From: Pina, Alisha
To: Kershaw, Jessica
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 10:19 AM
I
hope you received the press release I forwarded to you earlier today
and I look forward to hearing from the congressman today before 5 p.m. I
would love to interview him early, if possible, because I have been on
today since 6 a.m. and would like to have a rough draft for my editors
by 4 p.m. To help facilitate an early response, I can give you questions
in advance and maybe he, or you on his behalf, could just answer them.
Let me know which avenue works best.
Alisha
From: Kershaw, Jessica
To: Pina, Alisha
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 1:05 PM
Hi Alisha
I
just tried giving you a call a couple times and I’m getting an error
message on the line — telling me that your number is a non-working
number!
In any case, I want to get back to you on this request.
Look,
as you know, considering your short blog post this morning, there is
very little to comment on with the information released this morning. In
addition, the information came by way of media advisory rather than a
fuller document and I think we need to know more than what is there in
order to comment.
That said, I’ll have a statement for you tomorrow when we know more details.
I hope you understand, and I think you do, given how short your post was, that we really need to have more details for comment.
Thank you for understanding and can you let me know your correct number again? I have 401-277-7456. Is that not right?
Jessica
From: Pina, Alisha
To: Kershaw, Jessica
Sent: Wed Mar 02 13:32:53 2011
I
would still like to talk to the Congressman today because we have
multiple stories for tomorrow, one of which is how did it get so bad?
What did the mayor know and when; what did he do to address the looming
budget crisis?
Cicilline, as the mayor
for 8 years, is key to that article. He still has responsibility to the
taxpayers to explain. “No comment” until more detail is released is not
an acceptable response. He continues to say he balanced budgets for all
of his eight years as mayor. Clearly, that is not accurate.
Chances
are very good that we will want to talk to him again tomorrow, or in
the coming days, as this huge story for Rhode Island plays out.
There
are many who believe he focused more on the campaign than on the city’s
finances in his later months. He should respond to that criticism.
Does
he believe his accountability as mayor stopped the day he entered
Congress? What is his perspective and recommendation as a resident and
taxpayer of Providence?
This is a
conversation best handled in a give-and-take over the phone; not via
e-mail. But, if it helps, some of the specific questions are below.
Alisha’s questions for Congressman Cicilline:
Providence had a $57-million deficit last year, according to the independent auditor.
It
says this year’s structural deficit will be $70 million. Of that, Mayor
Taveras has to find $29 million of cuts or revenues before June 30.
How did this happen?
Even
with the loss of $30-plus million in state aid, the city under your
administration clearly overspent. Were you aware of this and what
specifically did you do to cut costs?
In
one fiscal year, your administration also reduced the city’s reserve
account from $17.36 million in July 2009 to $3.46 million by June 2010.
You said at the time the money would be replenished with revenue. Why
wasn’t it?
Alisha
From: Kershaw, Jessica To: Pina, Alisha
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 2:02 PM
Alisha - Let me get back in touch with you on the correct phone number now that I have it, as soon as I can.
From: Pina, Alisha To: Kershaw, Jessica
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 5:35 PM
I
am still here working on my story for the next hour or more, so you
still have time to share a comment or two. The piece that I referred to
in an earlier e-mail includes multiple quotes from city officials who
state Cicilline and his administration lied to the taxpayers and council
regarding the city’s finances. Some also say he put his campaign ahead
of his job.
Alisha A. Pina
401-277-7465
From: Kershaw, Jessica
To: Pina, Alisha
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 5:49 PM
Alisha,
Thank
you for your patience today. Below is a statement, direct from
Congressman Cicilline, that you can use. This is what I can provide to
you at this time. Please attribute this to him:
“There
is no question that cities and towns all across Rhode Island, states
around the country, and our federal government are all facing incredibly
difficult budget decisions. Providence is facing these same challenges
as a result of a $40 million reduction in state aid, the loss of federal
education stimulus funds, the loss of revenues due to the troubled
economy and a large pension liability. I have every confidence that
Mayor Taveras and the Providence City Council will make decisions that
they believe are in the best interest of the city as they work out these
difficult budget issues. I will be fighting hard in Washington to help
cities and towns in Rhode Island in any way I can.”
U.S. Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI)
Thank you again for your patience and persistence!
Jessica