31 January 2023
Honorable United States Senator Cory Booker
One Gateway Center, 23rd Floor
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Honorable Senator Booker:
I hope this message finds you well. It is truly an honor writing to you today. You do a great job representing the Democratic Party and our shared goals.
Stefan Pryor, who you know well, is about to become the Rhode Island Secretary of Housing. I’m sure you knew that too. However, there are some things about Rhode Island politics, specifically about Governor McKee, that you may not know. Mr.Pryor may reach out to you for advice now and again so I wanted to make sure you knew everything in case there were certain matters soon to be Secretary Pryor felt were too embarrassing to touch upon.
In case you’re wondering, I am a lifelong Democrat, original member of the Democratic Leadership Council, who has campaigned on behalf of the Party in 38 states. I was the speechwriter for former Massachusetts Chair Joan Menard and served as field coordinator here in Rhode Island during the ‘92 Primaries for Bill Clinton.
I did not support Governor McKee during the most recent Gubernatorial Primary. In fact, 67% of us didn’t. In the Final, I voted for my birth mom. I also did not vote for Mr. Pryor in the Primary for a number of reasons. However, I consider that to be water under the bridge. I want him to succeed going forward. Unfortunately, certain aspects of Rhode Island Politics may be hindering his ability to achieve his goals.
Rhode Island’s Democratic Party is like most except for 1 major difference. We have a “Protect the Catholic Church at all costs” wing. The Providence Diocese can engage in money laundering, illegal contributions, fraud, and their favorite pastime known as pedophilia but get away with it because this wing of the Party is designed to protect them. In exchange, the members of this wing say they are “Pro Life” even though a few of them regularly visit prostitutes and have probably paid for abortions on occasion. It is a weird embarrassing marriage that makes every Rhode Island Democrat cringe.
Governor McKee would not have had that percentage of the vote if he did not get help from two members of this wing, namely Mayors Lombardi and Polisena. Both are Trump supporters who think the same way Trump does about black folks and women. Both don’t mind if you get harassed if you get stopped by a cop; both like to see women harassed while trying to get a cancer screening because it happens to be at an abortion clinic. Polisena once brought a fake fetus to the Rhode Island Senate Floor in order to deny women their rights to body autonomy.
Both are attracted to Trump due to the “strong man” myth. Is there a more effeminate clown than Trump?? No, but in the same way this attracts Trump to Putin, Trump’s ability to always have sex at a transactional level attracts Polisena and Lombardi to Trump. Your friend Mr.Pryor could get asked to do favors for them. I suppose you should have a plan ready when one of them, in Polisena’s case his son is now the Mayor after this most recent election but it’s the same trash in a younger package, asked Mr. Pryor to screw over black folks. I know with certainty that black folks will be calling your Office to say hello when it happens.
This block actually holds its most power at the Senate level. Take out the roster of the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee and then pull their top contributors. You would think they were Republicans. At the top of the food chain is Senate President Ruggerio. He cannot speak in public to save his life, not an intellectual, and is totally embarrassing at all times yet there he is. By now you have heard of the story where he shoplifts condoms for a sexual tryst later in the day and gets caught. What you may not have heard is that he had traded some political favors for the sex. I guess his self confidence was lacking yet again and didn’t think he could get laid on his own.
I’m sure you know transactional types in New Jersey. I knew them in New York too. But whether it be Utica or Albany or New York City, none of them traded political favors for sex. That’s not to say all of them were loyal in their relationships; it is to say all of them did not have a self confidence problem that seems to plague Senator Ruggerio.
Senator Ruggerio will be playing a key role in two supposed McKee initiatives this year. While McKee relied on two forced birth pigs to get him elected, he thinks everyone will buy it when he shows support for the Equality inAbortion Coverage Act. Many of us believe this is all performative and it will die in the Senate. Governor McKee’s other attempt to sucker the base back in, what happens when you barely squeak by, is an assault weapons ban. That’s cute and all but many of us remember that Senator Ruggerio takes money from the NRA. We expect that to die as well. At some point, Ruggerio is going to show up at Mr. Pryor’s door looking for a favor. You might want to rehearse that one a few times. I’d hate to see Mr. Pryor get indicted down the road because Senator Ruggerio was horny.
Then there is the local level. That is where the whitewashing goes on. For instance, in this club is a former Providence City Councilman named Narducci. I am a person who suffers from a number of mental illnesses, although I manage them 24 hours at a time, and have over 20 years clean and sober. The homeless suffering from addiction and mental illness are my brothers and sisters. You can imagine how it made me feel when Councilman Narducci attacked and disrupted them earlier this year. I guess you would have paid attention to the number of times he threw the N-word around.
Hw know has his name on a school. We are working on that. He also does not speak well in public. Because of the school thing, you can imagine a scenario where he and Mr.Pryor have to appear together. Lord knows Mr. Narducci will say something uneducated or racist or both. Mr. Pryor should be ready for this experience.
In case you were wondering, Mr. McKee’s grifting started long before he became Governor. Just Google something like “Cumberland and misused funding.” Again, I know guys like that in New York. The difference was they always got the job done. Yes, they did take their slice but things move forward very nicely. McKee takes his and nothing happens.
We had an example of this during the pandemic. Ever hear of the ILO Group?? It’s a grifting organization targeted at educational funding. They came up with this plan to get the schools ready. Actually, there was no plan, they just wanted cash. They took the cash and did literally nothing. Who did McKee put in place to make sure they got the cash?? He relied on Mayor Lombardi who reads at the 6th grade level. This entire experiment is being recreated with a soccer stadium in Pawtucket for a soccer organization not exactly known for following the rules.
Why does this matter to Mr. Pryor?? He has to come up with solutions for RI’s homeless problem. What is the biggest issue?? Lack of facilities. With McKee as Governor, everyone he tries to work with will have an envelope in hand they expect filled. One deal goes wrong and someone calls the FBI. Now Mr. Pryor has a new set of problems.
We saw this in the “State House eviction” story. A number of our homeless gathered at the State House to protest how they were being treated. Due to the Governor’s mismanagement, he only had two types of facilities to pick from when it came to “reassigning” people. One was male only and didn’t accept gay folks. One was single only. Among the contingent gathered at the State House, wanna guess how many were eligible to go to one of the shelters being pitched??
I recruited a lawyer on behalf of the homeless and we managed to garner 12 days more time to get folks situated. When they left the State House, a number of them went to a building called the Cranston Street Armory. They also flipped drug dealers. The new drug dealer’s recipe was Fentanyl heavy. In the first 48 hours after the move, there were 17 overdose incidents and at least two deaths. Was McKee prepared for that?? Of course not.
Why wasn’t he prepared?? Because he does not take addiction seriously when it comes to homelessness. Mr. Pryor needs to increase his addiction knowledge base if he plans to succeed in this new role in spite of McKee. If Mr. Pryor cannot get folks from the recovery community to talk to him, please let me know.
I know you’re busy as a Senator but we hope you can take a little time every couple of weeks or so and take a look at what’s happening here in Rhode Island. Like everywhere, solving our overall housing issues will help a great deal when it comes to reducing crime. We are already a pretty cool place to live. We hope Mr. Pryor can make us even better.
I know, it’s hard to find out a friend got a new job and then learn all this is working against him. However, if anyone knows Mr. Pryor’s talents and skill sets, it is you. We hope you can encourage and advise him in the best way possible. Meanwhile, if you ever take a trip up here to visit, please do not hesitate to stop by North Providence City Hall. I know I have many differences with Mayor Lombardi but that city hall is one of the coolest municipal buildings I get to visit.
Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
In Hoc Signo,
Robert T. Oliveira
Warwick, RI
401-391-6402
Quahogs United 