East Bay Candidates for General Assembly from Barrington, Warren, Bristol and Portsmouth Say No More “38 Studios Deals”

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND (August 29, 2016) – Despite calls from incumbents and General Assembly leadership for Rhode Island citizens to “get over” 38 Studios and move beyond the scandal, the three Libertarian candidates for General Assembly from Barrington, Warren, Bristol, and Portsmouth pledge in resounding unison, “No moral obligation bonds, period.”

Moral obligation bonds, by the very term, are not legally binding, but are generally regarded and treated as binding because of the negative financial repercussions for reneging on the pledge. Moral obligation bonds were the instrument used as security for the 38 Studios investment deal.

Daryl Gould of District 67 (Barrington-Warren), William Hunt of District 68 (Warren-Bristol), and Analee Berretto of District 69 (Bristol-Portsmouth-Prudence Island) vow to fulfill their oath of office by moving to place funding of large public projects on the ballot for voter approval, in accordance with the Rhode Island Constitution.

“38 Studios is not an isolated case where Rhode Island taxpayers are on the hook for millions of dollars without having had the chance to vote on the expenditure in the first place,” Daryl Gould said. “38 Studios is just the most recent and a painful example of legislative action without voter consent.”

“There are lessons to be learned from 38 Studios that must inform future decisions and political actions when it comes to taxpayer funding,” said Analee Berretto. “If Rhode Islanders are to ‘get over’ 38 Studios, we have to make sure proper safeguards are in place. Public trust was betrayed, and the legislature is obligated to rebuild that trust it broke. It’s as simple as saying no to special deals and upholding the Constitution, an oath we all take when elected, but apparently too many legislators forget when they walk into House chambers.”

“At least two upcoming projects we see on the horizon that have all the earmarks of another 38 Studios scheme: the Superman building, and the PawSox stadium,” said Billy Hunt. “Without constant public vigilance and the light of scrutiny cast on these projects and others like them, it is possible that tens of millions of taxpayer dollars could be committed to these private real estate investments – without voter approval.”

“Not on our watch,” Gould said, to the nods of Berretto and Hunt.

For more information about the Libertarian candidates for General Assembly, visit LPRI 2016 Candidates.