OCG – RI Future

Operation Clean Government (OCG, at www.ocgri.org) has run non-partisan “candidate schools” since 2002 and they are doing again this year on Saturday, June 4 at Rhode Island College, hosted by the Political Science Department there.

It is my view that RI democracy suffers from a lack of contested races, yet I can state from my own experience of having run for office, that it s very doable. There are no filing fees, the Board of Elections is always helpful with paperwork, you need relatively few signatures of registered voters to get on the ballot – for example only 50 to qualify for State Representative, and they can be from any party, even your opponent can sign! And for such offices one needs relatively little money if you have the time to get about the district. And I can say it is actually interesting to do exactly that.

Yet not enough people run.

This year, as of this writing the program includes: Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and Ethics Commission attorney Jason Grammit share what needs to be done about financial reporting and ethical issues: there are sessions on campaign organization, use and misuse of web-sites, social media, fundraising, messaging, signage, campaign materials, and the media. Labor/Industrial Relations star Scott Molloy will be a lunch speaker. Presenters and panelists include Scott Avedisian, Suzy Alba, James Sheehan, Patricia Morgan, Jim Hummel, Dave Layman, John Loughlin, Dan McGowan, Kate Nagle, Brett Smiley, Rick Wilson.

The event starts with a continental breakfast at 8:45 a.m. and runs to about 5 p.m. The registration fee of $110 includes course materials, breakfast and lunch, refreshments at breaks, and plenty of chance to network. Please check it out, or register, at www.ocgri.org or encourage others to do so as approrpriate. Our communities and state will benefit from competitive elections.

Operation Clean Government (OCG) Rhode Island – OCGRI is a …

www.ocgri.org

Get Involved! | | | Operation Clean Government (OCG) is a group dedicated to promoting honest, responsible, and responsive state government in Rhode Island.

Recent testimony by Steven Costantino before the House Oversight Committee was a long-overdue step in the right direction.

While newsworthy, the appearance by the former House Finance Chair falls seriously short of the full investigation that clean-government groups have been demanding.

Margaret Kane, president of Operation Clean Government (OCG), said, “State House leaders want to move past 38 Studios, but they want to do so by sweeping it under the rug. The public deserves to know how this disaster occurred, and without an independent investigation it is unlikely that Rhode Islanders will ever learn the truth.”

OCG is also concerned that little effort has apparently gone into preventing similar disasters from happening in the future. “Even Mr. Constantino testified that he was generally opposed to moral obligation bonds,” Kane points out.

She added that Treasurer [Seth] Magaziner’s plan to strengthen a finance board which he largely appoints isn’t exactly the independent oversight that is needed.

Operation Clean Government is a member of the Investigate38StudiosNow.org coalition, which has been calling for the 38 Studios scandal to be investigated not only by the legislative oversight committees, but also by an independent investigator hired outside the legislative branch. Since the coalition called for these investigations, the Oversight Committee has for the first time been allowed to issue 38 Studios subpoenas. However, Governor [Gina] Raimondo has still refused to appoint a truly independent investigator.

The 38 Studios scandal, which has already cost the state many millions of dollars, shows no sign of going away.

[From a press release]

You watch the full testimony in the videos below:

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OCG Candidate School can help YOU run for office

Operation Clean Government calls for independent investigation of 38 Studios