STORY OF THE WEEK: About three years after Attorney General Peter Neronha’s probe into the ILO Group became public, the story hit a dramatic apex. On Tuesday, Neronha released his findings via a memo and a host of related documents. The AG’s takeaway: there was insufficient evidence to charge Gov. Dan McKee, although Neronha said the governor steered a $5.2 million school reopening contract to the ILO Group in what he called a manipulated process.

Two days later, McKee responded during a Statehouse news conference, lambasting Neronha and claiming victory due to the absence of any state or federal charges. The governor denied acting improperly and he said Neronha was motivated by his support for McKee rival Helena Foulkes. While Neronha acknowledged a frosty relationship between him and McKee, he denied having a personal animus and told reporters during an availability Wednesday that the release of his findings was based on a desire to inform the public.

MORE TO THE STORY:

• The ILO Group story, first reported by WPRI, seems to have colored McKee’s sometimes-terse relationship with local reporters. While the governor made a point of saying he did not fault reporters for asking questions during his news conference on Thursday, he also argued that they were unduly directed by Neronha.

• Neronha’s sharing of detailed written documents in a case with no criminal charge was reminiscent of his 2022 finding with former McKee chief of staff Tony Silva, who is now finance director for McKee’s political operation, Friends of Dan McKee. At the time, Neronha found Silva used “very poor judgment” but did not violate the law, when Silva pushed public officials to support a personal building project in Cumberland. Asked about that during a 2022 interview, McKee said in part, “It didn’t come to surprise me that there was no charges and there was no law broken.” 

• While instances of public corruption in Rhode Island seem less present in recent years, Neronha suggested during his availability that vigilance is required. He recalled the case involving former Central Falls Mayor Charles Moreau, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to soliciting and accepting a bribe, as if it happened yesterday. The walk down memory lane by Neronha, who served as U.S. attorney before first winning election as AG in 2018, also name-checked, among others, former House Finance Chairman Ray Gallison and a North Providence corruption case involving councilors known as “the Three Stooges.”

• During his news conference, McKee lamented what he called the personal and financial toll for some of the figures identified in the ILO Group story. The governor’s wife was on hand for his response, making it the most notable instance of outrage by a governor since former Gov. Don Carcieri unloaded on longtime Democratic activist and strategist Guy Dufault for unintentionally broadcasting to a small TV audience in 2005 an unsubstantiated claim that Carcieri had an extra-marital relationship.

• Former President Richard M. Nixon, via the Watergate scandal, inspired the observation, “The cover-up is worse than the crime.” Nixon, thanks to ‘The Checkers speech,’ also demonstrated how a strong offense can be the best defense amid a political controversy.

• After McKee said during his presser that Common Cause of RI executive director John Marion can do what he wants, Marion issued this statement: “Common Cause Rhode Island doesn’t need anyone’s permission to hold power accountable. We continue to review the material produced by the State Police and the Attorney General and will decide in the coming days whether to file a complaint with the Rhode Island Ethics Commission. Whether or not Common Cause Rhode Island files an ethics complaint, it’s clear that the General Assembly needs to pass, and the governor needs to sign, legislation that would prevent him, or any future governor, from interfering with the bidding process the way he did on behalf of the ILO group …”

• Marion also cited a need to look at how the governor “hired, but seemingly has not yet paid, the state’s most powerful lobbyist, who is also the former Speaker of the House [William Murphy], to be his personal attorney. Everyday Rhode Islanders don’t get legal representation based on a promise to pay.”

• Ashley Kalus, who ran against McKee as a Republican in 2022, offered this reaction via X: “I commend the Attorney General and State Police for their thorough investigation, which confirms the stance I took in my last campaign: Governor McKee misled the people of Rhode Island and leaders in the General Assembly. Until today, I had no interest in considering another run for governor. However, in light of these findings, I’m keeping all options open for 2026. Rhode Island deserves better.”

• Neronha’s office, via spokesman Timothy Rondeau, responded to McKee’s news conference with this statement: “We stand by our report, the Rhode Island State Police’s report, and the Attorney General’s approach. The Governor has not and cannot dispute any fact set forth in either report. The rest is deflection and the people of Rhode Island can make their own determination from the facts our Office and the State Police laid out.” Neronha was more spicy in his own tweet, as is his wont, calling McKee’s presser “remarkably dissembling,” and asserting that if the governor was trick or treating for Halloween “he should wear Pinocchio’s nose.” 

WINTER IS COMING (AND SO IS 2026): As if on cue amid the McKee-Neronha story this week, Helena Foulkes reported having an $842,000 balance in her campaign account at the end of Q3, compared with $505,000 for Gov. McKee. Foulkes has lent her support to various candidates including Rep. Megan Cotter (D-Exeter), Maria Bucci, the Democrat running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung (R-Cranston), and Vin Marzullo, the independent running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Patricia Morgan (R-West Warwick). The latter move inspired some to wonder if Foulkes might run as an independent for governor in 2026. Her family’s Democratic roots would appear to make that unlikely, although doing so would guarantee a trip to the general election.  

ELECTION ANXIETY: It was noteworthy when the typically soft-spoken U.S. Sen. Jack Reed unleashed more fiery rhetoric during the Trump presidency. And Reed is among the Democrats who describe the GOP candidate as a threat to the nation, warning that Trump will “act like a fascist” and politicize the military by installing loyalists at the Pentagon. Via Politico: “He will destroy his Department of Defense, frankly,” Reed said. “He will go in and he will dismiss generals who stand up for the Constitution. He will try to [insert] his followers who are loyal to him and him alone. He will create chaos, and he will force many, many of our best officers, frankly, to decide whether they continue to serve or they must leave the service.”

TRUMP’S APPEAL: For a sense of the challenge facing Democrats in the presidential race, just consider how more Portuguese-Americans in traditionally blue Fall River are embracing Donald Trump and his harsh stance on immigration. As my colleague Ben Berke reports, Democrats are losing thousands of votes there in every election cycle; Joe Biden won just 54% of Fall River’s vote in 2020. As Ben reports, “Much of this shift can be attributed to the fact that Fall River is a post-industrial city with a large white working class — the exact type of place Trump has wrested from the Democrats in other states.” The drift of an ethno-national group to back Trump is reminiscent of how the Republican captured traditionally Democratic Johnston in 2016. That was attributed in part to how many residents in the white, overwhelmingly Catholic town get their information from Fox News and take a dim view of such issues as undocumented immigration.

CRANSTON SHOWDOWN: If Democrat Robert Ferri can oust GOP Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins on Tuesday, it will mark a sharp break from how local voters there favor Republican mayors. Like one of my high school history teachers said, nothing succeeds like success. In other words, the pattern of GOP wins for City Hall over the years has built up the networks and apparatus to run appealing campaigns. But the Rhode Island GOP has been unable to recreate this secret sauce elsewhere.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Tuesday’s election will decide 27 races in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and 16 in the Rhode Island Senate. Republicans are defending four seats in each chamber, as the minority party tries to increase its presence (five senators and nine representatives) on Smith Hill.

RHODE ISLAND SENATE: As TGIF first reported last week, Senate Democrats will stage a caucus Thursday to decide whether Whip Val Lawson (D-East Providence) will supplant Majority Leader Ryan Pearson (D-Cumberland) in his leadership position. It’s on for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Waterman Grille in Providence. Senate spokesman Greg Pare said President Dominick Ruggerio prefers that it be closed so senators “feel free to speak forthrightly as they desire.” For now, it remains unclear if Pearson (who declined comment on this question) will make a bid to succeed Ruggerio, 75, as president, possibly teaming with another senator for an alternative leadership slate. Ruggerio emerged from seclusion via a TV interview with Ted Nesi this week, and he is expected to have the votes to remain president and install Lawson as majority leader. The appointed post of whip remains more of a question mark since some longer-term senators were reportedly unhappy with plans to elevate Sen. Jake Bissaillon (D-Providence), a former chief of staff for Ruggerio, who has been in office just a year after winning a November 2023 special election.

WASHINGTON BRIDGE I: It may not augur well for the state’s legal case when one of the most aggressive and talented lawyers in Rhode Island walks away. Via AG Neronha’s office: “Max Wistow has advised us of his decision to withdraw from this litigation for professional reasons. We are grateful for Attorney Wistow’s contributions to this investigation and this case. It would have been our preference that he remain as part of the litigation team, but we respect his decision and are grateful that he agreed to remain in the case until we secured replacement counsel. We are also pleased to announce our selection and retention of the law firm of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll who will work with Savage Law Partners under the direction of the Attorney General’s Office, to represent the State in the Washington Bridge lawsuit. Cohen Milstein has an extensive track record, which includes successfully navigating complex, high-profile matters, such as the landmark Flint, Michigan Water Contamination litigation. We are looking forward to working with Cohen Milstein and are confident that their expertise will be instrumental in steering this matter to a successful outcome.”

WASHINGTON BRIDGE II: Given many Rhode Islanders’ frustration about the Washington Bridge, it’s a bit curious that the state GOP hasn’t made this more of a singular campaign issue. But state Rep. Robert Quattrocchi (R-Scituate) didn’t hold back when he issued a statement this week calling for Gov. McKee to dismiss RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, faulting Alviti for “gross mismanagement of Rhode Island bridge infrastructure maintenance.” Alviti has defended his performance at DOT, pointing to how the overall condition of bridges around the state has improved on his watch. It’s hard not to think that the bridge is a topic as many legislative candidates knock on doors. But before Quattrocchi spoke out, the most vocal GOP response was when RIGOP Chairman Joe Powers staged a news conference back in May.   

GETTING SOCIAL: Jessica David, president/CEO of the Rhode Island Community Investment Cooperative, spoke this week with my colleague Luis Hernandez about how the cooperative is trying to foster investment in traditionally overlooked neighborhoods. In related news, David shares word that Local Return and the Rhode Island Center for the Book plan to host the only RI screening for ‘Join or Die,’ a documentary about social capital. Via release: “Follow the story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of Robert Putnam, whose legendary research into American community decline may hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis. ‘Join or Die’ marks 25 years since the publication of Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam's seminal work.” It’s on for 9:45 am on Nov. 9 at the central Providence Public Library. The event is free, but registration is required. 

MAULING AMERICA: The move to put Providence Place into receivership is another sign of how much America’s retail climate has changed in a quarter-century. Back in 1999, as the mall was preparing to open, there was an active debate about whether it would help or hinder efforts to improve downtown Providence. Few could anticipate how a pandemic would have a broad impact on cities across America, depopulating office buildings and posing new challenges for traditional brick and mortar shops.

KICKER: Farewell for now, long sunny days. We look forward to your return in March.