Two South County right-wing nuts win delegate slots to Republican National Convention

Lots of questions for Rhode Island Republicans to answer

By Will Collette

If you were wondering whether Rhode Island’s Republican Party had succumbed to Trumpmentia like the GOP nationwide, RI's April 2 Presidential Preference Primary provided an answer.

While, as expected, Trump (and Joe Biden) easily won, although both saw around 20% of primary voters vote for someone else or selected “uncommitted”, the more interesting results were seen in the vote count for individual delegates.

All of Rhode Island’s Republican delegates are pledged to vote for Donald Trump. Delegates pledged to other candidates, such as Nikki Haley, lost. That included prolific Westerly Sun letter-to-the-editor writer Scott Bill Hirst of Hopkinton who only received 751 votes out of 12,905 GOP votes cast.

The three slots for Congressional District 2 Republican delegates were filled by three peculiar choices. In order, the three elected were:

#1: Lacey McGreevey with 3,781. McGreevy was an unsuccessful Tea Party candidate for state Representative for South Kingstown in 2014 losing to present incumbent Kathy Fogarty (D).

#2: Justin Price with 3,749. Price was a Tea Party state representative from Richmond, first elected in 2014, the same year McGreevey lost. Price achieved national notoriety as an insurrectionist, MAGA devotee and far right crank. Incumbent Megan Cotter (D) ousted Price from office in 2022.

#3: Sean Todd with 3,326. Todd is a former East Greenwich town council member who first drew statewide attention for an incredibly sexist comment in 2017 that led to protests, calls for his resignation and ultimately his ouster from office in 2018.

All three are Trump delegates.

In Charlestown, 153 Republicans voted, giving Trump 86.9% which is higher than Trump’s margin statewide. 98 of them also picked Price over McGreevey.

These vote totals now justify challenging every Rhode Island candidate running as a Republican whether they support Donald Trump’s MAGA agenda: his national ban on abortion and punishment for any woman who gets one; his racism; his pro-Nazi, pro-Putin authoritarianism; his calls for violence and death for his opponents; His corruption and lies; And this is hardly an all-inclusive list.

If you are an “R” where do you stand on these issues?

Let’s take a closer look at the two top GOP vote-getters, Lacey McGreevey and Justin Price.

You may not remember McGreevey since she was only a blip on the political scene with her 2014 state rep bid. But I remember her well. Here’s how I wrote about her in 2014:

Progressive Charlestown: September 17, 2014

Kathy Fogarty will now go on to battle Lacey McGreevy (R) in the November 4 general election. I swear I am not making this up, and working hard to not make this sound sexist, but when McGreevy announced her candidacy, she gave her frequent efforts as a beauty pageant contestant as her main qualification.  

Sarah Palin also included this in her resume, but she also had Mayor of Wasilla and a view of Russia from her window to complete her qualifications.

 

From McGreevey's campaign website

Here’s how she describes herself in her campaign bio: “Lacey McGreevy attended South Kingstown high school then went on to Southern New Hampshire University with a double major of marketing and fashion merchandising. She currently works as a trade show consultant and helps to keep women safe with princess pepper spray.” [emphasis added and I am NOT making this up.]

Kathy Fogarty went on to win the Representative District 35 seat by thumping McGreevey by 16 points.

Here she is with The Donald. Where is Trump's left hand?

McGreevey pretty much fell off the political map after that, perhaps too busy home schooling her kid. She was an early Trumpnik, even posting a link to Amazon and a $20 Trump pool float ring. On her Facebook page, she has only increased her love for Trump and posted photos of her and Trump. In one of them, you’re left guessing where Trump’s left hand is.

So, do you think Lacey is going to try running for local office again? What exactly does she stand for other than Trump-love and Trump tchotchke?

Finally, let’s look at Justin Price and how renewed RI GOP support for him raises questions about where they stand, not to mention whether they plan to back him if he tries a General Assembly comeback.

Price was a part of what I called “The Revenge of the Swamp Yankees.” In 2014, three of the best members of the General Assembly – Donna Walsh, Cathy Cool Rumsey and Larry Valencia – were beaten by three right-wing nuts: Blake “Flip” Filippi, Elaine Morgan and Justin Price.

All three were hard-right, but Price was really out there. In his four terms as state Representative, Price accomplished nothing other than garnering state and national exposure for his positions not only on guns and taxes, but - believe it or not - “chemtrails,” an obscure right-wing conspiracy theory that contrails from high-flying jets are actually spewing mind-altering chemicals on an unsuspecting public.

If there was even a germ of truth to this, I guess Price must have been an early victim.

His great legislative achievement was winning passage of a bill to create a “geo-engineering” study commission" to study chemtrails and other far right boogeymen. The commission never met and of course issued no findings.

Absolutely none of this is true.

Price managed to top that by being one of several serving state legislators to participate in the January 6 insurrection to overthrow the 2000 election.

He responded to calls for his resignation by claiming that (a) he didn’t actually enter the Capitol building though he has never said how deep into the fray he went and (b) that he saw Antifa actually lead the attack.

Both claims are bullshit and here’s why.

I worked on Capitol Hill for 10 years out of an office in the United Methodist Building just across the street from the Capitol. I know the area well and how the Capitol Police set up security cordons. For major events, police “do-not-cross” lines are set well away from the building.

It is virtually impossible for Price to have not breeched those lines and certainly must have done so if we are to believe his claim that “Antifa did it.”

As for the briefly popular Antifa conspiracy claim, we now know beyond a doubt that the insurrection was planned by Trump supporters as well as right-wing militias and white supremacists including the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.

The Antifa theory never made sense since there is no reason the Left would storm the Capitol to overturn Joe Biden’s rightful election victory.

But Price also needs to account for his conduct and subsequent statements. His Antifa claim is either a lie or an admission that he breeched his own sworn oaths. 

As a member of the Marine Corps and as a member of the General Assembly, Price sworn oaths to uphold the Constitution and to protect the country from “all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

If he truly believed he saw Antifa (or for that matter anyone), attacking police and the Capitol Building, why did he rise to defend against these enemies of the nation? It was his sworn duty, and he admits he did nothing. So is he a liar or a coward? 

Can Rhode Island Republicans explain why this ignorant man is going to represent them at their national convention? Oh, oh, oh…wait, I forgot. Donald Trump. Never mind.

Campaign finance violations are soaring.

Local candidates caught include MAGA Sen. Elaine Morgan, her opponent Jennifer Douglas and former state rep. Larry Valencia

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Richard Thornton, director of campaign finance for the
Rhode Island Board of Elections, is finding more mistakes on
reports filed by candidates more often.
(Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

Think of Richard Thornton like a financial detective.

As campaign finance director for the Rhode Island Board of Elections, Thornton devotes his days to combing through stacks of spending and fundraising reports for candidates, political action committees and ballot question advocacy groups, cross-checking those accounts with bank statements for potential errors or red flags. 

And these days, he’s finding problems a lot more often.

Indeed, the $13,150 in fines candidates paid to the election board in 2022 for campaign finance mistakes (not counting late fees) is more than triple the amount paid the year prior, according to data obtained by Rhode Island Current. With another $5,000 in finance violations paid through July of this year, 2023 is also poised to show a larger increase than in years past.

At face value, this might be cause for alarm. But Thornton sees it as a good thing; it means his three-person team is getting better at sniffing out rulebreakers.

“Our focus has really shifted through the years,” Thornton said. “We have these additional tools which have expanded our role, and we’ve seen a lot of success in that approach.”

The turning point came in 2015, with a trio of bills signed into law by then-Gov. Gina Raimondo that strengthened campaign finance rules and reporting requirements. 

John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island, describes the bevy of law changes as the “post-Gordon Fox reform,” referring to the former Rhode Island House Speaker who was sentenced to three years in federal prison in 2015 after pleading guilty to bribery, wire fraud and tax evasion.

“I think the number 1 reason you’re seeing more violations is thanks to the post-Gordon Fox reforms, which make it easier for the Board of Elections to spot when there is a violation,” Marion said. “It may look like more people are cheating, but the reality is, people may have been cheating all along, we’re just catching them more.”

Among the bills passed in the wake of the Fox scandal: requiring candidates and political action committees to turn over quarterly bank account statements in addition to their separate accounts of fundraising and spending. 

Other laws passed as part of the package of campaign finance reforms require candidates, officeholders and political action committees to keep their campaign accounts separate, and to appoint a treasurer other than themselves if they raise or spend more than $10,000 in a year. 

The bank statement law, in particular, was a “gamechanger,” Thornton said. 

Comparing a bank statement with a campaign finance report allowed his staff to find “variances,” which in turn, often revealed larger problems with a candidate or committee’s finances. 

Also crucial: the almighty subpoena, which the elections board has always had authority to use but has turned to increasingly in recent years if a candidate or committee isn’t willingly turning over their financial information, Thornton said. 

While the changes to state campaign finance law went into effect in 2016, the results of those changes took longer to realize. Hence, the increase in fines from campaign finance violations starting in 2021, according to Thornton.

A few of those violations suggest glaring and intentional rule breaking, but more often, Thornton described the violations as inadvertent or accidental errors. 

Take Sen. Elaine Morgan. The Hopkinton Republican was among the nine people who entered into consent orders with the election board in 2022 for campaign finance violations. Morgan, who has served in the Rhode Island Senate since 2014, paid a $1,200 fine after she was found to have spent more than $2,600 of campaign funds on personal expenses during the two prior years, according to the election board audit.

Morgan readily admitted to the mistake, which she chalked up to “accidental stupidity.”

She had wrongly thought her campaign debit card was her personal one, since both were marked with her name and from the same bank, Washington Trust Co., she said. 

While she characterized her violation as inadvertent, she also stressed the importance of candidates following the rules.

“If we’re going to take money, we have to know the rules,” she said. 

Which, based on Thornton’s efforts, they should.

Elections board asks AG to investigate Charlestown Democrat for campaign finance violations

Jennifer Douglas dinged for violations

by Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

A Charlestown Democrat who has unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent Republican state senator in her district three times may face civil or criminal charges for campaign finance violations.

The Rhode Island Board of Elections on Tuesday voted to ask Attorney General Peter Neronha to consider investigating Jennifer Douglas after finding she flouted campaign finance rules for a second time. 

Douglas failed to report more than $4,500 each in campaign spending and donations during her 2022 run for state senate, according to the election board audit report.  The audit also found she failed to disclose nearly $1,100 in campaign debt and spent $725 of campaign money on expenses that were not proven to be for her campaign.

It’s not the first time Douglas has run afoul of state campaign finance regulations. In 2021, she agreed to pay a $1,200 fine after the board found she failed to disclose a combined $4,600 in campaign donations and spending from her 2020 run for the same seat.

The Charlestown resident, backed by the progressive Rhode Island Political Cooperative, has tried and failed to unseat Republican Sen. Elaine Morgan for the Senate District 34 seat in the last three elections. 

Douglas did not return calls for comment. The elections board, which discussed the campaign finance violations behind closed doors, only sharing its vote in public session, did not explain the rationale behind its decision. Rhode Island Campaign Finance Director Rick Thornton did not return calls for comment on Wednesday.

John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island, said it’s unusual, but not unheard of, for the elections board to refer campaign finance violations to the attorney general. More often, the board enters into a consent agreement with the candidate in question, often coupled with a financial penalty. 

“Once in a while, when people have not been responsive to  them, they will refer to the AG for criminal prosecution,” Marion said.

The audit report notes that Douglas did not respond to the board’s findings.

Brian Hodge, a spokesperson for Neronha’s office, confirmed in an email that the attorney general received the referral and the office is reviewing the information.

The elections board last fall referred “serious campaign finance violations” to Neronha, after finding that former state Rep. Larry Valencia dipped into Richmond Democratic Town Committee’s funds for personal use, and that Woonsocket City Council hopeful Charmaine Webster used campaign funds for personal use.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Normally, I'm not a big fan of the "but what about so-and-so?" defense but in this case, it's apt. Last year, Jennifer's three-time opponent, incumbent Trumplican state Senator Elaine Morgan, was charged with looting her campaign account for personal use. Morgan's fine was $1,200, the same amount as Jennifer. One big difference is Morgan's attempt to throw her recently deceased husband under the bus, blaming him for her numerous financial irregularities, even though most took place after he died. Despite Jennifer's mishandling of campaign finances, I still believe she would be a far better state Senator than Morgan.                            - Will Collette

Recall complete: Justin Price's margin of defeat increases

Price decisively booted from General Assembly

By Will Collette

State representative Justin Price (District 39) has gotten the recount of the votes that showed him losing his seat to Megan Cotter (D) of Exeter by four votes on Election Night and than 29 votes when the mail-in ballots were counted.

The recount was completed on Friday and added three more votes to Megan Cotter's total, thus beating Price by 32 votes.

Megan is a solid progressive who was aligned with the RI Political Co-op in her first challenge and close call in 2020. This time around, Cotter was assisted by RI Working Families with a much better results.

Price was first elected in 2014 during the rise of the Swamp Yankees that replaced progressive Democrats Donna Walsh of Charlestown, Sen. Cathy Cool Rumsey and Rep. Larry Valencia with right-wing radicals Blake "Flip" Filippi, Elaine Morgan and Justin Price respectively.

These three have between them virtually no legislative achievements other than noise and rhetoric. Frankly, they've been an embarrassment to South County in General and Charlestown in particular. Price's loss and Filippi's retirement leaves us with two of the three stooges being out of office.

These South County races also affect the statewide political landscape. The RI Republican Party went into the 2022 election expected to substantially add to their meager numbers in the General Assembly. They had 15 Senate and House seats and are now down to 14. Too bad they had so many crap candidates.

Aside from losing every state race, Republicans lost one net seat in the General Assembly thanks to Megan Cotter flipping Price's seat, as well as two Charlestown women, Tina Spears and Victoria Gu, winning in House 36 and Senate 38.

Justin Price's defeat is especially sweet since he took part in the January 6 insurrection, claiming that he was there but did not himself enter the Capitol. However, he claims he was close enough to see that it was Antifa, and not violent Trumpnuts, leading the attack. 

I've asked repeatedly since Price made that claim about why he did not follow the oath he took when he joined the Marines to protect this country from enemies, foreign and domestic. If he was close enough to ID the protestors as Antifa, why didn't he act? 

Now he'll have time to think about that question and ponder what mark he left on history during his eight year legislative career.

Larry Valencia referred for prosecution

But is there a double standard?

By Will Collette

Sen. Elaine Morgan did the same thing

The RI Board of Elections has asked the Attorney General to look at prosecuting former Charlestown state Representative Larry Valencia. 

The offense is using funds from the Richmond Democratic Town Committee for personal use. According to the BOE memo below, Larry has admitted the offense.

However, just a few weeks ago, the Board busted Trumplican Senator Elaine Morgan for pretty much the same offense, taking money out of her campaign account for personal use, such as shopping at Aldi, dining and a trip to Florida.

Morgan admitted the offense, as did Larry, but blamed her dead husband who, she said, managed her campaign accounts. The problems with that defense include: (1) ewwww! to throwing her dead husband under the bus and (2) more than half of the campaign fraud occurred before her husband died. 

Also, the BOE only looked at her finances for the current campaign cycle. They did not include prior cycles. It would be surprising if, all of a sudden, Morgan decided to steal rather than simply carrying out past behavior.

As for Larry, I admired him for his exemplary service in the General Assembly and for his values and intelligence. I am just shaken that he would have done this.

Here's the BOE memo on Larry Valencia:

Campaign money, money, money

Sad but true, money drives politics

By Will Collette

Candidates for public office were required to file CF-1 forms by August 1 reporting on their income, expenses and balance for the quarter ending June 30. All but three local candidates did so. Despite the time lag, these figures give us a pretty good idea about the status of local races.

In Charlestown, nearly every elected office is being contested in what is shaping up to be another “Battle of the PACs.” The campaign finance reports also show the resurgence of the long-dormant Republican Party in Charlestown.

Two far-right Republican General Assembly incumbents face strong progressive Democratic challengers, plus there are two open seats vacated by the two top Republican leaders in the General Assembly and, just based on the financial reports, both seats seem likely prospects to flip Blue.

Senate District 38 (Charlestown, Westerly, South Kingstown)

This is the local race getting the most statewide attention. Long held by Westerly Republican Dennis Algiere, his decision to retire set off a flurry of declarations. After signatures on nomination papers were fully validated, three Democrats will go into a September 13 primary and then will face well-known Westerly pol Caswell Cooke running as an independent and novice Republican Westin Place.

So far, that five-person field has raised $67,199.67, but it’s more interesting to see how that money was distributed:

First, Charlestown’s Victoria Gu raised $50,000 in the quarter ending June 30 with a balance of $49,339.89. Almost all of that money came from the Asian-Pacific community around the country.

Running a distant second is independent Caswell Cooke with $9,167.23. Cooke was a long-time Republican until Donald Trump’s 2016 election win when he disaffiliated from the Republican Party.

Third is Westerly Democrat Michael Niemeyer with $7,691.89. He is running under the auspices of the RI Political Coop.

Fourth is current Westerly Town Council President, Democrat Sharon Ahern. She shows only $1000, her own money, in her campaign account. She entered the race late so her lack of cash is not surprising.

Finally, there is Republican Westin Place who has apparently not yet filed a CF-1 report. That will probably cost him a fine and raises some question about how serious he is about campaigning.

House District 36 (Charlestown, Westerly, South Kingstown, Block Island)

This race is for another open seat left behind by Republican House Minority Leader Blake “Flip” Filippi.

In this race, Democrat Tina Spears of Charlestown is running hard and reports a June 30 balance of $23,189.08.

Her opponent is recent Charlestown transplant John Pacheco III. Instead of a CF-1, Pacheco filed an application for filing exemption based on his declaration that he does not plan to raise much money. His campaign fund is currently in debt. He declared $262.75 cash on hand and $2,682.45 in debt. It appears that these numbers are carried over from his political career as Town Council chair in Burrillville. He bought a house in Charlestown on December 29, 2020.

So far, he has shown no signs of being a serious candidate. Without money, he can’t run a competitive race.

Senate District 34 (Hopkinton, Richmond, Charlestown, Exeter, West Greenwich)

This is the seat currently held by right-wing nut Sen. Elaine Morgan of Hopkinton. She was recently in the news after the state Board of Elections nailed her for taking money out of her campaign funds for personal use. She was required to put the money back and pay a $1,200 fine. With payback, she reports a balance of $16,160.

She faces progressive Democrat Jennifer Douglas of Charlestown, another RI Political Coop member. Jennifer reports a June 30 balance of $6,681.34.

Normally, serious campaign finance crimes end political campaigns as it did for Matt Brown in his 2004 Senate campaign. Brown was out of Rhode Island politics for years until he created the RI Political Coop in 2019 to make a comeback. But Republican Elaine Morgan might be able to count on the GOP’s tendency to reward law-breaking. We’ll see which way it goes when she files her next report on October 11.

House District 39 (Richmond, Hopkinton, Exeter)

Technically, this isn’t a Charlestown race but it might as well be since incumbent right-wing loon Justin Price of Richmond has been running in a pack with Blake Filippi and Elaine Morgan since they were all elected in 2014. 

Adding to that Charlestown feeling is that Price got his seat by ousting a great legislator, Larry Valencia, who did at one time represent the northern half of Charlestown.

Anyway, Price who hopefully may be indicted for his acknowledged participation in the January 6 Trump coup attempt reports a June 30 balance of $4,543.57. 

He has a rematch with Democrat and RI Political Coop member Megan Cotter. She reports an impressive June 30 balance of $35,561.93. If money truly equaled votes, Price is toast. However, this is a very conservative district.

Charlestown Municipal races

CCA logo?

The November 8 general election has two political action committees squaring off for control of the town: the ruling Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) and the good government Charlestown Residents United (CRU). Click HERE to see CRU’s slate of candidates.

Nearly every elected position is up for grabs. Most candidates, other than those who are for-real independents, will be financed through one of the two PACs perhaps with help from Charlestown Democratic Town Committee (CDTC) or the resurgent Charlestown Republican Town Committee (CRTC).

These four political entities report these June 30 balances:

    Charlestown Citizens Alliance: $7,164.55

    Charlestown Residents United: $5,420.03

    Charlestown Republicans: $3,803.91

    Charlestown Democrats: $1,507.18

The campaign finance reports show the CCA hasn’t even gotten started on fund-raising yet. Their usual practice over the past 12 years has been to hit up major donors, especially rich absentee property owners, from July to Election Day. The Charlestown Democrats also haven’t done much fund-raising yet.

Mageau does what Mageau does

One of the only actual independents in the race is  👈 town curmudgeon Jim Mageau running for Town Council. He was ousted by the CCA in 2008, has been disowned by both parties and seeks a comeback. Maybe or maybe not.

Mageau dissolved his campaign finance account in June 2013 and hasn’t filed anything since. Including this year where he had enough signatures on his nomination papers to qualify for the General Election ballot. 

If he’s going to run any sort of campaign at all, he’ll need to get his account in order with the Board of Elections or he will face fines.

Over the coming weeks, I will be running articles comparing the candidates especially because there are a lot of new faces and names on the ballot in Charlestown.

In case you are wondering, I am neither dispassionate nor unbiased in this election. I am NOT the League of Women Voters because I do think there are sharp differences among the candidates. Elaine Morgan and Jennifer Douglas are polar opposites, as are Justin Price and Megan Cotter.

So, the race is underway and may the BEST candidates win.

Shakeup coming for South County General Assembly representation

Decisions by Republican leaders Algiere and Filippi make up-coming election more intriguing

By Will Collette

Blake, in bovine bliss

Generally, legislative elections in South County don’t produce a lot of surprises. Legislators tend to get elected and stick around for a while.

The last major surprise came with the 2014 right-wing coup that saw Rep. Donna Walsh, Rep. Larry Valencia and Sen. Cathy Cool Rumsey lose to a trio of Trumplicans Blake “Flip” Filippi, Justin Price and Sen. Elaine Morgan.

Eight years later, Filippi is not running for re-election. Neither is Westerly Republican and
Senate Minority Leader Dennis Algiere, a 22-year State House veteran. Justin Price will hopefully receive his well-deserved visit from the FBI for his role in the January 6 storming of the Capitol. And I think three time’s the charm for Democrat Jennifer Douglas to take out right-wing nut Elaine Morgan.

Elaine Morgan, addressing gun nuts

The deadline for filing Declarations of Candidacy is 4 PM Wednesday. After that, we will know exactly who is officially seeking a place on the ballot and who is not.

Meanwhile, we can take a look at who produced for their constituents in the 2022 General Assembly session taken from the General Assembly’s legislative data base HERE.

This legislative session produced lots of media coverage for Blake “Flip” Filippi but no actual legislative achievements. That’s been the story of Flip’s eight years in the House.

Of a total of 15 bills he introduced, he managed to get three bills passed for the Block Island Town Council as well as H-8311 that will “exempt from taxation the real and tangible personal property of Manissean Tribal Council, a Rhode Island nonprofit corporation.” 

The tribe is indigenous to Block Island. It is not federally recognized and does not appear to have any major assets and reports revenue of less than $50,000. There is no property listed in their name on the tax assessor's database.

In addition to botching the shoreline access bill, Flip again failed to advance Charlestown’s bills to give it authority to regulate mining and blasting. Flip ends his legislative career as he began it: promising but failing to deliver on rogue quarries like the infamous Copar Quarry.

Sen. Dennis Algiere wrapped up his career by introducing only 7 bills, of which three (all on behalf of the Westerly Town Council) passed.

Sen. Elaine Morgan (R-nut) who represents northern Charlestown and a large swath of South County had a spectacular failure rate. She introduced 14 bills and lost them all.

Rep. Justin Price (R-armed militia) who’s district is adjacent to Charlestown introduced 6 bills. All of them lost except for a resolution of condolences over the death of gun nut and former Representative for the same district Frank Maher.

At this writing, it looks like both Filippi and Algiere will be replaced by Democratic women. Tina Spears of Charlestown is Flip’s likely successor and Dennis Algiere will probably be replaced either by Victoria Gu of Charlestown or Sharon Ahern of Westerly. I have heard a Republican has filed a Declaration of Candacy to replace Filippi.

If you want to see what productivity looks like, just look across to South Kingstown and check out the track record of its all-woman legislative team. I do acknowledge that both Flip Filippi and Dennis Algiere represent a small chunk of South Kingstown’s southwest corner but they have contributed nothing so I am not including them.

Senators Sue Sosnowski, Bridget Valverde and Alana DiMario and state Representatives Teresa Tanzi, Carol Hagan McEntee and Kathy Fogarty, in total introduced over 170 pieces of legislation, not counting resolutions. Of those, 71 bills passed. While some of these were municipal bills requested by town councils, most were substantive, such as Teresa Tanzi’s two gun control bills.

Delegation dean Sue Sosnowski was the prime sponsor of 42 bills, with 22 passing, many significant environmental laws.

On several bills, the SK delegation teamed up. For example, Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski (D-Dist. 37, South Kingstown, New Shoreham) and Rep. Kathleen A. Fogarty (D-Dist. 35, South Kingstown).that would make it easier for senior citizens to apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee and Sen. Alana M. DiMario teamed up to get new legislation passed that increases the age of children who are able to utilize recorded forensic interviews when testifying before grand juries in cases of child sexual abuse.

If you take the time to look at the records of each of these women, you can see for yourself the depth and breadth of the issues they took on. Then take a look at the records for Justin Price, Elaine Morgan and the departing Flip Filippi.

Anyone who thinks that party doesn’t make a difference just isn’t paying attention.

Calls for Rep. Justin Price to resign swell

But Rep. Flip Filippi defends him

By Will Collette

Screenshot by Media Matters

It should be no surprise that wingnut Trumplican state Rep. Justin Price (R-Richmond) rejects calls for him to resign after his participation on the Trump mob attack on the US Capitol, an attack that Price claims – with no evidence – was led by Antifa.

He posted this claim of what he saw on Twitter: “Trump supporters stopped ANTIFA that were attacking our capitol!” Really? And how, pray tell, did Price see this?

Later, on January 9, Price tweeted again: “Yes i marched to the capitol with 1 million peaceful patriots   Unfortunately ANTIFA /BLM infiltrated our peaceful movement and they got caught in the act..”

So now Black Lives Matter were in on it, too.

After initial calls by state Treasurer Seth Magaziner and state Rep. Brandon Potter for Price to step down, dozens more RI legislators and organizations have called for Price to go.

The House Trumplican Caucus, led by Charlestown's Rep. Blake “Flip” Filippi, rejected calls for Price to be expelled from the Caucus.

Price got into the RI House by beating solid progressive Rep. Larry Valencia in 2014, the same year Elaine Morgan ousted Sen. Cathy Cool Rumsey and Flip Filippi upset Rep. Donna Walsh.

Filippi's favorite militia, front and center in the Capitol

The Wingnut Class of 2014 were very much alike: sympathetic to armed militias, pro-guns, anti-immigrants, anti-vaccination and promoters of a wide variety of hard-right causes and conspiracies.

Filippi, for example, represented the Oathkeepers, a militia group that were among the leaders of the Capitol Coup, in court, when the Oathkeepers wanted to parade around with the automatic weapons on the sacred and historic Common in Concord, MA, contrary to Town Law. Filippi also spoke at their rallies and those of other fringe hard-right groups.

This, even though armed private militias are illegal in all 50 states – even Texas - and Flip know this. 

From Georgetown University Law School:

So of course he isn’t going to take action against Price for the kinds of radical actions that Flip himself has undertaken.

The push to sanction Price resulted from Price’s decision to pick a fight with RI public radio reporter Ian Donnis because Donnis did not publish Price’s false claim that Antifa was responsible for the insurrection. Donnis explained that he left Price’s claim out of his article because it was not true.

Price said he was at the mob scene but claims he didn’t do anything wrong, that he didn’t go inside the Capitol with his pals.

I don’t believe it. Here’s Price, a proud ex-Marine anti-leftist crusader, who went down to Washington after Trump’s call to arms. He's on the scene close enough to claim he saw Antifa agitators in the crowd and he just stands there and looks. Nah, that makes no sense.

While Price claims he didn’t go into the Capitol building, how far did he go? Did he go through any of the police lines or barricades and onto the Capitol grounds? He must have, since he says he saw Antifa lead the attack. Though honestly, I doubt Price would be able to identify someone from Antifa if they bit him in the ass.

I anticipate that we will see photos or video of Price on the scene. We might even see Price get a visit from the FBI.

Price may be found out by modern technology – cell phone GPS tracking could place him in the wrong place on January 6 – inside prohibited areas or even inside the Capitol. If Price had signed on to Parler, the far right alternative to Twitter, his January 6 wanderings could be traced as were the movements of many of his fellow insurrectionists (CLICK HERE).

But the new calls for Price to resign don’t hinge on the question of whether Price trespassed. Their charge is even more damning:

“In your oath of office, you swore to be true and faithful to the people of Rhode Island and to uphold the United States Constitution to the best of your ability. By supporting an attempt to thwart one of our democracy’s most vital traditions — the peaceful transfer of power — you failed to uphold the Constitution.”

Price was there at the Capitol – that is an undisputed fact. We do not have hard evidence that he trespassed or otherwise broke the law. However, he did violate his oath of office and compounded it by outright lies – blaming Antifa and Black Lives Matter with no evidence.

In Price’s three terms in the RI House, he has said and promoted many stupid if not reprehensible things. But he has crossed a line that cannot be crossed without consequences. He must resign or be removed.

Here is the full text of the group letter calling him out:

Justin Price must resign or Filippi must throw him out

Richmond State Rep has been an embarrassment since his first day in office

By Will Collette

I’ve covered the General Assembly career of Rep. Justin Price ever since 2014 when he defeated Rep. Larry Valencia, a smart, principled guy, and became one of the dumbest people at the State House.

2014 was a bad year for local progressives. Not only did Larry lose to wingnut Price, but Rep. Donna Walsh lost to Blake “Flip” Filippi and Senator Cathy Cool Rumsey lost to Elaine Morgan.

Price, Flip and Morgan became a de facto South County wingnut caucus that supports armed militias, opposes vaccination, backs Trump and espouses conspiracy theories.

Of this terrible trio, Price was clearly the most unhinged. During the opening session of the General Assembly last week, Price and a fellow Trumplican had to be segregated in a separate room because they refused to adhere to anti-COVID guidelines and wear masks.

After six years of reckless and feckless conduct, there are finally calls for Price to resign from General Treasurer Seth Magaziner and at least four members of RI House.

This latest Price flap kicked off when Price decided to pick a fight with RI Public Radio’s top political reporter Ian Donnis. Donnis wrote about the Trump Riot at the US Capitol, an event that Price admitted he attended.

Price didn’t like Donnis’s coverage because Donnis did not include Price’s claim that the storming and trashing of the Capitol was all Antifa’s fault.

As Donnis explains:

In an interview with The Public’s Radio on Friday, Price said, “Antifa went in there, did some, you know, bad stuff, raised the flag for Trump and blamed it on Trump. It’s confirmed.”

In fact, while some conservatives have claimed antifa was involved, the FBI, mainstream news sources and fact-checking sites say there is no basis for that claim.

The Public’s Radio did not initially report Price’s account of being in Washington since it was not factual. 

Price claims he did not go into the Capitol and no photos or video to disprove his claim have surfaced. 

Yet.

Price’s Twitter rants pushing the discredited claim that Antifa was responsible for the mob violence at the Capitol led to the initial calls for his resignation from state Rep. Brandon Potter (D-Cranston) and Treasurer Magaziner.

Potter stated:

"In light of Rep. Justin Price’s admission to being present at the U.S. Capitol and his public comments regarding the attack, it is clear he is unfit for office. I call for his immediate resignation from the Rhode Island House of Representatives…There is a "redline with no room beyond it for ‘leaders’ who support an attempted coup by continuing to spread lies and baseless conspiracies about who, in fact, the perpetrators of this attack were. It is a disgrace to our country, our state, and certainly the constituents represented.” 

General Treasurer Seth Magazine issued this statement:

"At a time when American democracy is under siege from conspiracy theorists and white supremacists determined to overturn the free and fair Presidential election, Representative Justin Price has abused his platform by amplifying false conspiracy theories surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol. His behavior risks inflaming an already charged situation by encouraging those seeking to overturn the election.

“As elected officials we are duty bound to defend our democratic system of government, to tell our constituents the truth, and to promote public health in the midst of this pandemic. Representative Price's actions of the past week demonstrate that he lacks the judgement to hold public office. He should resign from the House. If he does not, the House Republican Caucus should expel him to make clear that his behavior does not represent the Republican Party in our state."

Treasurer Magaziner also cited Price’s refusal to wear a mask during last week’s General Assembly session.

No word from Charlestown’s Rep Blake “Flip” Filippi. As House Minority Leader, heading up the small band of RI Trumplicans, he could seek to eject Price from their caucus.

I doubt Flip will make any move to bounce Price since they’ve been joined at the hip since their elections in 2014. 

However, Flip is famous for flipping his positions – thus the nickname – and could decide it’s to his political advantage to turn on his political friend and ally.

But if Flip decides to keep Price, he owns what comes with that decision.

Justin Price needs to go. As I wrote in August 2015 in “If only there was a vaccine for stupid:”

“Whatever most normal people are for, Justin Price is against, and he usually takes a swig from the Tea Party jug before throwing out some ultra-right cliché to justify his position.