Letter: Candidate Tyska has ties to Speaker Mattiello

Posted 8/23/18

Anyone following House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello’s career knows that for years lobbyists and political insiders have set the speaker’s agenda. Meanwhile, most members just follow …

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Letter: Candidate Tyska has ties to Speaker Mattiello

Posted

Anyone following House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello’s career knows that for years lobbyists and political insiders have set the speaker’s agenda. Meanwhile, most members just follow Mattiello’s orders.

Historically, Bristol and Warren residents have had the misfortune of being represented by just this kind of politician. In the last decade alone, our representatives have been jailed for looting state and private funds, illegally failed to report $10,000 in donations from lobbyists and others, and even managed to take a vacation in Florida on the lobbyists’ dime.

When I heard that our current representative dropped out of the District 68 race, I hoped we could finally expect honest, open representation at the Capitol. Laufton Ascencao has consistently campaigned on the need to fight government corruption and hold elected officials accountable.

I’ve watched Mr. Ascencao successfully challenge the Speaker.  He helped pass bills to both expand earned family leave and protect victims of domestic abuse that were opposed by the Speaker and the lobbyists.

I’d also heard that the newcomer to this race, Andy Tyska, was staking out a similar position, claiming he wasn’t “beholden” to anyone, promising to represent us in a transparent, honest manner.

I was disappointed to discover Mr. Tyska donated several thousand dollars to Mr. Mattiello and his team over the years and even gave the Speaker himself $1,000 in this election cycle alone. I can think of two reasons to donate to the speaker: either you believe in him or you want and expect something in return.

Mr. Tyska either supports Mattiello and his agenda, or is playing politics as usual, using money to buy access and influence.

That’s why I wasn’t surprised to see Statehouse staff canvassing door to door for Mr. Tyska in Bristol this weekend. That’s why I wasn’t surprised to see Mattiello’s state party endorse him.

If the Statehouse believed Mr. Tyska was serious about fighting corruption, they wouldn’t send workers here to support him. Likewise, if Mr. Tyska was serious about fighting corruption, he wouldn’t put money in the pockets of the very people at the heart of what’s wrong at the Statehouse. You can’t say you’re “not beholden to anyone” if, in order to get elected, you require the backing of the very people you promise to challenge and hold accountable.

We need a clean break from the insider politics holding back Rhode Island. We’ll never be able to pass the line item veto and other needed ethics reforms until we have elected officials who stand up to the Speaker. We deserve a representative willing to challenge the status quo. It’s become clear to me that isn’t Andy Tyska.

Warren Wollschlager

123 Beach Road

Bristol

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