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November 14, 2010

Incoming Gen Treas Raimondo: Psych! I'm Not Releasing My Tax Returns

Monique Chartier

General Treasurer candidate Gina Raimondo had refused to release her tax returns during the campaign but indicated that she would do so if elected. And she reaffirmed to a ProJo reporter just last week that she would do so.

Oops.

State Treasurer-elect Gina M. Raimondo on Thursday refused to release her income-tax returns after promising on Tuesday that she would.

“I believe she misspoke,” Raimondo aide Dara Chadwick said Thursday. “We are not going to release the returns that reflect the Point Judith income.”

“Point Judith” refers to Point Judith Capital, the Providence venture-capital firm she cofounded.

Kudos to the ProJo for doggedly following up on this important matter and getting this revealing and unfortunate response. So much easier to lie "misspeak" (once in office, will she hire a "press-mis-spokesman"?) in order to get past a difficult question during the campaign and then change your mind after the chumps voters put you in office.

The GT-Elect is now saying that she will release these tax returns after her first year in office. Judging by her track record, either she is hoping that everyone will have forgotten the request or she will simply issue another one year postponement. Wheee! This could go on indefinitely!

It's a good thing this reluctance to be transparent isn't being demonstrated by someone who will soon be handling the state's mon ... oh, wait.

So far, there has been no confirmation to the rumor that Raimondo will join David Cicilline in an upcoming RI Democrat Party candidate school to lead a session on "How to Get Elected by Lying Your Tuchus Off".

Comments

She's promising to release them after a year because her income will be already known... her salary as general treasurer.

Posted by: Justin Katz at November 14, 2010 11:52 AM

You are right, we should have voted in King. That guy is a stellar example of telling the truth.

Is he back in Florida yet?

Posted by: Swazool at November 14, 2010 12:03 PM

She should have just said she wasn't going to release them from the start. It wouldn't have effected the outcome. I think it just frustrates the electorate that someone that they held in such high regard now looks like every other politician.

Posted by: G-Man at November 14, 2010 12:09 PM

Maybe she could check with the N E Regional Manager of the Int'L Laborers UNION, Mike Sabitoni. As part of her Transition Team he may be able to offer her some SAGE financial advice. I wonder though if he might have to check first with Bob Walsh,Pres. Nat'l Ed. Assoc. of R I or might he have to confer with the new Senate Majority Leader another long time UNION leader on Sen Pres. Paiva-Weed's team. Rhode Islanders probably wouldn't be surprised to see Jimmy Hoffa come back from the grave to offer her his advice. Thirty six percent of them would likely welcome him.

Posted by: leprechaun at November 14, 2010 1:15 PM

They like to say"follow the money',but in this case you had to follow the endorsements.
Tom Sgouros stepped aside to facilitate her election.RIF was praactically ecstatic over her.The Phoenix endorsed her.
People-it isn't that hard-you just have to listen to the enemy.
swazool-I was less than impressed with King also.I voted for him with a clothespin on my nose.

Posted by: joe bernstein at November 14, 2010 2:22 PM

I don't understand that unwillingness to put the tax returns out there. Why are people embarrassed for others to know that she's a multi-millionaire? If everything on there is legal and correct, what's to hide?

I'd sure rather have a multi-millionaire watching over my money than some bum who doesn't know how to manage and make money.

Posted by: Patrick at November 14, 2010 4:56 PM

Nobody wants to fess-up to holding BP stock these days. I'll bet it's something like that.

Posted by: mangeek at November 15, 2010 12:55 AM

Maybe it's got something to do with not such great inveestments of state funds.Of course,I could be completely wrong,but how is one to know?
She's already a liar.No surprise there.
The Republicans couldn't come up with someone better thaan Kerry King?

Posted by: joe bernstein at November 15, 2010 1:14 AM

Can someone explain to me why my comment was deleted? I'll repost it, this time without a criticism of this post's glib and dismissive tone - since apparently that is beyond the bounds of decency.

Again, I'm curious... where was the Anchor Rising post when Kerry King was illegally holding two drivers licenses, and more importantly, when he was committing fraud against the state of Florida by taking advantage of a tax break for full time residents while he himself was living (and campaigning for office) full time in RI?

And, for my own edification, I would like to know what it was about my last comment that qualified it for deletion.

Posted by: Curious at November 15, 2010 11:15 AM

Curious

These people here are extremely partisan. They don't like poetry either.

The Bad Phil

Posted by: Phil at November 15, 2010 6:47 PM

Thanks, Phil. I would still like to know why my comment was deleted. I didn't use any expletives, I didn't attack anyone, I wasn't slanderous in any way... granted, I poked a little fun at the artless rhetoric of this particular post ("Wheee! ... oh wait" etc), but I don't feel like that's particularly egregious.

I really do want to be a part of the conversation on this blog, because it desperately needs a little balance... but it's a futile effort (and obviously detrimental to our political discourse) if my comments are just deleted because the blog admins disagree with them.

Posted by: Curious at November 15, 2010 7:47 PM

Curious:

We're in the midst of an overwhelming wave of comment spam, literally one per minute day and night. Since I'm only able to delete it all twice a day, I've been having to skim quite a number of junk comments, and it's probable that your initial comment got swept up in that process, especially since you're using a code-name that isn't actually a name and that wasn't previously familiar to me.

That you reposted is actually what I would have suggested. Phil is being uncharitable, by the way. We'll always leave a note explaining deletions or banning and are always open to reconsidering, which is why Phil is able to comment here, at all.

Posted by: Justin Katz at November 15, 2010 7:54 PM

Thanks, Justin. I appreciate the response, and I look forward to commenting again in the near future.

Posted by: Curious at November 15, 2010 10:37 PM

Raimondo's nose full of nickels could solve the state's debt crisis.

Posted by: joe bernstein at November 16, 2010 8:45 AM

... wait a minute, Joe. As someone with a non-diminutive schnoz herself, I object (in a mild sort of way).

Posted by: Monique at November 16, 2010 9:22 PM

As schnozzes go,she's got ya by a nose-LOL.

Posted by: joe bernstein at November 17, 2010 2:36 PM