John Carnevale – RI Future

July 13, 2016July 13, 2016

Canvassers question Carnevale on his residency

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Appearing before the Providence Board of Canvassers today, Rep. John Carnevale said he does in fact live at the Providence address where he is registered to vote in spite of a WPRI investigative report that indicated he may live in Johnston, outside of the district he was elected to serve.

He said he receives mail at 150 Barbara St. in Providence. It’s where his cars are registered and where his General Assembly and Providence police department pension income are delivered. He also said he rents out both units at 150 Barbara St., and shares one of the units with a tenant.

“I have rent coming from one unit and I live in another unit, which i also derive some rent from,” Carnevale told the board.

Carnevale said he sometimes sleeps at the property he owns in Johnston, but said that only happens “maybe, at tops, once a week.”

He said he was living at the Johnston address and said he moved back to the Barbara Street address when he learned the legislative seat in Providence was going to become vacant. “I was approached by then-Rep. Stephen Smith, who said he was not running again. That’s when I moved back to 150 Barbara St.”

While Carnevale testified that most of his bills are mailed to the Barbara Street address, a lawyer for the board of canvassers said CVS and Delta Dental both mail information to his Johnston address. The lawyer also said several people with the last name Carnevale are registered to vote at the Barbara Street address.

You can watch most of the hearing on my Periscope feed.

And here’s video of the local media trying to get Carnevale to comment after the hearing:

July 13, 2016July 13, 2016

Canvassers’ call on Carnevale may define Elorza’s mayorship

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2015-10-13 Elorza Homes 007 — Jorge Elorza

When Jorge Elorza ran against Buddy Cianci for Mayor of Providence he highlighted the message that we cannot return to a culture of corruption. In the swirl of issues that surrounded Cianci’s campaign were allegations of rape as well as convictions for crimes committed while in office.

Today, the Providence Board of Canvassers, a body whose members are appointed by Elorza, will decide the fate of Representative John Carnevale, a man who has a similar history of alleged sexual violence against women, and a man who could be said to represent the very culture of corruption that Cianci represented.

Carnevale was one of Buddy Cianci’s principle boosters in 2014. He has faced multiple accusations of physically abusing his ex-wife, and in 2011 he was indicted for sexually assaulting a Johnston woman. Carnevale pleaded innocent. The charges were dropped after the woman died suddenly.

In June, a WPRI investigation discovered evidence that Carnevale has been lying about living in his district. The investigation seems to have revealed that Carnevale lives in Johnston, and that told the tenants of the Providence house he is registered at to lie when asked if he resided there.

These allegations should make Carnevale ineligible to run for representative again, but Mayor Elorza has struggled to build support in the General Assembly and, according to sources, has developed an alliance with House Majority Leader John DeSimone, a close friend of Carnevale.

The question is, will Elorza play cynical politics and pressure his Board of Canvassers to give Carnevale a pass? Elorza has had a rocky first two years in office, but from all accounts he is so far un-blighted by the overt corruption of Rhode Island politics. Appeasing John DeSimone and allowing John Carnevale to be allowed to run despite evidence he does not reside in his district would be akin to jumping into the deep end of the dirtiest pool in Rhode Island.

That kind of thing does not wash off.

Although Mayor Elorza is trying to make the case, as was reported by WPRI, that he is not responsible for this decision, the choice is clearly his to make.

Mayor Jorge Elorza has a chance to do the right thing today. After everything he said about Buddy Cianci and the political culture of corruption during his campaign, allowing John Carnevale to run would be a betrayal.

The Board of Canvassers meets at the Providence City Hall at 11am today.

Elorza’s legacy hangs in the balance.

June 28, 2016

Lisa Scorpio to challenge Carnevale in House District 13

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Lisa Scorpio announced her candidacy for State Representative today in House District 13 – Providence/Johnston.

“I’ve spent most of my life right here in this community.” said Scorpio, who works as an executive assistant in the Providence School System. “My grandparents immigrated to Silver Lake in the early 1900’s from Italy and I’ve always felt it was important to live here. To make sure my children thought of this place as home. I’ve worked for years to help this community grow and adapt. I’ve stood arm and arm fighting for the change we need. I’m running now to take that fight to the State House.”

Scorpio went on to paint a progressive vision for government, “I believe we need a government that is looking out for the people of Rhode Island. A government that works to make sure our streets are safe, that those who work a full week are not living in poverty, a government that confronts the problems of today. We need to pass common sense gun legislation, we need to raise the minimum wage, and we need more than anything to make a real investment in our children and our schools.”

Scorpio continued, “I’ve been serving in the Providence School system for 24 years, right here in the district for 7 years. We need to make sure our children are prepared for the future and that we act early to make sure they are taken care of. Education is key to so much of life and it’s our responsibility to make sure everyone has access.”

Regardless of the ruling in his case, Scorpio feels Carnevale’s time has passed, “We need new voices at the State House. We need representatives who aren’t so weighed down by controversy. The work a representative does, and the votes they take, should be the story and not whether they will or will not be going to jail. A representative should be concerned with helping their constituents first and foremost and know when they have become more of a distraction than a help.”

Scorpio lives off of Sterling Ave in Providence with her son. She attended RIC and graduated from Katherine Gibbs. She works as an Executive Assistant in the Providence School System, is a co-founder of #300women, and is a board member on numerous community organizations.

[From a press release]

June 21, 2016June 21, 2016

PVD puts Carnevale’s residency under microscope

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Rep. John Carnevale will have to prove to the Providence Board of Canvassers that he lives in the district he represents. The two-person board of canvassers agreed today that “there is reasonable cause to suggest that John Carnevale … is not in fact eligible to vote,” according to a verbal draft of the resolution compelling the board to investigate the matter further.

Brandon Bell, chairman of the state Republican Party, challenged Carnevale’s residency following a WPRI investigation that showed Carnevale spends significant time at a home he owns in Johnston and rents out the house in Providence where he says he lives. “My basis is really the basis that channel 12 reported on in their investigation,” said Bell.

There isn’t a high bar for Carnevale to prove that he lives in Providence. According to state law, he will need only to prove that he hasn’t voted elsewhere and that his cars, credit cards, bank accounts, insurance, tax filings, any businesses he may own and any criminal record he may have coincide with the Providence address.

Carnevale, who has declined to discuss the allegation, was not at the meeting. It’s unclear if he will have to appear at the subsequent hearing on his voting and candidacy eligibility. That hearing is likely to happen in July, after the deadline to file for candidacy.

A certified letter will be sent to Carnevale alerting him of the proceedings. I asked Claudia Haugen, chairwoman of the board of canvassers, to which address for Carnevale the letter will be sent.

“It would go to, I’m sure, the Providence address,” she said, with a smile.

February 24, 2016

RI Jobs With Justice needs you at the State House Thursday

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WHERE: RHODE ISLAND STATEHOUSE ROOM 201 LABOR COMMITTEE

WHEN: THURSDAY FEBRUARY 25, AT 3:30PM.

WHY: We need your SOLIDARITY, your PRESENCE, and YOUR VOICE in support of these two extremely worthy bills.

Two bills will be heard on Thursday the 25th the first is House Bill 7465. Representative John Carnevale‘s bill will force employers who seek to get away with not paying time and a half on Sunday to make the appeal public and take the decision out of the hands of the Director of the Dept of Labor and Training. This bill will significantly improve the lives of RI’s workers and bring openness and put hard earned money back in our Sisters and Brothers pockets.

Also being heard is House Bill 7505. Representative Thomas Palangio‘s bill seek to prohibit restaurant owners and managers from forcing servers from bearing the cost of stolen food and drink. This bill will go a long way in enhancing the safety of the Women and Men who serve our food. Right now our servers often have to pay the price of lost food or breakage in a restaurant, this practice not only takes money put of their pockets it also puts the server in harms way when she is forced to be the management’s collection agent.

I am looking forward to seeing you there.