McKee's #RIMomentum tour: Official business or campaigning?

PROVIDENCE – At what point does Gov. Dan McKee's "#RIMomentum tour" become a campaign event?

Is the "tour" that began this week an effort by McKee's State House team to place him in TV ad-ready photo ops for his reelection campaign?

Or is Democrat McKee simply walking the hard-to-define line between the power of incumbency and campaigning while three of his challengers – Republican Ashley Kalus and Democrats Helena Foulkes and Nellie Gorbea – spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on TV advertising?

When asked, this was the response from campaign manager Brexton Isaacs to Journal questions: "As these are official-side events, I'd direct any questions you have over there."

The answer from McKee's communications director Andrea Palagi: the "RIMomentum tour" is not a rolling campaign event.

Asked about an event scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Farmer's Daughter in South Kingstown, "a woman-owned, multi-generational family farm" to highlight the money in the state budget for "employer-led job-training programs," she said:

"This is not a political event, it is an event organized by the office to communicate the investments in the FY 23 budget and how those investments will impact Rhode Islanders.

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"This is very routine for a governor’s office following a budget signing," she said. "We did the same strategy to highlight the governor’s RI Rebounds budget passed by the General Assembly earlier in the year.

"For these press conferences, no campaign funds are used, no campaign materials are distributed and no campaign staff are present. It is entirely about the work of the Governor’s Office and providing that information to Rhode Islanders."

What McKee's opponents are saying

But Kalus disputed the underlying theme of McKee's  #RIMomentum tour, saying: "Rhode Islanders aren't feeling momentum, they're feeling malaise.

“While incumbents typically enjoy a political advantage, even fellow Democrats recognize how weak Dan McKee is ... It’s not often you see a serious primary challenge for a sitting governor – let alone a field this crowded," she said."

Foulkes' spokeswoman Audrey Lucas said: “If Helena was governor today, she’d be more focused on getting things done for Rhode Islanders than leading a publicity tour.

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"It’s been a week since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Instead of jumping into action like other Democratic governors, Governor McKee still has not taken executive action to protect abortion providers, even though he promised to do so.

"And with a recession likely on the horizon and the rising cost of living hurting Rhode Islanders every day, it’s clear that now is the time for leadership and action – not celebration.”

'Incumbency has its advantages'

John Marion, executive director of the citizens' advocacy group Common Cause RI, said:

"Incumbency has its advantages, and incumbents have long sought to exploit them. In the early 1990s in reaction to some scandals, the General Assembly saw fit to put some much-needed limits on the use of office budgets for what amounted to free campaign advertising.

"Because the law prohibits them from spending money to promote themselves, they resort to seeking the type of earned media that Governor McKee is seeking with his #RIMomentum tour."

The law Marion cited bans elected officials from using "public funds from any official budget under his or her authority for any publication, advertisement, broadcast or telecast of his or her photograph, voice or other likeness to be broadcast or distributed to the public during the 120 days before an election in which he or she is a candidate."

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But it also says the law "shall not be construed to prohibit" an elected official from doing any of these things on an "official government website or social media presence ... maintained in the regular course of official government business exclusively for general informational or transparency purposes."

"The line between office-holding and campaigning is sometimes hard to draw," Marion said.

"At the federal level, which has pretty good rules, incumbents have figured out how to exploit them by holding official events and campaign rallies in the same place, using office-holding to subsidize campaigning.

"Rhode Island certainly could have [tighter] rules than it currently does, but that would require incumbents to put limits on themselves, something they're not likely to do."

Stops on the #RIMomentum tour

McKee launched his #RIMomentum tour on Tuesday.

The announcement began: "Following the signing of the historic FY23 budget which provides relief for Rhode Islanders and invests in the state's future, Governor [McKee] ... will launch the start of his #RIMomentum Tour by announcing the start date for DRIVEEV.

"DRIVEEV is the administration's new electric-vehicle rebate program ... [to] support the adoption of electric vehicles by Rhode Island residents, small businesses, nonprofits and public sector entities."

The next notice from the governor's office began: "Continuing his #RIMomentum Tour, Governor Dan McKee today signed into law historic legislation to make Rhode Island the first state in the country to commit to 100 percent renewable energy by 2033, the most aggressive renewable energy standard among any U.S. state."

According to the governor's office, McKee "was joined at the signing by Lt. Governor Sabina Matos, North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi, Rhode Island AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Patrick Crowley and [the] bill sponsors." The site: the North Providence Solar Landfill.

That was Wednesday.

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On Thursday, McKee held the next tour event: a ribbon-cutting at the new Boskalis Offshore Renewables Office at the Cambridge Innovation Center in downtown Providence.

On Friday, he was headed to the Farmer's Daughter in South Kingstown to "highlight significant investments in workforce development contained in the FY23 budget that he recently signed which support employer-led job training programs and wrap around supportive services for job seekers."

By way of comparison, Palagi, his communications director, provided links to news stories about events that Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has hosted to highlight his activities, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has done in New York.

"Governor Lamont has a brand of “CT Difference” for his budget, which was signed earlier in the year. His office has also been doing events to highlight budget items that residents should know about like his state’s version of child tax credit," she said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Is McKee's #RIMomentum tour official business or campaigning?