Congratulations to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney on his very convincing “win.” Here are the “official” results from the polling:

50.4% – Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
22% – Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
13% – Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
7% – EPGOP Treasurer Will Ricci *
3% – Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri
2% – Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
1.3% – Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
1.3% – Texas Congressman Dr. Ron Paul

* Unbeknownst to him until after balloting has ended, Will was the recipient of some write-in votes. Will wants to make it very clear that he did not vote for himself, nor does he have any plans to run for president in 2012 or any year thereafter. However, he is flattered to have placed 4th, especially considering his much more well-known “competition.”

at the

Columbus Club of East Providence

3200 Pawtucket Avenue

East Providence, RI 02914

Thursday, November 19, 2009

6:00 PM to 9:00 Pm

Come and lend your support!

Reserve your place today for only $20 per person.

Please complete, detach, & mail the RSVP form below (by 11/16/09), along with your check to: Clupny, Representative District 62. C/o Joseph A Giammarco,Esq., 76 Belvidere Blvd., North Providence, RI 02911. For inquiries, please contact Joe Giammarco at ltuta1 [at] aol [dot] com.

Please make your check payable to “Clupny, Representative District 62”. Thank you for your generous support!

___ YES! I will attend Tom’s fundraiser reception. Enclosed, please find my personal check or money order in the amount of _____ for ______ reservations.

___ In addition, I would like to make an extra contribution of: $_______.00 (maximum of $1,000 per calendar year).

___ I am unable to attend. However, please accept my contribution of $______.00 (maximum of $1,000 per calendar year).

Name:____________________________________________ Employer:________________________________________
Address:__________________________________________ Occupation:_______________________________________
City:_____________________________________________ Home Phone:________________ Work Phone:___________
State:___________________ Zip Code:_________________ Email Address: ____________________________________

State campaign financing law requires us to record the name, address, employer and occupation of contributors.
Corporate and business checks cannot be accepted. Political Contributions are not tax deductible.
Individual donors are limited to donating no more than $1,000 per calendar year.~ Thomas L. Clupny, Treasurer

Tom’s website is http://www.TOMCLUPNY.COM

Three of the four candidates who filed to run for Elizabeth Dennigan’s former House seat have officially qualified to appear on the Dec. 29 ballot.

State law required the contenders to submit nomination papers including the signatures of at least 50 House District 62 voters earlier this week. We finished certifying the results this morning after receiving the nomination papers from the East Providence and Pawtucket boards of canvassers.

One-hundred-and-thirty-two of the signatures collected by Democrat Mary Duffy Messier of Pawtucket ended up surviving the certification process. Republican Thomas Clupny of East Providence ended up with 100 certified signatures and independent Paul Dinsmore of East Providence, who challenged Dennigan as a Republican in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008; had 62.

A fourth candidate who filed declaration of candidacy papers earlier this month — Brian Cinq-Mars of Pawtucket — failed to submit nomination papers by last Tuesday’s deadline.

While there will be no primary, there are several other crucial dates leading up to the Dec. 29 election. The next milestone will be Nov. 23, when we will hold a public lottery to determine the order in which Messier, Clupny and Dinsmore will appear on the ballot. Nov. 28 is the deadline for registering to vote and mail ballots must be requested by Dec. 8.

The special election became necessary when Dennigan resigned Oct. 1. Her former district stretches along the eastern shore of the Seekonk River in East Providence and Pawtucket.

Source: Rhode Island Secretary of State

The East Providence Republican City Committee cordially invites all reform-minded citizens to attend its upcoming “Fantastic Fall Fundraiser,” which will be held on Thursday, November 5th, 2009, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 50 Crescent View Avenue in Riverside, from 6:30 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. It will feature catered Heavy Hors d’Oeuvres with a Cash Bar, a great Silent Auction, “The Very First” 2012 Presidential Straw Poll (vote rigging encouraged), as well as a top-notch Speaking Program.

Confirmed guest speakers include: Gov. Donald Carcieri, E.P. Assistant Mayor Robert Cusack, E.P. School Committee Vice-Chair Steven Santos, RIGOP Chairman Gio Cicione, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedesian, R.I. Congressional candidates John Loughlin and Mark Zaccaria, R.I. Tea Party Founder Colleen Conley, and R.I. Attorney General candidate Erik Wallin.

Tickets for this great event are affordably priced at only $25.00 per person or $40.00 per couple. R.I. Young Republicans can attend for $15.00. Children are FREE with a paying adult. If it is within your ability, please consider giving an additional contribution. To reserve your tickets today, please send your request and payment to: EPGOP, c/o 66 Merritt Road, Riverside, RI 02915. An RSVP form can be printed from our web site at http://epgop.org/rsvp/ . For planning purposes, your timely RSVP and payment in advance is greatly appreciated. For any inquiries, please contact EPGOP Chair Robert Carlin at 345-6608 or chair [at] epgop [dot] org or EPGOP Treasurer Will Ricci at treasurer [at] epgop [dot] org.

P.S. There will be a Special Election in House District 62 on December 29, 2009, a district which includes East Providence. Your early support will greatly aid our efforts to win this seat for the GOP!

The East Providence Republican City Committee strongly condemns the fiscally irresponsible and grossly short-sighted actions of East Providence’s two State Senators, Daniel DaPonte and Frank DeVall, for their recent votes in support of Rhode Island State Senate Bill 0713, “An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Certified School Teachers Arbitration.”

S-0713, if enacted, would change the law so that the terms of any expired teacher contract in Rhode Island would remain in effect until a new collective bargaining agreement had been ratified. This may seem harmless or even helpful to some, but in fact, it is uniquely dangerous. This legislation would give already very powerful public sector unions even more power to wield over us. It would strip away one of the very few weapons which school committees in Rhode Island have left at their disposal to try to curb out-of-control spending in the face of massive budget deficits. It would specifically give teachers unions throughout the state, the ability to effectively extend their contracts indefinitely, with absolutely no incentive or need to ever renegotiate new terms when their contract is up for renewal – at levels which may be more reasonable for struggling taxpayers.

The effect on local taxpayers and homeowners would truly be disastrous. Given the favorable nature of many current contracts, the unions could run forever with those contracts without local governments having any ability to modify the terms, even after the contracts have “run out” – leaving the only truly viable alternative to be municipal bankruptcy. Without the ability to rein in costly contracts, which account for most city spending and the overwhelming majority of the school department budget (87% in East Providence), the impact of this bill on residents may well include any or all of the following: massive annual property tax increases; mass layoffs of teachers, administrators, and municipal employees; multiple school closures; reduction or elimination of school sports and after school programs; and finally, the very real possibility of bankruptcy. This is “a clear and present danger” to the fiscal health of our city. For the sake of our city, we must not let this happen!

According to S-0713 co-sponsor Sen. Charles Levesque (D-Bristol/Portsmouth), the introduction of the bill was prompted by the contract stalemate between the East Providence School Committee and the East Providence Education Association. As a result of the teachers union’s unwillingness to make fair and reasonable concessions after their extremely generous contract expired last October – in an attempt to put a dent into the school department’s over $9 million anticipated budget deficit – the School Committee was forced to unilaterally implement a 5% pay raise rollback and enforce a 20% health insurance co-pay and other cost savings measures. This action alone has already saved the taxpayers of East Providence over $3 million so far; thus averting a roughly 10% property tax increase (about $300) for the average East Providence homeowner.

In light of this, we are particularly disturbed that freshman East Providence State Sen. Frank DeVall (Dist. 18) not only voted “in favor” of this fiscally irresponsible bill, but according to official records, even “seconded” passage of S-0713. Additionally, he spoke in favor of S-0713 right from the Senate floor! What a disgrace!

As S-0713 has now been sent to the Rhode Island House for consideration, we strongly encourage residents to immediately contact their state representatives to urge the defeat of its House companion bill, H-5762. Furthermore, the East Providence Republican City Committee hereby puts any and all state representatives in East Providence – regardless of political affiliation – ON NOTICE. A vote in favor of H-5762, will rightfully be considered to be a vote against the taxpayers of the City of East Providence and the people of the State of Rhode Island. As such, we will make it our goal to target for political elimination any East Providence legislator in the 2010 election cycle who votes in favor of this dangerous legislation. WE ARE WATCHING YOU.

Robert S. Carlin, Jr.
Chairman, East Providence Republican City Committee
Media Contact: Bob Carlin at 345-6608 or chair [at] epgop [dot] org

Anyone and everyone from the public is welcome to participate (even Democrats!). Please bring a rake and/or shovel with you. Gloves, bags, snacks, and drinks will be provided. Last year, we collected over 100 bags of trash from the beach. Rain Date is Sunday.

For any inquiries, please contact EPGOP Vice-Chair Kathy Santos at vicechair [at] epgop [dot] org. Thank you.

I went to the Taxpayers Tea Party at the RI State House on April 15. The East Providence Republican Party joined the East Providence Taxpayer’s Association, RISC (Rhode Island Statewide Coalition), OCG (Operation Clean Government), and other good government groups.

The weather was nice which led to a big success. There were thousands of people who made the time to come. There were families, old, young, different ethnicity’s, and their message was clear. They were tired of the taxes in RI, fed up with the legislature, and our delegation in Washington DC. There were chants of “NO NEW TAXES” and the like. There were signs of every description: Don’t Tax Me Bro, I Pay My Mortgage – Please Pay Yours, No More Taxes, No More Fees, Stop Deficit Spending Now, and so many more clever lines, I could fill the pages of this paper.

I went to the Taxpayers Tea Party at the RI State House on April 15. The East Providence Republican Party joined the East Providence Taxpayer’s Association, RISC (Rhode Island Statewide Coalition), OCG (Operation Clean Government), and other good government groups.

The weather was nice which led to a big success. There were thousands of people who made the time to come. There were families, old, young, different ethnicity’s, and their message was clear. They were tired of the taxes in RI, fed up with the legislature, and our delegation in Washington DC. There were chants of “NO NEW TAXES” and the like. There were signs of every description: Don’t Tax Me Bro, I Pay My Mortgage – Please Pay Yours, No More Taxes, No More Fees, Stop Deficit Spending Now, and so many more clever lines, I could fill the pages of this paper.

Hopefully this groundswell will continue, and people will get involved. Talking to assorted folks, one thing was clear; there is fear for the near future, as well as the over the next decade. Parents were worried about what our state and nation are doing to make this state and nation a livable place for their children.

The leaders of this event, Colleen Conley and the rest of the good government groups are encouraged. They collected contact information, and hope to have more events soon.

The speakers were on point. We have to fight and make sure our elected officials are paying attention to us. We also need to get people to run for office, and not settle for what is being dished out statewide and nationally. Perhaps the best speaker was Bob Healey of the Cool Moose Party and former candidate for Lt. Governor. He said he was so impressed with this large group that showed up at the Taxpayers Tea Party, and hoped the momentum wouldn’t die out.

Rhode Island, and our nation, is in tough shape. Hopefully this is the beginning of something good. Having motivated, responsible people take the time to go to Smith Hill, with signs waving, expressing their frustrations, will be a wake up call to our elected officials, and give them the understanding that we are mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it anymore.

Kathy Santos is a longtime member of the East Providence Republican Party, a member of the East Providence Taxpayers Association and a lifelong resident of Riverside.

Reprinted from EastBayRI.com

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