Regunberg
blasts McKee over unkept promise to return tainted campaign contributions
“Dan McKee misled
Rhode Island voters. Not only did McKee accept thousands from a man whose
OxyContin empire is responsible for the destruction of countless lives in our
state, but when caught, he pledged to return the money within weeks – and he
has not.
“Apparently this was a pledge he had no intention of following through on. This deception is an insult to all Rhode Islanders, and it’s particularly offensive to all the families whose lives have been touched by the opioid crisis.
“Apparently this was a pledge he had no intention of following through on. This deception is an insult to all Rhode Islanders, and it’s particularly offensive to all the families whose lives have been touched by the opioid crisis.
“I repeat my call once more: Dan
McKee, it does not take months to pick a charity. Prove you know the difference
between right and wrong and donate these corrupt contributions today.”
- Aaron Regunberg, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor
- Aaron Regunberg, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor
Campaign finance reports
filed Wednesday by McKee show that he has not fulfilled his promise to donate
thousands of dollars in tainted campaign contributions from Jonathan Sackler of Purdue Pharmaceuticals.
Sackler, who made his
fortune from the manufacture of OxyContin –
a key driver of the state’s opioid crisis – has contributed multiple times to
McKee. In 2014, Sackler contributed $20,000 to a Super PAC supporting Dan
McKee’s campaign. In subsequent years Sackler and his wife gave McKee an
additional $4,000 in direct campaign contributions.
On July 18 State Representative Aaron Regunberg called on McKee to donate the Sackler contributions to one of the nonprofits in Rhode Island focused on addiction and recovery services.
In response, on July 19th Dan McKee pledged publicly to donate the thousands in contributions he took from Sackler to an area nonprofit.
In an article in GoLocalProv McKee said, “I am donating [these contributions] to recovery organizations here in Rhode Island.” His campaign spokesman said, “He will be making donations to these organizations in the coming weeks.” He made a similar pledge on The Dan Yorke Show.
The latest finance
filing reports show that, nearly a month later, McKee has failed to fulfill his
promise to return the money.
McKee has also refused
to return contributions from the Walton
family, lobbyists representing National
Grid, and Russell Taub,
a Republic operative and outspoken supporter of
alt-right leader Steve Bannon who is currently under scrutiny for his allegedly criminal
operation of the Keeping America in Republican Control PAC.
Regunberg’s campaign
does not accept any donations from corporate PACs, the pharmaceutical industry,
fossil fuel interests, or the gun lobby.