9 May 2021
President Lauren E. I. Slocum
Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce
3288 Post Road
Warwick, RI 02886
Dear President Slocum:
I hope this message finds you well. With any luck, the pandemic has avoided your team and the ones you love. I appreciate what you do for our community.
I am writing you to talk about things the small business community might want to avoid. Because Newport is making the development mistakes it is, many more folks might be visiting our community. At least that is what my timeshare owners are telling me. I want everyone to have a chance to prosper.
It should be noted that it is hard to prosper if you get attached to events that get cancelled like Tasca Ford just did. Governor Dan Mckee allowed it to be known that he was planning to coordinate with a former Trump organizer to raise cash for him. Tasca Ford was part of the “leaked announcement”. The blowback was so severe, I ended up calling the State Police about “protesting rules” in Exeter, that the event has now been cancelled. Tasca looks kind of silly and tainted by a Trump supporter.
There are two sides to Governor Mckee. Sadly, he thinks he can bridge the two sides with “fibs”. For instance, if Governor McKee truly disapproved of everything Trump as he did in a recent press release, why was Mayor Polisena given the task of overseeing the Lieutenant Governor search??
Yes, on one side Dan McKee is a great supporter of small business. Whether he gets elected again or not, I hope the next Governor patterns their small businesses strategies along his policies. They would also do well to get to know small business owners the way Governor McKee does.
Sadly, Governor McKee balances this by hanging out with creeps. Mayor Polisena should have been run out of the Democratic Party 2 decades ago when he brought a fake fetus to the Senate Floor in an attempt to deprive women of health care. Mayor Lombardi also believes women are best barefoot and pregnant. Therefore, no one is surprised that Governor Mckee would consider allowing a Trump supporter to throw a fundraiser on his behalf notwithstanding the lies that were told when the event got cancelled.
We must not forget that towards the end of Governor Mckee’s original Primary for Lieutenant Governor, he had no problem reaching out to forced birth advocacy groups. He had no problem reaching out to groups that hated gay people. He had no problem reaching out to groups that were race intolerant.
I would suggest that small businesses try to be picky. If Governor McKee is engaging in a small business initiative, by all means support him. However, if social politics are the topic of the day, small business owners should stay clear. The challenge comes when a McKee associate, probably Mayor Polisena or Mayor Lombardi, says something to the effect of, “Well young lady, had you kept an aspirin between your knees like your aunt told you to, you wouldn’t be having this problem.” At that moment, those that find the Governor’s friendships to be troubling and offensive, 75% of the Democratic Party, will begin looking at his campaign finance reports and who he has appeared with. A small business could get retaliated against by association.
Just the other day, Mayor Picozzi almost got sucked into the same problem. He is right to review the Firefighter’s overtime request policy aggressively. In fact, I called the Assistant Political Director of the IAFF to pass the message that, “Yes, we love unions but we can’t support this policy. We are sorry.” There is also one other reason I called.
Right after Mayor Picozzi announced the review, grifters Ken Block and Jim Hummel showed up. Mr. Block is known for trying to take black and Hispanic folks off voter rolls in Kansas at the request of another local racist. Sounds like he wanted to use the firefighter issue to launch his campaign for Governor. Jim Hummel is best known as the guy who stalked a child so Mayor Lombardi could get elected. Sounds like he was just there to grift.
Not only did I call the Firefighters with this info, but I stopped by the Mayor’s Office. I explained that many of us who were Democrats understood the whole Overtime thing was a mess. However, we had to advise the Mayor to stay away from Mr. Block and Mr. Hummel since our dislike for them would become the larger issue. The Mayor’s team seemed to understand our perspective.
There is one other parallel issue happening in town right now. However, since this letter will appear on my blog, I do not want to post that information here. I will make sure you get included in a group email at the end of the week.
If a member of your organization is not sure if something might cost them money, they are more than welcome to reach out. From experience, as a Wyndham salesperson, the Sales Director who sold out the inventory at the Newport BayClub, and a Podium Speaker for Regency Travel, socially Liberal and fiscally conservative policies are best for areas that want to expand their tourism revenue. Maybe that is why I was drawn to the politics of the Democratic Leadership Council in the early 90’s.
I guess I should also mention that I have over 18 years clean and sober. God forbid anyone in your membership is struggling themselves or has a family member battling addiction each day, but if they do, I am always here. I spend time trying to influence tourism in a positive way because it makes me happy; I spend time helping the fellow mentally ill, especially those living in addiction, because it keeps me sober.
We will get to a day where the Trump years are nothing but a bad memory. However, because January 6th happened, businesses in blue states must be more mindful of the company they keep. While being mindful, that does not mean they should forget about their own self interests. It means they must engage in more calculating than they did before 2017.
Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Robert T. Oliveira
Warwick, RI
401-391-6402
Quahogs United 
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