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Rhode Island
Super PAC money flowing into R.I.’s U.S. Senate race leaves even the candidate it benefits confused • Rhode Island Current
A New York-based economic think tank has asked a super PAC with multiple addresses to remove its website from an ad campaign supporting the U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Patricia Morgan against Democratic incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse.
The request from the progressive Roosevelt Institute comes after the group Roosevelt Society Action aired a 30-second TV spot attacking Whitehouse as he seeks a fourth-term on Capitol Hill.
“After 18 years in Washington, Sheldon Whitehouse has left us waiting with wasteful spending and backroom deals,” a stern-voiced narrator says. “It’s time for real change — it’s time for Patricia Morgan.”
That message in support of Whitehouse’s GOP challenger played twice on Rhode Island TV sets during the Oct. 27 Sunday Night Football game that saw the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys. The commercial is slated to air again, twice when the Indianapolis Colts play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Nov. 3 and once during FOX’s college football game Saturday, according to recent filings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Roosevelt Society Action has addresses in Wisconsin and Alabama and one treasurer in Alabama who is listed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). It also has at least $200,000 to spend in the Ocean State, according to an FEC filing.
The group doesn’t have a phone number or any public profile that would indicate why it’s interested in a U.S. Senate race in solidly blue Rhode Island. A Rhode Island Current poll conducted in September showed Whitehouse led Morgan 52% to 37%.
“That is bizarre,” Matthew Ulricksen, an associate professor of political science for the Community College of Rhode Island, said in an interview Wednesday. “It never even crossed my mind that a super PAC would be spending for Pat Morgan — something’s going on here.”
Targeting sports fans
A Rhode Island Current analysis of FCC documents found the group has committed $25,000 toward television ads during NFL and college football matches, as well as slots during the first four games of the World Series. The anti-Whitehouse ads have not aired during New England Patriots games — a team which sits at a 2-6 record.
Filings with the FEC also show Roosevelt Society Action spent over $102,000 for printing, postage, and design on pro-Morgan mailers starting Oct. 17.
Morgan, a West Warwick state representative who chose not to seek reelection to run for the U.S. Senate, told Rhode Island Current the outside spending was a welcome surprise in her uphill funding battle against Whitehouse — who has far and away the biggest campaign fund of any Rhode Island politician.
In the pre-election FEC filing submitted Oct. 24, Whitehouse’s campaign had $2.2 million on hand. Morgan reported around $62,000.
“It’s nice to know that there’s somebody else that understands this is an important race,” Morgan said. “Sheldon is really vulnerable and he has been so stridently hyperpartisan.”
The Whitehouse campaign does not see the super PACs sudden presence as a sign of vulnerability in his re-election bid.
“Out-of-state dark-money special interests are parachuting into Rhode Island because Sheldon is leading the charge to take away billionaires’ massive power in elections and at the Supreme Court,” campaign coordinator Laura Fusco said in a statement. “Rhode Islanders deserve to know who is trying to influence their votes.”
Super PAC’s origins obscure
Roosevelt Society Action’s statement of organization filed with the FEC lists one name associated with the group: Treasurer Kayla Glaze, an Alabama woman tied to Washington D.C. firm Crosby Ottenhoff Group — where she has worked as a certified public accountant since 2019, according to her LinkedIn profile.
The FEC website lists Glaze as the treasurer of more than 130 political action committees across the nation since 2019, most of which support Republican causes.
Glaze did not respond to multiple requests for comment via phone and email.
The PAC’s third quarter filing with the FEC lists a $200,000 contribution on Sept. 17 from a home in Hudson, Wisconsin — an address associated with Thomas Datwyler, a consultant who has headed up the financial operations for dozens of Republican candidates and political committees in recent election cycles.
Datwyler was accused of wire fraud by a GOP super PAC in Nevada in July and is under investigation by the Mississippi Attorney General for allegedly violating the state’s campaign finance and reporting laws. He was also briefly listed as the treasurer for former U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who later attacked Datwyler on X and accused the treasurer of wire fraud in a federal complaint.
“We do a lot of work around the country right from Hudson,” Datwyler said in an email Tuesday.
But he insists he is not behind Roosevelt Society Action. He said the group’s treasurer is Glaze.
Datwyler asked Rhode Island Current to email him with the filing showing his address being used. When forwarded a copy, he wrote back, “Oh man they have my home address!”
“I literally don’t know how they got my own address other than, maybe it’s like, on a bank for something, and then they just went with it,” he said in a phone interview Thursday.
Datwyler does have at least one Rhode Island connection: Timothy Mellon, the banking heir and railroad magnate who is among the top supporters of former president Donald Trump.
That is bizarre. It never even crossed my mind that a super PAC would be spending for Pat Morgan — something’s going on here.
– Matthew Ulricksen, an associate professor of political science for the Community College of Rhode Island
OpenSecrets found Mellon has spent over $165 million into the campaigns of Trump and other GOP congressional candidates this year. The Salt Lake Tribune in 2022 reported Mellon was among the top contributors to Liberty Champions PAC — of which Datwyler was the treasurer — to support the reelection of the U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
But Datwyler said Mellon has no involvement in the Roosevelt Society Action, though he said it was possible Mellon did contribute to the group after the most recent FEC filing deadline, which was Oct. 16.
Datwyler said the Roosevelt Society Action PAC’s primary funder is a couple from Florida but he could not disclose their identity.
Roosevelt Institute ‘not affiliated in any way’
At the end of the PAC’s anti-Whitehouse ad is the link to a website, rooseveltinstitute.org.
But that website is for a progressive economic think tank in New York City connected to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. The Institute does have a project called the Roosevelt Society, but its listed purpose is to be “a community of people bonded by a pro-equity worldview — fighting for an economy and democracy that are more progressive.”
Institute spokesperson Meredith MacKenzie de Silva said the nonprofit is “not affiliated in any way with the Roosevelt Society PAC.”
“The Institute was not aware of the use of its URL by this PAC and is taking immediate action to stop it,” she said in a statement Thursday.
MacKenzie de Silva told Rhode Island Current the institute does have a PAC, but it’s called “Roosevelt Forward.”
“But we haven’t produced or paid for any political ads this cycle,” she said. “We have done some pretty wonky writing on economic proposals.”
Why spend in Rhode Island?
Though perplexed as to why Roosevelt Society Action has a sudden interest in Rhode Island’s U.S. Senate race, Ulricksen, the CCRI professor, has his theory: super PACs make money.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United ruling in 2010, Ulricksen said an industry has grown around super PACs and political nonprofits. OpenSecrets found over 2,400 super PACs have raised over $4.2 billion this election cycle, with $2.5 billion spent as of Oct. 30.
“The amount of money we spend on elections here in the United States is frankly quite sickening,” Ulricksen said. “It’s almost not even about the candidates anymore.”
Instead, he said the industry is more about self-styled consultants who pitch to deep-pocketed people who either know little about politics or might be passionate about a single issue or candidate. Those consultants can then take commission from expenditures from either production studios or printers they own.
“And that’s what makes it so difficult to put this cork back in the bottle — so many people are making money,” he said.
Another reason for the Roosevelt Society’s focus on Rhode Island is that right-leaning groups want Whitehouse to spend more money on his own race instead of transferring funds to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to spend on tighter elections such as the race between Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and GOP challenger Tim Sheehy.
“This could be an unofficially coordinated action,” Ulricksen said. “Never underestimate the banality or drollness of rich Americans to think that they can use their money to influence something.”
The Whitehouse campaign has spent $1.1 million toward TV ads since the summer, according to FCC filings.
The case of the unknown footage
The Roosevelt Society Action ad begins with stills of Whitehouse against a fiery background that shows the U.S. Capitol bathed in red. Glitchy visual overlays and ominous audio accompany the scene, before the voiceover proclaims,“It’s time for real change.”
Enter Morgan, who is seen in a montage of professionally-filmed clips where she strolls the white marble steps of the Rhode Island State House, works at her office desk and meets with constituents, some of them college students. The b-roll has a clearly staged quality and looks crisp in comparison to the Photoshopped inferno the ad uses to depict Whitehouse. But where the footage originated is unclear.
FEC rules prohibit campaigns from directly coordinating with super PACs, though there is some gray area on what can be done. Candidates in the past have uploaded b-roll to their YouTube channels, for PACs to later pick up and edit.
But none of the footage in Roosevelt Society’s ad was on any of Morgan’s social media pages. It’s certainly not from the Rhode Island House Minority Office, Chief of Staff Sue Stenhouse said Thursday.
Morgan, who represented the House District 26 seat from 2011 to 2019, returned to the General Assembly in 2021 after an unsuccessful run for governor. She is one of nine State House Republicans, but has not caucused with the party since her return.
“She’s not part of our caucus and that was by her decision,” Stenhouse said.
Stenhouse said the footage could have been shot for ads during Morgan’s 2018 gubernatorial bid. Morgan lost the primary 56.4% to 40.1% to then-Cranston Mayor Allan Fung (who went on to lose to Gina Raimondo in the general election).
Morgan confirmed the video clips are “older footage” from her time in the State House. But she was clueless as to how the Roosevelt Society obtained it.
“They didn’t contact me, I have no idea,” she said. “I honestly have no idea — I’m just happy that they’re here.”
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
As if the aftermath of her explosion at the Studio 54 party wasn’t enough to deal with, Liz also now has to figure out what to do with the six bunches of bananas that Gary accidentally ordered when he meant to order six individual bananas. But until they’re ripe enough to make banana bread, she’ll focus on the other issue. “I came across as a bitter, drunken, witch,” she tells Dolores — three words that I have to imagine also appear on the show’s casting notice.
Meanwhile, Ashley takes some of the other women to her favorite beach, and Alicia, who is used to her country club, is terrified. “This is not my vibe, I’m freaking out,” she whispers as she’s forced to carry her chair, bag, and snacks. The snacks in question are something called “pizza chips,” which appears to just be bread with sauce on it? Alicia, being the brain behind Pizza Mamma, tries to break down the science to us, saying that cheese can’t sit out in the sun, but she need not explain. She had me at pizza chips.
She also had me when she revealed that Rulla apparently met Brian while he was married to Alicia’s high school Spanish teacher. “I don’t know if this is true, Brian cheated on his first wife, my Spanish teacher,” she says with her hands over her heart, “with Rulla. I hope that’s not true because I really did like my Spanish teacher.” Yet again, I’m obsessed with how deep the ties between these women go. A game of six degrees of separation hates to see them coming. I also love Alicia starting a declarative sentence with, “I don’t know if this is true,” but she should say it in Spanish next time.
And speaking of those deep ties, we already know that there was some connection between Jo-Ellen’s sister and Jo-Ellen’s husband while they were in high school, before Jo-Ellen swooped in. But now we’re finally getting to meet Jen, who is basically subbing for Jo-Ellen at the house while she’s on a work trip. “She perpetuates this fun little game of flirting with my husband,” Jo-Ellen explains, but assures us that nothing is going on. That being said, Jen does joke that they’re like an old married couple and Jo-Ellen tells us that Jen wants his sperm to have a baby…but apart from that I guess everything is totally normal! I’m putting together a list of side characters who should be in the running to hold clams in future seasons, and so far Jen and Alicia’s Spanish teacher are leading the pack.
But when it comes to side characters, the real stars are of course Alicia’s aunts, who are thankfully back on our screens for a backyard barbecue with some of the ladies. And what better group to speak frankly to Rulla about her situation with Brian? The second Rulla alludes to bumps in the road, this beautiful coven of scorned divorcées pounce, encouraging Rulla to leave him. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder?” one of them asks her, and later in her confessional Rulla even admits that those words stayed with her. I feel like we’re seeing something real with Rulla and she’s finally letting the glossy veneer slip. But the best commentary comes from Alicia’s mother, who says, “I just hope and pray that you somehow hurt him…I’m gonna pray you get him back.” Forget the usual Bravo aftershows, I want a show that’s just all of Alicia’s aunts watching and commentating on each week’s episode. The ratings will be higher than the MASH finale.
As for Liz and Kelsey’s simmering conflict, the pair finally meet up to clear the air by the water where Liz’s boat is docked. I’ve seen similar meetings play out just like this on The Sopranos, so I had to keep reminding myself that Kelsey was safe because surely Bravo would never broadcast a woman being murdered. Then again, this would be the show to break that glass ceiling. As it turns out, I had no reason to fear because the sit-down goes incredibly smoothly. Liz explains that it felt like Kelsey was co-signing the rumors by bringing them up, and Kelsey says her instinct for Liz to keep her distance from Dino actually had more to do with her own history. She explains that ten years ago she and Dino hooked up but it didn’t go well, and now his presence is a reminder of a time in her life that she’s trying to forget. She even says she has PTSD over it and now avoids him like the plague, but respects that Liz has a meaningful friendship with him. I still have a lot of questions about this, but ultimately Liz and Kelsey clear the air and reconcile.
And thank god, because then they’re able to go rail biking in peace. All of the women split up into groups to cycle their way three miles down an old railroad track, with drinks in hand of course. “Rullala, how you doing back there?” Alicia asks as they ride, which made me scream out in delight upon once again getting to hear my new favorite word: “Rullala.” It’s my mantra. I say it no fewer than 50 times a day. It’s a greeting, it’s a prayer, it’s a way of life. Better yet, when the camera cuts to Rulla, she finally wins me over. Mid-cycle she’s shaking a cocktail shaker and pouring her tequila into a wine glass. Leave Brian and his bullshit at home, this is the woman that I want to see on my screen.
I’m even more enamored with her once they get to their location and she’s horrified to discover Alicia’s financial situation. She’s telling the ladies about not feeling valued given that her husband won’t put her name on the house or business, and Rulla, being a financial planner, springs into action. Seeing this smart, powerful side of her, especially as she’s trying to empower Alicia, is a great look and is far more compelling than watching her meekly defend her cheating husband. It gives a glimpse at what an independent Rulla might look like on this show in a couple of seasons.
But she’s not the only one supporting Alicia — Kelsey steps up to play Billy in a role-play so Alicia can practice airing her grievances. Sidebar: everyone talks about these women looking alike, but the real problem is that all of their partners have such similar names. Alicia’s is Billy, Kelsey’s boyfriend’s is Bill, Rulla’s is Brian, Jo-Ellen’s is Gary, Liz’s is Gerry, Ashley’s is Jared, and thankfully Rosie’s is just Rich. But oh my god, how am I supposed to keep that all straight? Anyway, the little role-play Alicia does ends up being heartbreaking, as she gets emotional saying that he makes her feel worthless in their relationship. But the fact that we’re talking about this so much feels promising, and I hope we get to see Alicia ultimately bring all of these feelings to Billy. And if he doesn’t listen, I hope her aunts attack him.
The conversation then turns to how Liz has been gelling with newbie Ashley, and they joke about how Ashley is a little scared of her. When the Studio 54 party comes up, Liz says that that wasn’t her finest moment and wasn’t a good representation of what she’s really like. “Alicia, you said she’s always like that,” Rosie says, throwing Alicia right under the bus. “Don’t flip that shit, don’t do that to me, don’t put shit in my mouth,” Alicia fires back, as Dolores looks on like a proud mother. “She twisted my words, you’re a fucking troll,” Alicia yells, saying that Rosie fucked her. It’s a line-o-rama of iconic outbursts, one after another: “Welcome to Rhode Island, bitch, this is how we roll,” then, “Fucking thirsty bitch, so thirsty its scary,” and finally, “I need to get out of here cause I’m gonna end up killing her.” Our first death threat!
But the craziest part of this comes when Alicia and Rosie step away from the group for a moment. It’s allegedly to sidebar, but I was convinced it was so Alicia could murder her with fewer witnesses. Alicia tells her that if she apologizes everything will be good, Rosie apologies, and then things are good. “Did she just hug her?” someone asks from the circle, shocked. The series has had a lot of incredible moments thus far, but this one is what is most promising about its longevity as a Housewives show. The secret sauce of these shows is resilience — the ability to be as angry at someone as humanly possible, and move on like nothing happened so they can do it all over again. Long, drawn-out grudges make for bad television (as RHOBH proves), so this cast’s ability to reconcile and move on will be the thing that makes it great.
New East Bay Bike Path bridges are open and ready for bikes
What’s it like to ride over the new East Bay Bike Path bridges? We sent a reporter to try them out.
I’ve long thought bike paths are among Rhode Island’s premier attractions, up there with the beaches, the mansions and the bay.
We like to knock government, but credit where it’s due, the state has done an amazing job building out an incredible pedaling network.
It’s clearly a priority.
At least I thought it was.
But they’ve just dropped the ball on what should have been a beautiful new stretch.
The plan was to finish a mile-long connector from the East Providence end of the Henderson Bridge all the way to the East Bay Bike Path.
There was even $25 million set aside to get it done.
Except WPRI recently reported that it’s now been canceled.
The main fault lies with the Trump administration, which is no friend of bike paths, and moved to kill that $25 million.
But it gets complicated, as government funding always does.
To try to rescue that money, the state DOT reportedly worked with the administration to refunnel it into a road project. Specifically, the $25 million will now be spent helping upgrade the mile-long highway between the Henderson Bridge and North Broadway in East Providence, turning it into a more pleasant boulevard.
That totally sounds worthy.
But it’s insane to throw away the bike path plan.
Especially for a particular reason in this case.
They’d already put a ton of money into starting it.
When state planners designed the new Henderson Bridge between the East Side and East Providence, they included a bike path.
It’s a beauty – well protected from traffic by a barrier, a great asset for safely riding over the Seekonk River.
The plan was to continue it another mile or so along East Providence’s Waterfront Drive, ultimately connecting with the East Bay Bike Path, which runs all the way to Bristol. Which, by the way, is one of the nicest bike paths you’ll find anywhere.
But alas, that connector plan has been canceled.
So the expensive stretch over the Henderson Bridge to East Providence is now a bike path to nowhere. Once the bridge ends, the path on it continues a few hundred yards or so and then, just … ends.
Too bad.
We were so close.
Most of the stories on the issue have been about the complex negotiation to rescue the $25 million by rerouting it to that nearby highway-to-boulevard project. But I don’t want to get lost in the weeds of that bureaucratic process here because it loses sight of the heart of this story.
Which is that an amazing new addition to one of the nation’s best state bike path systems has just been scrapped.
You can knock the Rhode Island government for blowing a lot of things.
The PawSox.
The Washington Bridge.
But they’ve done great with bike paths.
And especially, linking many of them together.
Example: not too many years ago, Providence bikers had to risk dicey traffic on the East Side to get to the more pleasant paths in India Point Park and on the 195 bridge to the East Bay Path.
But the state fixed that by adding an amazing connector that starts behind the Salvation Army building and beautifully winds along the water of the Seekonk River for a mile or so.
That makes a huge difference – and no doubt has avoided some bike-car accidents.
We were close to a comparable stretch on the other side of the river – that’s what the $25 million would have done.
But it’s now apparently dead.
Online commenters aren’t happy about it.
On a Reddit string, “Toadscoper” accused the state of being “complicit” with the feds in rerouting the money from bikes to cars.
And there was this fascinating post from FineLobster 5322, who apparently is a disappointed planner who worked on the project: “Mind you money has already been spent on phase one so rejecting it at this point is wasting money and also against the public interest … but what do I know? I only worked on the project as an engineer … I didn’t get into this to build more highways. I do it … to give back to communities and give them more access to their environment.”
Wow. One can imagine the state planning team is devastated. That’s not a small consideration. Good people go into government to make life better in Rhode Island, and it’s a bad play to take the spirit out of the job by first assigning a great human-scale project and then, after a ton of work, trashing it.
A poster named Homosapiens simply said, “We just accept this?”
Hopefully not.
The first stretch of the path over the Henderson Bridge is done, money already sunk.
What a shame to leave that as a path to nowhere.
It doesn’t have to happen.
Between Governor McKee and our Washington delegation, there’s got to be a way to get this done.
There’s got to be.
mpatinki@providencejournal.com
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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