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Operation Clean Government names new President; five new Board Members (12-6-10) Read more... OCG and RISC call for a full financial audit of the Bristol County Water Supply System!(11-17-10) Read more…. OCG's Proposals gain support from Assembly Candidates (10-28-10) Read more… Beverly Clay: “Straight-party vote problematic, obsolete” (The Valley Breeze, 10/19/2010). Read the rest of this article HERE ... General Officer Debates held at OCG’s 17th Annual Meeting on Monday, October 18. Moderated by Robert Weygand, featuring candidates for SECRETARY OF STATE, TREASURER and ATTORNEY GENERAL. Watch the debates online NOW! Flow of grants to local groups reassures flow of votes to Assembly ncumbents (10-07-10) Read more ... Message from Marie Sorman, President of OCG (09/09/10)LEGISLATIVE AND COMMUNITY GRANTS STILL AN ISSUE. Legislative and Community Grants totaled $10.6 Million in FY 2009 and in spite of a severe budget crisis, legislative grants are already being doled out for FY 010 (9-01-10) House Grants • Senate Grants • Read More Here SENATE LEADERSHIP EXERCISES AN UNDEMOCRATIC STYLE OF GOVERNANCE (8-18-10) Read more…OCG Working With Other Good Government Groups Stymies Teacher Union Legislation on Binding Arbitration and Perpetual Contracts (6-8-10) READ MORE HERE! Larry Valencia and John Marion: We need a ‘holistic’ approach to R.I. ethics problems (Providence Journal, December 5, 2009) Read More Here OCG's State of the State Cable TV Program Receives PEG Award (11-13-09) Read more here Supreme Court Decision, William V. Irons v. The RI Ethics Commission et. al READ OCG'S STATEMENT ON THE DECISION OCG President Larry Valencia will join John Marion, Executive Director of Common Cause as a guest on Newsmakers WPRI-Channel 12: Video will be posted on the WPRI website Rep. Rod Driver: "There’s more than one way to kill an amendment" (The Westerly Sun, Aug 5, 2009) Read More Here Larry Valencia: Get Out of Jail card: Assembly’s monopoly game bad for R.I. (Providence Journal, July 13, 2009) Read More Here Robert A. Benson Jr.: Pressure speaker to support ethical legislature (Providence Journal, July 7, 2009) Read More Here Your action is needed to defeat bills that would extend labor contracts beyond their expiration date, June 24. Read More Here Action needed for Senate leaders to allow E-Verify bills a vote on the Senate floor on June 24. Read More Here Three government reform groups testify before Ethics Commission, June 16, 2009, Read More Here OCG President Chuck Barton Resigns; Board Names Larry Valencia President Read More Here Much hinges on ethics ruling. (Providence Journal, April 26, 2009, by Edward Fitzpatrick) Read full story here Deconstructing the Irons case. (Letter from Robert A. Benson, Jr., ProJo, April 26, 2009) Read full letter here Is ‘R.I. ethics’ an oxymoron? (Edward Achorn, Providence Journal, April 28, 2009) Read full story here State lawmakers get an earful at Operation Clean Government forum (Providence Journal, April 28, 2009, By Peter B. Lord) Read the full story here Rhode Islanders 'lack courage,' says Operation Clean Government panel (Russell J. Moore, Warwick Beacon, April 28, 2009) Read full story here Operation Clean Government’s breakfast forum serves plateful of thought (Edward Fitzpatrick, Providence Journal, April 28, 2009) Read full story here OCG files Amicus Brief in support of Ethics Commission On March 17, 2009: Operation Clean Government (OCG) filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in Supreme Court to support the state Ethics Commission on the speech in debate issue in “William V. Irons vs. The Rhode Island Ethics Commission.” The OCG amicus brief and motion to participate were written by appellate lawyer Mr. Thomas M. Dickinson. The R.I. State Supreme Court will hear the Ethics commission appeal on May 13th of this year. Visit the News Archives for more on this case. Robert A. Benson, Jr. "What About Honesty and Democracy?" (Providence Journal, March 23, 2009) Now the American Civil Liberties Union is filing a friend-of-court brief in favor of ex-Rhode Island state Sen. William Irons in his battle with the state Ethics Commission. Read the full letter here ... Beverly Clay: Fix the confusing R.I. ballot (Providence Journal, March 5, 2009) The straight-ticket “lever” on Rhode Island’s optical-scan-machine ballots is confusing and misleading. Edward Achorn’s Feb. 17 Commentary column “Removing the taint from R.I.’s elections” enumerated many other reasons to do away with this outdated option ... Read the full op-ed piece here. Rhode Island high court to hear Ethics Commission appeal (Providence Journal, Jan 21, 2009) The Rhode Island Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that effectively squelched the state Ethics Commission’s prosecution of former Senate President William V. Irons. Read the full story The OCG Board has voted to retain an attorney to file an amicus brief in support of the Ethics Commission Outrageous ruling: Legislators can ignore ethics law (Robert A. Benson Jr., Providence Journal, January 2, 2009) "… Judge Darigan has decided that Irons cannot be prosecuted by the state’s Ethics Commission for his actions (votes) in the General Assembly..." Read the full story Ethics Commission asks R.I. Supreme Court to overturn ruling questioning its authority (Providence Journal, Dec 27, 2008) The Rhode Island Ethics Commission has asked the state Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling to dismiss ethics charges, filed by Operation Clean Government, against former Senate President William V. Irons. Read the full story Legislator and General Officer financial disclosure forms now visible on the web Another victory for transparency in RI Government OCG urged the R. I. Ethics Commission to make financial disclosures of elected officials accessible on their website. Now the public can easily see for themselves where their elected officials derive their income. Check out the NEW RIEC website: http://www.ethics.ri.gov/ Survey shows 60 Assembly candidates mostly favor OCG positions on: Voter initiative, Inspector General, Voter Handbook, Publishing assembly voting records & Ending legislative grants. Click links for Letter to Candidates, Senate Candidates, House Candidates June 4, 2008: Ethics panel rethinks so-called loophole … HERE June 3, 2008: Click HERE for OCG suggested language change and research on “Class exception” submitted to the Ethics Commission. April 8, 2008: OCG statement on settlement of the ethics complaint against Senator Frank Ciccone... Read about it here January 3, 2008:: OCG reacts to Ethics Commission action on Ciccone... Read about it here January 3, 2008:: Ethics Commission to prosecute former senator and union chief Ciccone ... Read about it here December 20, 2007:: Former Senate President Irons sues RI Ethics Commission... Read about it here November 21, 2007 :: OCGs 2004 complaint against Senate President Irons takes another step forward ... Press release here November 21, 2007 :: Ethics Commission denies Irons request... Read about it here November 8, 2007 :: The Operation Clean Government annual meeting on November 1 was a big success ... Read about it here October 7, 2007:: Watch Chuck Barton on Channel 12 Newsmakers. Click HERE to view the show online! October 2, 2007 :: FBI investigating Sen. Alves role in derailed tax legislation. Read more from the Providence Journal ... October 2, 2007:: Operation Clean Government reacts to news of Sen. Alves investigation. Read our press release HERE September 12, 2007:: Montalbano settes OCG-initiated ethics complaint for $12,000. See Providence Journal article by Bruce Landis ... September 12, 2007:: Operation Clean Government reaction to the Montalbano settlement. Read our press release HERE ... September 1, 2007 :: Montalbano files appeal to block charges initiated by OCG. See Providence Journal article by Bruce Landis ... August 21, 2007: OCG's ethics complaint against Senate President Montalbano will proceed to an adjudicative hearing. See Providence Journal article by Bruce Landis and Woonsocket Call article by Jim Baron. Opinion: The RI Challenge: Electing reps who don't routinely follow the leader (Rod Driver, OCG Legislative Chair, Warwick Beacon, 7-05-07) Letter to the Editor: $140 an Hour Commissioners? (Beverly Clay, OCG Board of Directors, Providence Journal, 6-24-07) Opinion: R.I. Constitution winks at corruption? (Arthur “Chuck” Barton, President of Operation Clean Government, Providence Journal, 6-20-06) Ethics panel sets dates for briefs in Montalbano case (W. Zachary Malinowski, Providence Journal 6-20-07) Ethics case on hold over legal entanglements (Jim Baron, Pawtucket Times, 6/20/07) Panel’s case against Montalbano stalls (Bruce Landis, Providence Journal, 6/01/07) Rhode Islanders will look to Montalbano and Irons for a good tanning this summer (Jim Baron, The Woonsocket Call, 05/21/2007) Irons, Montalbano replace casino as summer drama (Jim Baron, Pawtucket Times, 05/21/2007) Ciccone disputes ethics complaint (Bruce Landis, Providence Journal, 5/16/07) Senate president wants his own ethics trial (Jim Baron, Pawtucket Times, 5/16/07) Hearing for Montalbano moves ahead (Bruce Landis, Providence Journal, 5/16/07) Complaint accuses senator of conflict of interest (Bruce Landis, Providence Journal, 5/15/07) Can R.I. corruption finally be crushed (Letter to the editor by R.B.Ziegler, Providence Journal, 5/13/07) Inspector general could save R.I. plenty (Letter to the editor By Roy Pruett, Providence Journal, 5/13/07) Montalbano seeks jury trial on ethics charges (Bruce Landis, Providence Journal, 5/12/07) Opinion: Bad government root of R.I. woes (Bruce Landis, Providence Journal, 5/11/07) Can R.I. Corruption be crushed? (Russ Olivo, Woonsocket Call 5/6/07) Panel on Corruption looks at ‘Buddy’ (Gregory Smith, Providence Journal, 5/6/07) Irons wants jury trial (Bruce Landis, Providence Journal, 5/2/07)