Gorbea defends fundraiser hosted by oil lobbyist who's given to other RI Dems
Can a politician combat climate change while taking money from an oil lobbyist?
Most of Rhode Island's Democratic candidates for governor think they can, or at least they have no objection to a prominent Democratic donor who is also an oil-company lobbyist hosting a fundraiser for Nellie Gorbea earlier this month.
On Tuesday, Oil Change, a nonprofit that gets candidates to sign pledges not to take money from fossil-fuel interests, called out Gorbea for her June 10 New York City fundraiser hosted by Tonio Burgos, founder of lobby shop Tonio Burgos Associates. Burgos's clients include Valero, one of the world's largest oil refiners, Oil Change said.
"Anyone claiming the mantle of climate action must reject ties to Big Oil and Gas – it’s really that simple," Oil Change U.S. Campaigns Director Collin Rees said in a news release. "Fossil-fuel companies are wrecking the planet and endangering Rhode Islanders, and lobbyists like Tonio Burgos are profiting from this devastation."
But Gorbea, like most of the Rhode Island candidates for governor this year, has not taken a "no fossil fuel money pledge," and she isn't returning any donations connected with the Burgos fundraiser.
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"Tonio Burgos is a prominent Democratic donor who has served on the DNC's executive committee," Gorbea spokeswoman Dana Walton said in an email, using the abbreviation for the Democratic National Committee. "He has supported climate champions like Senator [Sheldon] Whitehouse, Congressman [David] Cicilline, and [Washington Gov.] Jay Inslee, and has contributed thousands of dollars in support of marriage equality across the country."
"Nellie strongly advocated for the passage of the Act on Climate and has made it clear that, as governor, combating climate change will be a core priority," she added.
How much money has Tonio Burgos donated to politicians?
Second-quarter campaign finance reports that will show how much was raised at the New York fundraiser won't be released until early August.
Burgos has given $18,000 to Rhode Island candidates for state-level races since 2013, according to Board of Elections filings.
The biggest beneficiary over that period was former Gov. Gina Raimondo, who received $9,000.
Follow the money for the first quarter: Who are the leading fundraisers among RI governor candidates, and who is giving?
According to OpenSecrets, a group that tracks lobbying, Burgos has also represented Invenergy, the company that tried to build a natural gas power plant in Burrillville while Raimondo was governor.
He's given Gorbea $3,000, including a $1,000 contribution in February.
Burgos gave $3,900 to Whitehouse last year, according to the Federal Elections Commission.
What other candidates have to say about Nellie Gorbea's fundraising
Former Secretary of State Matt Brown has pledged to reject any fossil-fuel donations in his campaign for governor and called on Gorbea to "return all the money she raised at her fossil-fuel fundraiser immediately and pledge not to take any fossil-fuel money.”
“We need to fight them with everything we’ve got and shut them down – not cozy up to them in exchange for campaign funds," he said about companies that produce petroleum-based fuels.
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Asked about the criticism of Gorbea's fundraiser, Gov. Dan McKee campaign spokesman Brexton Isaacs offered no opinion about whether it was good or bad, saying only that "combating climate change has been a top priority for Governor McKee in his first 15 months in office."
Democratic candidate for governor Helena Foulkes had no comment about Gorbea's fundraiser.
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Nellie Gorbea defends fundraiser hosted by oil lobbyist Tonio Burgos
