A press release from the Moderate Party of Rhode Island:
Warwick, RI- Yesterday, the Moderate Party, in conjunction with the ACLU asked a federal judge to temporarily halt the state from distributing to the two major political parties funds contained in a so-called "nonpartisan account" consisting of "donations" made by taxpayers on their tax return. The law authorizing the account improperly excludes new political parties, like MPRI, from any of the disbursement.
"We hope that the judge will issue a temporary restraining order against implementation of the law, because as the brief notes, once the funds are distributed, it will be difficult - if not impossible - for the Court to 'unring the bell' and unwind the distributions," and it will leave the MPRI without any effective remedy for the violation of its rights," said Robert Corrente, Chairman of the Moderate Party.
General Treasurer Frank Caprio and Attorney General Patrick Lynch were both named as defendants in the lawsuit. Caprio was named in the lawsuit in his capacity as Treasurer as his office disperses the funds in question. Lynch was named in the lawsuit in his capacity as Attorney General because the constitutionality of a Rhode Island law is being questioned.
Asked to comment on the lawsuit, the Associate Press reported that Tim Gray, a spokesman for General Treasurer Frank Caprio, stated that they "had previously tried to work out the issue with the Moderate Party." Christine Hunsinger, Executive Director of the Moderate Party, said Caprio's claim is untrue.
"Mr. Caprio's office called in response to the letter, but we never heard from them
after that. At no point did he attempt to work through the issue with the Moderate
Party or attempt to address the unfairness of the law."
During the last election, Ken Block, previous chairman of the newly, and formally
recognized MPRI, sent Treasurer Caprio a letter voicing concerns about the disbursement of funds. Block received a photocopy of the law and a letter stating that there was nothing the Treasurer's Office could do. Prior to filing their most recent lawsuit, the Moderate Party sent a similar letter to Treasurer Caprio explaining their opposition to the law. This time, Chairman Corrente received a phone call from the office with the same message, "the law is the law."
"Twice we've contacted the Treasurer's office, in writing, to express our concerns
regarding this issue and twice Mr. Caprio's response has been to state that 'the
law is the law.' While for those who have spent most of their professional lives
in government, as Mr. Caprio has, a phone call or letter offering no help might
be viewed as constituent service, we respectfully disagree. We expect more from
our elected officials. At a very minimum, we expect them to tell the truth, which
they have not done here," said Robert Corrente, Chairman of the Moderate Party.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Lynch also commented to the Associated Press
on the Moderate Party's lawsuit. His spokesperson stated that, "the Attorney General
had nothing to do with the distribution of the funds and should not have been named
in the suit."
"This shows a total lack of understanding of the responsibilities of the Attorney
General's office," said Robert Corrente, Chairman of the Moderate Party. "Any time
the constitutionality of a law is challenged, the Attorney General is named as a
party to that suit. The fact that Mr. Lynch doesn't know this is troubling."
The Moderate Party also notified Speaker of the House Gordon Fox and Senate Leader
Teresa Paiva-Weed of their intention to file the lawsuit of the disbursement of
monies. "We did this knowing that the leadership would play a large role in determining how the monies would be distributed" said Hunsinger. "As a response, we received nothing. The deafening silence from them is a clear indication that Democratic leadership has no intention of giving up what basically amounts to their own personal cash machine without being forced to do so."
If the Moderate Party is successful in their lawsuit, and aspects of the existing
law are struck down and the Moderate Party is granted injunctive relief, the legislature would need to revise the law in order for the monies to be disbursed.
Asked if she thought the legislature would return to session to draft a new law,
Hunsinger said, "The legislature went home without closing a 100 million dollar
budget gap, without passing the ethics bill and without bringing e-verify to the
floor for a vote. Maybe, if it's about money and political power, they'll come back.
Although, given that it's an election year and that the General Assembly is busy
enjoying their summer, it does seem highly unlikely."
Previously, the General Assembly had expressed no desire to do the people's work
this summer. When House Leadership was asked directly about the 100 million dollar budget gap, House Finance Chairman Steven Costantino replied that they could come back in November-after the election-to solve the budget crisis. And when asked about returning to session, Senate President Theresa Paiva Weed said, "I don't expect we'll be back. I really want to enjoy the summer."
"This kind of behavior is typical of our elected officials. We really should expect
more from them," said Hunsinger.
On June 21, the Moderate Party of Rhode Island filed a lawsuit in U.S. District
Court in Providence challenging the manner in which taxpayer dollars are collected
and distributed to political parties as part of public financing of the electoral
process. The suit challenges the constitutionality of certain provisions of Title
44, Chapter 30 of the Rhode Island General Laws and names Attorney General Patrick Lynch and General Treasurer Frank Caprio as defendants.
The formula specifies that 5% of the monies be distributed to the party that holds
each of the statewide offices other than governor: Lieutenant Governor, Secretary
of State, Attorney General and Treasurer. This totals 20% of the money collected.
The remaining money is then distributed "to each political party in proportion
to the combined number of votes its candidates for Governor received in the previous
election."
Based on the last election results, the Democratic Party receives over 59% of the
money in that fund. In June of 2009, the Moderate Party won a federal lawsuit and then gathered 34,000 signatures in order to become a recognized political party. The Party was formally recognized on August 18, 2009, two weeks before the tax checkoff monies were distributed for 2009.
Founder of the party and former Chairman, Ken Block, is the party's candidate for
governor.
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