Take it from 2022 inductee Mark Patinkin, Michael Flynn hurts the RI Heritage Hall of Fame

Memo to the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame: you have to be smarter than that.

I’m talking about choosing Middletown native Michael Flynn for the 2024 class of inductees. Even if you felt he was worthy, you should have seen this would make a mess. And it has.

I have a personal connection to the Heritage Hall of Fame. I was in the 2022 class. I’m not sure I deserved it – the Hall is a who’s who of notable Rhode Island folks, from Roger Williams to Broadway legend George M. Cohan to governors and countless more.

So I was deeply honored, even though The Providence Journal, in a story about it, had a headline that said, “Longtime columnist will be indicted this weekend.”

Um, that was supposed to be a “u,” but I don’t want to quibble.

Yet that typo is now ironic since a current inductee is now literally an indictee.

Admittedly, so was Vincent A. Cianci Jr., who is in the Hall, but Buddy was Providence’s longest-serving mayor, an iconic Rhode Island force for 40-plus years, and was chosen in 1999 – before his corruption conviction.

Still, the Hall does have a category of "rogues," including Samuel Casey, known as Rhode Island's best silversmith in the mid-1700s but sentenced to hang for counterfeiting before he was freed by a mob of friends and fled.

Flynn also boasts an impressive resume – Army lieutenant general, U.S. National Security Advisor and onetime director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. And who knows – maybe many years from now he'll be seen differently. But at the moment, especially in a state like Rhode Island, Flynn is radioactive. The Hall should have known that.

Trump ultimately pardoned Flynn, who was found guilty of lying to the FBI in the Mueller investigation. But soon after, Flynn became a prominent election denier with a role in Jan. 6. The day before, he told a roaring crowd: “Tomorrow we the people are going to be here and we want you to know we will not stand for a lie.”

Later, when then-Congresswoman Liz Cheney asked during a January 6^th Committee deposition if Flynn thought the violence that day was morally justified, Flynn pleaded the fifth.

His defenders might say he legally had to, but still, yikes.

The worthy others in the 2024 Heritage Hall class include the community-spirited John Hazen White of TACO, ex-Congressman Jim Langevin, former NAACP president Jim Vincent and Loren Spears, a Native American leader who is the executive director of the Tomaquag Museum.

They deserve this honor without the Flynn choice making things controversial, and indeed, it has. Many prominent folks, including Langevin, Gov. Dan McKee and Providence Mayor Brett Smiley say they won’t attend the Hall's 2024 induction if Flynn’s there.

On top of that, at least a half dozen of the Hall's 20-member board had resigned over it by Wednesday afternoon.

Let me pause to say I was hugely impressed in 2022 by the professionalism of the Heritage Hall. It’s not just a few people picking names – it’s a quality operation, its annual banquet a classy Rhode Island highlight, each recipient introduced with a professional video about their careers as well as a thoughtful tribute by a designated nominator. They put a lot into it.

My only suggestion is to hire a stage guy with a hook, because though inductees are told not to speak for more than four minutes, many need to be saved from themselves.

But it has been a terrific Rhode Island institution, which is why I worry the Flynn nomination could hurt it.

The situation is moving fast, and by the time this story's in print, perhaps things will change, including whether the Flynn pick survives.

But either way, the message is the same to the Heritage Hall board.

Even those who feel the choice was justified should have seen the controversy would be damaging.

They should have been smarter than that.

mpatinki@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Michael Flynn selection hurts RI Heritage Hall of Fame : Patinkin