By Kim Kalunian with reports from Steve Klamkin, WPRO News
News of the governor hiring a former lawmaker just months after he abruptly resigned from the general assembly is raising some questions.
The South County Independent reports that former State Representative Donald Lally, who resigned from the General Assembly in March, was hired by the governor’s office in July and “put on loan” to the Department of Business Regulation as a “small business liaison.” The governor’s office says the position pays $87,057 a year.
Marie Aberger, the Governor’s press secretary, said in an email that Lally was “hired full-time by the Governor’s office for his extensive business experience and understanding of how government works.”
“He is tasked with coordinating inter-agency efforts to make it easier to do business in Rhode Island,” wrote Aberger, who noted that Lally is being paid by the Governor’s office.
But John Marion, executive director of Common Cause RI, said it’s “not completely clear” whether the move violates the state’s so-called “revolving door” policy, which prohibits lawmakers from taking government jobs for one year after leaving office.
When asked Thursday whether hiring Lally violates the revolving door law, Governor Gina Raimondo said, “we don’t think it does.” She also denied any type of quid pro quo deal with Lally.
Aberger pointed to a piece of the Rhode Island Code of Ethics, section 36-14-5(n)(2):
(n) (1) No state elected official, while holding state office and for a period of one (1) year after leaving state office, shall seek or accept employment with any other state agency, as defined in section 36-14-2(8)(i), other than employment which was held at the time of the official’s election or at the time of enactment of this subsection, except as provided herein.
(2) Nothing contained herein shall prohibit any general officer or the general assembly from appointing any state elected official to a senior policy-making, discretionary, or confidential position on the general officer’s or the general assembly’s staff, and in the case of the governor, to a position as a department director; nor shall the provisions herein prohibit any state elected official from seeking or accepting a senior policy-making, discretionary, or confidential position on any general officer’s or the general assembly’s staff, or from seeking or accepting appointment as a department director by the governor.
Aberger said there was no job posting for Lally’s new position.
“This is generally the case for jobs within the Governor’s office,” she wrote.
When pressed if there was anyone else who could have filled Lally’s role, Raimondo said, “he’s the guy we chose to do the job, and we’re going to hold him accountable, just like everybody else.”
Brandon Bell, the chairman for the Rhode Island Republican Party, said Lally’s title does not sound like a senior policy-making position.
“It sounds like an obvious attempt to circumvent the Revolving Door law,” said Bell in a statement, adding, “It appears that we are going back to the good old days with old boy network politics under Raimondo. You can’t move Rhode Island forward by going backwards on ethics.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello said he gave Lally a “positive recommendation based on his years of
working with him in the House.”
“I told [the governor] he is a very talented individual with a unique skill set of having served in the legislature for 26 years and that he would be a very valuable asset to whatever role he would fulfill on her staff,” said Mattiello in a statement.
Mattiello also said Lally’s position is “appropriate under the revolving door law.”
“I was really surprised to read this,” said Marion on learning of Lally’s new position. “To my knowledge, there was no public announcement of the hiring the way there often is for high-profile positions.”
Marion said he doesn’t know of a previous case where a complaint has been filed against someone who has already started their new job. He said in previous incidences, those who have been found in violation of the policy were fined ahead of accepting their new position. He said the revolving door policy is particularly stringent when it comes to members of the general assembly.
Marion said typically, former lawmakers will ask for an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission ahead of accepting a new job.
“Former Representative Lally didn’t do that, which is part of the reason why I think people are very surprised to see what happened here,” said Marion.
Raimondo said the burden to get an advisory opinion falls on the individual, not the administration.
Marion said he plans to meet with lawyers comb through the laws. He said Common Cause will file a complaint if they find legal reason to do so, but said the process will be lengthy.
Still, Raimondo maintains her administration did nothing wrong, saying hiring Lally is “pretty clearly within the rules.”
The state’s revolving door policy is meant to prohibit lawmakers from using their position to gain an advantage in the government jobs field.
“You want to believe that when a government job opens up, every citizen who is qualified has an equal shot at it,” said Marion. “But when an insider has a shot because of their current political job, that’s unfair.”
