March 3, 2011
Not Only Did Cicilline Empty the Reserve Fund To Balance the Budget, He Lied About Doing So
When a new audit confirmed last month that David Cicilline had depleted Providence's reserve fund, he defended the action, saying
We had to make some difficult choices, people can disagree with those to accomplish a balanced budget, I believe those were the right choices in terms of protecting services and balancing all the equities.
Then-Mayor Cicilline took rather a different tone in October, however, when he was busted cold and confronted with his action.
"This report was given to talk radio and the media and never even passed on to the City Council," Cicilline said Friday morning. "It's absolutely false. The city has made its [pension] payments according to the traditional schedule that it uses. The reserves are well above what they are supposed to be."
Side note: "well above what they are supposed to be"??? As WRNI points out, that would have been $30 million. But there was only $17 million in the reserve fund even BEFORE Mayor Cicilline raided it!
What happened? What was different in October? Well, the mayor was running for Congress. He had just made the decision to deplete Providence's reserve fund as the final step to balancing the budget. But he was clearly concerned about backlash from voters for this egregious budget fix.
So he lied. He lied about what was in the reserve fund. And he lied about emptying the reserve fund.
Confronted with his action once again in early Feb, the junior congressman, now safely out of Dodge, this time admitted the action but defended it. (Now he's not saying much of anything.)
The congressman presumably believed that this was a righteous (if "difficult") action, otherwise, he would not have taken it. Why, then, was it necessary to lie about it?
If Cicilline's lips are moving then of course he's lying. I honestly believe he will pay the political price for the fiasco that is fiscal Providence when he runs for re-election.
How's this for a shake-up in RI politics, Whitehouse, Chafee and Cicilline all OUT when up for re-election.
A very very real possibility.
He lied?Heaven help us!!He ought to get brain cancer and die.
Posted by: joe bernstein at March 3, 2011 6:27 PMI would be interested in hearing from somebody who actually voted for this man. I know you are sitting there right now reading this. Please just enlighten us as to your thought process.
Posted by: Dan at March 3, 2011 7:03 PMI honestly believe he will pay the political price for the fiasco that is fiscal Providence when he runs for re-election.
Posted by Tim at March 3, 2011 6:21 PM
Doubt it. Next year Obama will be on the ballot and all the "Yes we Can" zombies like this Russ character will be lining up.
[Content deleted for crossing the line by a lot. --- JK]
Posted by: Tommy Cranston at March 3, 2011 7:43 PMI lol'd at the deletion. It's actually funnier to leave it up to the imagination what totally outrageous thing Tommy was going to say there.
Posted by: Dan at March 3, 2011 8:34 PMi am with dan...who voted for this guy......i will tell you,,unions, seniors, immigrants...all those feeding off the system.
oh yea...all the libs on the east sid eof providence that would overlook anything and everything to get him elected.
Posted by: john paycheck at March 3, 2011 8:49 PMIt could be that Miss/Mr Tommy Cranston along with BobN and Mike Capelli are just left-wing plants, to make the good folks at Anchor Rising look like radical right-wing-nut, loons...IMHO
Miss/Mr Tommy Cranston could be a 19 year old College Democrat
Sammy (proud that ..Joe Bernstien
calls me a low-life..) in Arizona
When insulted by the likes of Sammy, I just consider the source and smile. I bask in the heat of your hate.
Posted by: BobN at March 3, 2011 9:13 PMCicilline could've been gone. I (and a number of people I know) seriously considered Loughlin until he ran off to Arizona and wanted his photo ops with the so-called "patriots" and cartoon characters out there.
A Republican like Ron Machtley or Claudine Schneider would've mopped the floor with Cicilline. Unfortunately, the current GOP climate ensures that Republicans who could get plenty of Democratic votes are kept off the November ballot.
As I recall Loughlin spent time in Arizona with Sheriff Paul Babeau who is hardly a cartoon character.
You display your ignorance just about every time you post.
I guess it's easy for you from some coffee shop in RI.
The out of control border is a real problem and has been since Carter was elected.
Bella, it's cold in RI. How about you do yourself a favor and visit Arizona for a week. Make sure to tour the barrios of Phoenix and Tucson, and some ranches on the border. I don't think you'll be describing the embattled Americans there as "cartoon characters" any more.
Posted by: BobN at March 4, 2011 7:17 AMI'm talking about the cartoon characters who control Arizona politics and law enforcement (and got the vapors when that one sheriff stood up after the Tucson shootins and had the temerity to suggest they created the climate in which people like Jared Loughner could justify themselves in their own twisted ways as Second Amendment patriots).
Posted by: bella at March 4, 2011 7:53 AMMy point is, if you could tear yourself away from Starbucks for a week and see what it's really like in Arizona, you would not think such tripe as you just wrote.
Posted by: BobN at March 4, 2011 8:18 AMJared Loughner and 2nd amendment activists don't belong in the same sentence,because Loughner apparently too disorganized in his thinking to have any particular agenda.
the sherrif you referred to went running off atthe mouth in a totally nprofessional manner,presupposing facts that turned out not to exist.
bella-just continue living in your demented make believe world.
I don't think Ciccilline will be able to walk away from this one...
Too many people will be paying the bills for this mess. Not just in Pvd but the entire state!
If there was fraud involved relative to the bond sales, he just might end up doing time...
Now that would really make him a "sweetheart"..
Posted by: Aldo at March 4, 2011 3:05 PM