UPDATED: Well, now you can REALLY compare the records
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| First time encounter for the three candidates - from left, Tina Jackson, Kevin Prescott and Rep. Donna Walsh. They are scheduled to meet again in Westerly on October 31 November 5, 6 PM Westerly Town Council chambers |
By Will Collette
UPDATE 4: The editors of the Westerly Sun have endorsed Donna Walsh for re-election, praising her work but ending the editorial by noting "She is the only legitimate candidate."
UPDATE 3: The Block Island Times has re-run Chris Keegan's Westerly Sun article on the criminal records of Tina Jackson Baker and Kevin Prescott.
UPDATE 2: GoLocalProv carries additional detail they dug up on the criminal pasts of the two opponents running against Rep. Donna Walsh. Included in the article is detail about how Jackson was recruited by the state GOP to run against Walsh.
UPDATE 1: The forum scheduled on Oct. 30 was postposed due to Hurricane Sandy. The new date is Monday, Nov. 5 at 6 PM at Westerly Town Hall.
Each time State Representative Donna Walsh has gone before the voters, she has said they should judge her on her record. That record shows Donna has spent most of her adult life in the service of the people of Charlestown and South County.
UPDATE 3: The Block Island Times has re-run Chris Keegan's Westerly Sun article on the criminal records of Tina Jackson Baker and Kevin Prescott.
UPDATE 2: GoLocalProv carries additional detail they dug up on the criminal pasts of the two opponents running against Rep. Donna Walsh. Included in the article is detail about how Jackson was recruited by the state GOP to run against Walsh.
UPDATE 1: The forum scheduled on Oct. 30 was postposed due to Hurricane Sandy. The new date is Monday, Nov. 5 at 6 PM at Westerly Town Hall.
Each time State Representative Donna Walsh has gone before the voters, she has said they should judge her on her record. That record shows Donna has spent most of her adult life in the service of the people of Charlestown and South County.
In her 2012 campaign for reelection, Donna faces two challengers,
Republican Tina Jackson and independent Kevin Prescott. Both are first-time
candidates, so they don’t have legislative records. However, as the Westerly
Sun revealed on October 26, they do have records.
After looking at the long list of arrests for some pretty
serious crimes, I compiled my own list using the free RI
state court database as well as the pay-per-use Westlaw database.
Jackson complained to the Westerly Sun that her arrest records were supposed to
be expunged – but anyone with a computer can look them up. Or you can do what
Chris Keegan did, and go and look at the actual court records at state court
headquarters in Providence or the archives in Pawtucket.
Some records, mostly of her arrests for passing forged
prescriptions for narcotics in Westerly, are no longer in the state court
database, but they are still listed in Westlaw’s criminal database.
You should read
the Sun article, and to make your reading easier, here is a table showing Jackson’s
17 arrests on over 40 different charges in seven jurisdictions ranging from
Glocester to Westerly. Read
Chris Keegan’s article for the details.
Tina Baker Jackson’s criminal record
(sources: RI Judiciary, Westlaw.com)
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What happened
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Date
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Where
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Arrested on three counts – DUI, first offense;
Simple assault; Eluding the police
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July 2, 1993
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Johnston
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Arrested on a fugitive from justice warrant
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Oct. 25, 1993
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Smithfield
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Arrested – driving with a suspended license
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Jan 6, 1994
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Glocester
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Arrested – driving with a suspended license
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June 26, 1995
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Johnston
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Arrested – simple assault/domestic and felony
assault
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May 2, 1997
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Glocester
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Arrested on five counts of attempting to purchase
narcotics/Fraud
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July 5, 2002
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Westerly
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Arrested on four counts of attempting to purchase
narcotics/Fraud
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Aug 8, 2002
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Westerly
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Arrested on three counts of attempting to
purchase narcotics/Fraud
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Oct 10, 2002
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Westerly
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Arrested – Attempted to purchase narcotics/Fraud
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Nov 21, 2002
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Warwick
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Arrested on six counts of attempting to purchase
narcotics/Fraud
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Dec 23, 2002
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Westerly
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Arrested – Attempted to purchase narcotics/Fraud
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Feb 4, 2003
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Westerly
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Arrested – Attempted to purchase narcotics/Fraud
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Feb 5, 2003
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Warwick
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Arrested on seven counts of attempting to purchase
narcotics/Fraud
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Feb 6, 2003
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Westerly
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Arrested on three counts of passing bad checks at Rippy’s and for failure
to appear
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Nov
19, 2003
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Charlestown
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Arrested – driving with a suspended license
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March 31, 2005
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Richmond
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Arrested – driving with a suspended license
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Apr 1, 2005
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Westerly
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Arrested – driving with a suspended license
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Oct 6, 2006
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Richmond
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This isn’t all that you can find in the public records
(especially Westlaw) on Tina Jackson. Westlaw files show that Jackson has a
long history of failing to pay her taxes, failing to pay her creditors, and failing
to even keep her lobbying business in good working order.
She failed to pay her Fire District taxes when she lived in
Pascoag and the court issued a judgment against her. IRS took out a tax lien
against her Charlestown house for federal taxes. It took her almost two years
to resolve that mess.
In addition to passing bad checks at Rippy’s – for which she
was arrested – several other creditors won civil judgments against her for
unpaid bills. Plus, there have been other notable and very recent lapses in
civic responsibility. Here’s what I found on Westlaw and on the RI Secretary of
State’s database.
Tina
Baker Jackson’s civil issues (sources: Westlaw.com,
RI Secretary of State)
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What happened
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Date
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Where
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Notes
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Judgments (3) issued ordering payments to
Dutchess County NY Dept of Social Services
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Feb 1990
May 1995
Sept 1996
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Poughkeepsie, NY
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Total owed $3,756
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Judgment issued for unpaid taxes to Pascoag
Fire District
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March 2001
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Pascoag
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$493 owed
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Federal Tax Lien
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Nov 2004
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Charlestown
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$3,144 - released upon payment, July 2006
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Civil Judgments for unpaid
bills
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1997, 2001, 2002, 2003
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various
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Debts owed to M&M Oil ($1,114), Ocean
State Veterinary ($797), Health Center of South County ($334) and Vladimir
Kalajdzhyan ($500)
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Charter
revoked on American Alliance of Fishermen and
their Communities
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June 8, 2011
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Charlestown
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Reinstated May 14, 2012, after delinquent
reports filed
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Notice of
revocation issued on AAFC for delinquent report.
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Oct 15, 2012
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Charlestown
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Pending
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Jackson claims to be a lobbyist for the American Alliance of
Fishermen and their Communities (AAFC), and we know from Rep.
Larry Valencia that she came in to oppose his legislation to levy a surtax on
Rhode Island’s wealthiest citizens.
However, Jackson is not listed in the
Secretary of State’s lobbyist
database. But seeing that she allowed the organization’s corporate charter
to be revoked for failing to file reports, it’s not surprising that she would
also fail to register as a lobbyist. Details, details.
Chris
Keegan’s Westerly Sun article leads with the complaint by Kevin Prescott,
who is also running against Donna Walsh, that Jackson tried to blackmail him
into dropping out of the race. He told Keegan that Jackson flashed Prescott’s
own criminal record and threatened to publicize it if Prescott failed to drop
out. Tina Jackson told Keegan that she wasn’t really blackmailing Prescott but
just trying to get him to drop out for his own good.
I wonder if she was surprised that Prescott wasn’t grateful.
Unfortunately for Prescott, he does indeed have a very
serious criminal background that rivals Jackson’s. This, too, is detailed in
Chris Keegan’s article. Again, for your reading convenience, here is a table to
allow you to track the charges described in the Sun article.
What happened
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When
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Where
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Arrested: Breaking and entering/dwelling
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Feb 26, 1992
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Westerly
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Arrested: reckless driving
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July 24, 1992
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Westerly
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Arrested: DUI
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Sep 7, 1995
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Westerly
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Arrested: making a false 911 call
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Feb 15, 1996
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South Kingstown
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Arrested: driving with a suspended license
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Apr 28, 1998
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North Kingstown
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Arrested: Domestic assault
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Sep 21, 1998
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South Kingstown
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Arrested: Reckless driving
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Jan 1, 2004
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Chesterfield, Virginia
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Eviction – forcible entry, illegal detainer
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Jun 13, 2005
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Warwick
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Arrested: Illegal radar detector
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Nov 21, 2006
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Greensville, VA
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Arrested: weapons possession
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July 18, 2008
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Westerly
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Arrested: (2 counts) carrying a weapon while intoxicated
(felony); disorderly conduct
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Sep 25, 2008
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Westerly
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Arrested: Disorderly conduct
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Oct 7, 2008
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Westerly
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Probation violated
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Oct 22, 2008
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Westerly
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Bench warrants for failure to appear
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Feb 19, 2009 and April 7, 2009
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Westerly
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In the age of the internet, it is increasingly hard for
people to escape scrutiny, especially when they choose to enter public life.
When Tina Jackson and Kevin Prescott declared their candidacies for state
representative, they invited that scrutiny.
One aspect of the story in the Sun that intrigued me is this
– Tina Jackson used the free, internet-based RI Judiciary database to look up
Kevin Prescott’s record. What she then did with that information is now a
he-said, she-said dispute, and you can decide for yourself which one you want
to believe.
But what I don’t understand is this: when Jackson was in the
database looking up Prescott, why didn’t she look herself up?
Here’s another puzzler: Jackson told Chris Keegan that her
criminal past should be overlooked because it was so long ago, as if 17 arrests
over a thirteen-year stretch has no bearing on her character and fitness for
office. However, Prescott’s offenses were also roughly in the same time frame
and severity, and Jackson apparently felt it was serious enough to tell
Prescott that he needed to drop out of the race.
So, if Jackson thought Prescott’s record was so terrible
that he needed to withdraw, why should she expect to get a free pass?
Finally, I wonder if the CCA will give this article the same
prominence in its recommended
reading section as they did the puff
piece that ran in the Block Island Times. Or are they still planning an
11th hour endorsement of Jackson after all.
