Guy Dufault: Consistently Acting Against the Interests of Rhode Island Citizens

Andrew has pointed out the latest very troubling actions and words of Guy Dufault in the postings entitled Another Crisis in West Warwick? and Carcieri Unafraid of Dufault's Stuff.

No one should be confused: Dufault's behavior on behalf of the public employee unions and gambling interests - and to the detriment of the working families and retirees of Rhode Island - is nothing new. Do you remember how the Constitutional Convention ballot vote was narrowly defeated in November 2004? Do you recall who deceitfully led the effort to block Rhode Island citizens from having the right to alter the misguided status quo of politics in this state? Guy Dufault.

A previous posting references an Ed Achorn editorial in the ProJo, which states:

The people who led the fight against a constitutional convention in Rhode Island - members of an organization called Citizens for Representative Government - went to great lengths to cover their tracks. But all roads seem to lead to Guy Dufault, the labor and gambling lobbyist.

The public-employee unions put up the money to run phone banks, air TV and radio ads, and print posters in narrowly defeating a constitutional convention, 52 to 48 percent, on November 2. Mr. Dufault acknowledged on Friday that he filled out most of the group's campaign-finance report now on file with the Rhode Island Board of Elections.

But you wouldn't know of Mr. Dufault's role by reading that public document. He kept that carefully hidden from the public...

What's the upshot of this?

I don't know if any of this constitutes filing and signing a false report...But it does seem puzzling that Mr. Dufault and Citizens for Representative Government chose to make it so difficult for the public to find out who was running the show. Why bother?...

Maybe Citizens for Representative Government did not want citizens to find out easily that it was a prominent State House lobbyist for the public-employee unions and gambling interests who fought to deny people the chance to shake up Rhode Island government with a constitutional convention. (Now, citizens will have to wait until at least 2016.)

I would encourage you to read the entire editorial for further details.

Kudos to Governor Carcieri for directly taking on this seedy underbelly of Rhode Island politics. It is about time that a bright light was focused on these people and their unacceptable behavior.