The PUC Needs Watchdogs -- Not Political Appointments: Guest MINDSETTER™ Hellman

The PUC Needs Watchdogs -- Not Political Appointments: Guest MINDSETTER™ Hellman

The Governor has not played it straight with Rhode Island. In my opinion, she has failed the state. 

Over two years ago, when I ran against now-Lt. Governor Dan McKee as a moderate, I knew, he knew, the Republican party knew, heck, almost everyone knew and had known the Governor planned to go to Washington DC. She originally planned to go in 2017, when Hillary was elected. But Donald Trump ruined her plans.

But even a casual observer could see: Raimondo was bringing in politically connected people from out of state. Getting cozy with the Wall Street banks -- the "job creation" programs were all out of state people or those who were donors or political players. When she was passed over for HHS Secretary, you could have knocked me over with a feather when she said she was committed 24/7 to help Rhode Island.  Really?

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I had told McKee in 2018 that my fear was that she would leave in 2021, and leave a big mess of pension and budget problems for him to clean up. And that was before COVID-19. She clearly has ideas of who should replace her in 2022, and who should replace the term limited mayor of Providence. And none of those plans ever included Dan McKee.

In the worst pandemic, in the worst economy in our lifetimes, and with her having plans to leave for Washington whether it was as treasury secretary, or HHS, or Commerce or even as an ambassador, she was taking a job in Washington. Knowing that, it was criminal to not meet with, and not to brief and prepare the person who would take her place if her plans came to fruition. You would think that huge a fail was bad enough.

But last week she announced a slew of appointments, a page right out of the Trump/McConnell playbook, to extend your influence by appointing judges and people in positions that can hamstring your successor. Anyone who is going to take over the huge responsibility that Dan McKee will would surely want his people in as many positions as possible. It is enough of a herculean task that awaits him without having to fight with people who were appointed at the last minute with different agendas than his. He has made it clear his priority is small business over big corporations.

I ran for Lt. Governor two years ago, but when McKee said those interested in the Lt. Governor job should contact him with interest to be vetted and interviewed, I contacted him. I said under no circumstances consider me for Lt. Governor. The state is in a huge financial mess. I could help but I am not up to that job!

But this week I read that Raimondo was not satisfied with filling open positions -- she is, with no fanfare or warning, filling the PUC position which won't even open until after she is likely gone.

The PUC is important to me and very important to the state. When I was the finance chair for Bristol County Water Authority, Providence Water tried to raise water rates 25% to buy a huge building -- owned by an insider. The PUC is the firewall. It is a small business' last line of defense against high rated. They did not get 25% they got 2%. That was the PUC doing its job.

What the PUC does, or should do, is protect small businesses and individuals from hidden taxes on the most important things in life, water heat and electricity. Any money wasted, any money that utilities get away with to increase executive pay or their bottom line, is a regressive tax on people who can least afford it. The PUC needs watchdogs not political appointments.

And full disclosure I wanted to be appointed to the PUC. I still do. I wrote that to the Governor years ago. I said I would do it for small money. I care about small businesses having run many myself. And as the finance chair with a mandate to keep rates low,  I know when a utility rate increase is an insult to injury. I got no reply from the Governor. She appointed a lawyer with National Grid.

The city of Providence three years ago wanted to sell Providence Water to try to reduce its bankrupt pension system. I wrote an opinion piece opposing it. It will be brought up again, as Mr. Smiley, the Governor's director of administration, who is in some ethics difficulty, will need the money if he is elected as Providence's mayor as he hopes. His former boss, Mayor Elorza will want the money for Providence if he is elected Governor as he hopes in 2022. They want the money to balance their books, for the failed Providence pension plan. Do they realize it would be a tax on every one of the small businesses that the Governor has all but ignored -- but small businesses are a very big issue for Dan McKee. When you have run a small business you understand. It is something that Yale and Harvard do not teach.

There are a lot of politics in a pick that for me should be about protecting the individual rate payer and a small business community who have been decimated by a cruel unrelenting virus and ever changing pandemic regulations.

The Governor is leaving Dan McKee and the state in a huge mess. She chose not to keep him up to speed on incredibly devastating issues. That was wrong. The least she can do is let him pick his own people.

I urge the Senate committee and the Senate to table the nomination. If the Governor is still here on March 1 pick it back up. If not, give Dan McKee a chance to pick his people. He has a very hard task ahead of him. God knows I don't want it.

Joel Hellmann was the Moderate candidate for Lt. Governor in 2018. He served 4 years as the finance chair of Bristol county Water authority. He also served on The town of Barrington committee on Appropriations, Real Estate Tax Reveal Committee and the Charter Review Committee.