Block Island Board of Canvassers will investigate where
Rep. Blake Filippi actually lives
By
Will Collette
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| Does he live here? A storage building on Block Island. |
On
Monday, the New Shoreham Board of Canvassers will meet to “to receive,
investigate and act on a challenge to state Representative candidate Blake
Filippi’s Declaration of Candidacy,” according to their published agenda.
That
challenge came from me. I wrote HERE about the new questions
that cropped up in public records about exactly our state rep, Blake “Flip”
Filippi actually lives.
When
Filippi first ran for public office in 2014, he gave his address as one of his Mother’s houses on Block
Island.
However, there were dozens of public records where Filippi gave his home address as his Mother’s cow farm in Lincoln.
However, there were dozens of public records where Filippi gave his home address as his Mother’s cow farm in Lincoln.
Filippi’s own
Statehouse website
says Filippi lived in Lincoln and graduated from Lincoln High School, contrary
to his claim that he is a life-long South County resident.
 |
| Or does he live here? A house in Charlestown |
Lincoln,
RI is not in House District 36 which
includes all of Charlestown and Block Island and parts of South Kingstown and
Westerly.
The
state Board of Elections rejected then Rep. Donna Walsh’s challenge to
Filippi’s legitimacy based on a DOE rule that any such challenges must be filed
within 24 hours of the candidate’s declaration filing.
BOE
Director Bob Kando told Donna that she should have brought the issue to the
local board of canvassers because the BOE had this impossible rule.
Having
learned from that, this time the issue is before the Block Island canvassers.
Given all the attention being given to “addresses
of convenience” due to the Rep.
John Carnevale case, maybe this time, Filippi won’t be able to dance his
way out of this.
The Facts
The
location is listed in Filippi’s Ethics Commission annual disclosure report as
one of the Filippi family’s LLCs.
This
is a different address than 912 Champlin Road which he gave in 2014.
Further
compounding the 2016 version of the Find Flipper’s Home game, Charlestown Tax
Assessor records show him as having bought a home at 17 Josephine Drive (see photo, above) in
Charlestown.
On
the Tax Assessor’s database, it appears that Filippi’s new Charlestown home is
owner-occupied and he is the owner. Here's a screen shot:
As we’ve shown in the past when we’ve analyzed campaign contributions to the CCA Party, when a Charlestown house is owned by a non-resident, that owner’s primary residence is listed in addition to the address of the Charlestown property.
Low expectations, really low
I
have no doubt that Filippi will have some slick explanation for all of this
that may or may not be plausible. It will probably be enough for him to skate
on these charges.
His
hearing is on Block Island, after all, and while he may not live there or even be much liked there, his
family owns so much of the island that it gives them a certain amount of
leverage.
Being
a pessimist, especially when it comes to expecting justice to come out of the
political process, I don’t expect the Board of Canvassers to rule against
Filippi.
I
truly believe Flip lives a charmed life and that his shiny suits are made of
Teflon.
For more than two years, he has pulled the wool over the eyes of District 36 voters as well as the statewide media with the illusion that he is a thoughtful, innovative legislator who cares about people and is accomplishing great things.
For more than two years, he has pulled the wool over the eyes of District 36 voters as well as the statewide media with the illusion that he is a thoughtful, innovative legislator who cares about people and is accomplishing great things.
The
facts say otherwise. Filippi’s main priority since he emerged on the political
scene has been to get himself in the media. Woe to anyone who stands between
him and a TV camera.
He
has virtually no accomplishments to show for his two years at the General
Assembly, although he and his fans at the Charlestown Citizens Alliance often
give Filippi credit for achievements by other Representatives.
Here’s
a guy where you can’t even be sure he’s telling the truth about where he lives. Yet he is running unopposed and seems to be invincible.
Thus
my almost non-existent expectations for the Monday hearing. Maybe I’ll be shown
wrong, but I doubt it.