TCC President Refutes Rep. Edwards' 'Loophole' Claim

Thursday’s reported that Tiverton Citizens for Change (TCC) was one political action group that used a loophole in reporting its campaign finance activities from the 2010 Financial Town Meeting are false, says their president.

“The assertion that this is focused on the TCC is misleading at best,” said Dave Nelson, TCC president and current town councilor. “This is a political move by Mr. Edwards, which is coordinated with complaints that have been filed by the Tiverton Democratic Party. He’s focusing it on Tiverton Citizens for Change, to the exclusion of other organizations in town, for political purposes.”

Rep. Edwards reported this week on several pieces of legislation he has been working on at the Statehouse, including a bill to amend campaign finance law in the state. Rep. Edwards asserts that certain political groups, naming the TCC, spent funds campaigning for particular positions at the Financial Town Meeting. However, due to what he calls a loophole in the state’s law, groups like the TCC did not have to file that report under the existing law. His proposal aims to change that portion of the law.

Nelson said he and the TCC’s attorney and current town councilor, Robert Coulter, contacted Richard Thornton, director of campaign finance at the Board of Elections, to examine a statute, Rhode Island General Law 17-1-2, that specifically states campaign finance reporting does not include a Financial Town Meeting.

“So, what that meant to us, and what Mr. Thornton confirmed with us, is that any funds we collected to advocate for the FTM, we were not required to report these to the Board of Elections,” said Nelson. “To suggest that there is a loophole means that for some reason, some issue was addressed in the law, and that people are trying to circumvent the spirit of the law. There is no loophole. We were thorough in our due diligence by contacting the Board of Elections.”

Nelson added that Edwards’ bill would affect all other Tiverton organizations and special interest groups who are “political in nature,” which he said includes The Alliance, the Tiverton Democratic Party, CURB and others.