governor's conference but we cannot do it under our current MOA (memorandum of agreement) as it specifies closures for the 'public' and this would be a private event. I can begin drafting the new agreement this week. Obviously, this would require funding to pay for the closure as well. Moving forward I will coordinate with you and the WaterFire staff to get this new MOA finalized,“ wrote Gabe Amo.
Another email unveils that CVS’s influence may not carry much further than Woonsocket — home of the Fortune 10 company.
Michael Ayotte, CVS’s Vice President of State and Local Government Affairs wrote to Amor on the Raimondo staff, “The Governor mentioned that if she could help connect us with a Governor while Larry is at the event she would try. We are having trouble getting a meeting with Governor Baker of all folks. Our MA lobbyist seem to have struck out ... do you or the Governor have any connection there?”
Related Slideshow: 7 Things to Know About the Newest PawSox Public Financing Scheme - June
The backdrop of the entire discussion of the financing for a PawSox stadium is the 2018 election. According to private polling, the majority of Rhode Islanders believe that the owners of the PawSox should pay for their own stadium.
How hard will Governor Gina Raimondo and Speaker Nick Mattiello push for a new controversial stadium? They both won by the thinnest of margins - Raimondo won the Governorship with just 40 percent of the vote and Mattiello won re-election on paper ballots by a margin of just 85 votes.
URI economist and author of the Lardaro Report warns:
"While there might not be direct risk to RI, there is indirect risk: If the deal collapses and Pawtucket absorbs the entire loss, their credit rating would definitely fall, and in a worst case scenario, they might flirt with possible bankruptcy. RI could never just allow them to fall.
At any rate, our state's credit rating would clearly be negatively affected."
There is little difference between the May proposal negotiated between RI Commerce, the City of Pawtucket, and the PawSox ownership and the legislation introduced in the RI State Senate on Tuesday by Pawtucket State Senator William Conley.
Ultimately, Rhode Island taxpayers will be on the hook if this deal goes sour.
In May, Rhode Island business leader Angus Davis, who heads Upserve, talked about his company's growth and spoke out about the billionaire group of Pawtucket Red Sox owners who are asking for $38 million to build a new park.
"If you have a good business, you have investors to back it," said Davis, who began his career by selling his company TellMe to Microsoft - for a reported $800 million. "And by the way, the people behind this team know a thing or two about business, about speaking with investors, and so on."
In a wide-ranging interview, Davis took to task the approach of the PawSox ownership - in light of the state's bourgeoning fiscal needs.
"I get that someone, whether with stadiums or public infrastructure investments, can spur development and economic growth, I get all that," said Davis. "OK, fine. How about, 'We'll build the ballpark -- we need the city or state to come in and give us a highway off-ramp or something like that,' so it's easier to get people to and from."
"That's a little more understandable than, 'Hey, 'I'd like to leverage the taxpayers balance sheet so I can borrow money at 3%," said Davis. "To me? Come on."
It did not take long for the old band of opponents of public financing to the stadium to mobilize - literally just hours after the new legislation was announced.
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Calling the latest Pawtucket Red Sox legislative effort -- which is expected to see a fall session for legislators to consider -- "insane," community organizer and Pawtucket resident David Norton appeared on GoLocal LIVE on Tuesday.
"People in Rhode Island, and Pawtucket, are upset regarding collective billionaires getting tax money. [Last night], Facebook and social media started to light up," aid Norton. "We fought this fight two years ago, we thought we won it, we kind of fought it this year, we thought we won it."
"It's upsetting to Rhode Islanders and people of Pawtucket," said Norton.
"We did a poll on the "you know you're from Pawtucket " Facebook page -- the sample size was 200 -- 160 or so were dead set against the PawSox getting $15 million from the City of Pawtucket."
Millions in Environmental Contamination Costs, Who Pays?
In May, GoLocal exclsuively reported that the owners of the Apex site in Pawtucket and the previous owners are battling in Superior Court over indemnification provisions from more than $6.4 million in environmental clean-up costs tied to the land being eyed for the new PawSox Stadium. Both lead and aresnic contaminate the site according to the suits.
The two parties include Andrew Gates of Apex Development Company who purchased the property for $24 million and a number of members of the prominent Fain family, who previously had ownership interest in the property.
Gates’ entity purchased the property in December of 1998 according to city tax records and the property is now assessed at just under $4.3 million — a drop of nearly $20 million in value.
Legal Battle
According to state records, Gates is the managing partner in Zargo, LLC, which filed the action in December of 2016.
In the Zargo, LLC complaint against the Fain group (the previous owners), Zargo asserts in the fact section of their action that, ”Zargo and entities have become aware of liabilities, title issues, environmental conditions and safety issues (among other things), which include but are not limited to hazardous/toxic substances (including but not limited to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, arsenic, and lead), toxic materials, and underground waste oil tanks on the Real Estate (collectively, the 'Claims'), all of which are covered by the Agreement’s indemnity provisions.”