There is nothing unusual in the appearance of a billboard along the highway in the weeks leading up to an election.

Nor is there anything particularly unusual about the one that went up alongside Route 95 north a few weeks ago — except the tagline about who paid for it.

“Rhode Islanders, had enough? Do something about it,” it says. “Paid for by Transform Rhode Island Inc.”

And who exactly are the people behind TransformRI, the Web site and the corporation?

A tip of the hat goes to Patrick Crowley, the blogger and deputy director of the National Education Association, for bringing to light the connection between the recently formed 501c4 “nonprofit corporation” and Anthony W. Bucci Jr., the finance director for Governor Carcieri’s last reelection campaign, and two of Carcieri’s other financial backers, John Treat and Anthony Marouchoc.

The articles of incorporation filed in late April place the organization at the same West Warwick address as Bucci’s insurance company, A.W. Bucci & Associates, also known as the Bucci Insurance Group. It lists Bucci, Treat and Marouchoc as directors of this new organization created to “provide leadership and educate the public regarding responsible and growth oriented public policy in the state of Rhode Island.”

And a glance at Transform Rhode Island’s Web site leaves no doubt where they stand: “Our members believe in Rhode Island and support Carcieri’s efforts to balance the budget and reduce state spending, improve education, curb illegal immigration, reform welfare and develop renewable energy sources here in our state.”

And yet, the group has not filed notice of its existence with the state Board of Elections and refuses to say where it got the money to buy billboard space alongside the West Bay corridor of the interstate — and very soon, along Route 195 west as well.

In an interview last week, Bucci said he did not believe the group has to divulge this kind of information — or register as a PAC — as long as it sticks to “issue advocacy,” does not promote or oppose any particular candidate and does not engage in what he called “electioneering.”

“We can’t be political,” he said, and “we are not approaching this from a political standpoint. We are advocating the concept of good government.”

Bucci said his group was not the first to use this format. He cited, for example, ReformSC.com, an advocacy group that sides with South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford against what anyone viewed as a “reform blocker.” A typical headline on its Web site reads: “Gov. Mark Sanford continues to run headlong into a legislative wall as he tries to change the way the state does business."

Bucci said Carcieri was apprised that several of his supporters were forming TransformRI, but neither he nor his wife had any direct role or contributed any money.

But he acknowledged the governor’s chief of communications, John Robitaille, a former owner of Middletown’s Perspective Communication Group and unsuccessful legislative candidate, “offered his help and his opinion from time to time.” Asked why the group was so intent on keeping its financial backers secret, Bucci said: “We are not obligated to publish that information … [and] we want to protect the Democrats.” He would not elaborate, or even quantify the number of Democrats backing the new group.

Asked if the group was a “front for Carcieri,” as Crowley alleged in his blog entry on RIFuture.org last week, Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe said: “The governor does not have a connection to TransformRI, although he is well aware of the group and strongly supports the activities of the organization. The governor has been out front on many of the same issues TransformRI advocates for, and is grateful for their efforts.”

Robitaille acknowledged last week that he has been in touch with Bucci on several occasions and has helped coordinate the group’s “message,” in addition to providing feedback and photographs for its Web site.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with joining or becoming a member,” Robitaille said of TransformRI. “They’re not electioneering … They are who they are. I don’t think they’re trying to hide that. They’re supporters of Governor Carcieri.”

Lopes to leave Common Cause, return to school

The government watchdog organization Common Cause is about to say goodbye to its second executive director in the last 20 years.

Christine Lopes last week announced her intention to leave Common Cause in December, after a relatively short term compared with her predecessor, Philip West Jr.

Lopes has been the public face of the nonpartisan organization for the last two years. West, meanwhile, had served for about 18 years before stepping down.

She cited frustration with the implementation of separation of powers, but said she is leaving simply to finish a master’s degree program at Suffolk University.

“I decided professionally the best thing for me now would be to finish my degree,” Lopes told Political Scene last week, noting that she had been pursing a master’s in public administration on a part-time basis for the last two years.

“It’s been a lot of work over the last two years,” Lopes said of balancing her Common Cause responsibilities with class work.

She said her departure is simply a reminder that “Common Cause is bigger than any one executive director… This is really about the people of Rhode Island.”

The organization hopes to find a new executive director before December. Common Cause also plans to create a new position, an associate director, focused on fundraising and nonprofit management.

Lopes, who previously worked in the Massachusetts State House, said she expects to graduate next summer at the latest.

Where will she go after she gets her degree?

“I’ve gotten inquiries from Boston, from people who’d like me to return, from some people in D.C., who’d like to see me go down there,” Lopes said. “I’m not sure. The sky’s the limit.”

Dan Brown moves on from corner desk

You may notice that the State House’s State Room is a little quieter these days.

That’s because Dan Brown, the gregarious administrative assistant who coordinated affairs for the ornate public space adjacent to the governor’s office, no longer occupies the corner desk, his home since 2003.

“He was most notably the face of the State Room,” the governor’s spokeswoman, Amy Kempe, says of Brown.

But Brown didn’t go far.

He started a new job at the beginning of the month for the Department of Labor and Training, where he now serves as a “chief implementation aide” earning $56,407 annually, according to Kempe. That’s a slight raise for Brown, who earned $54,328 at his old job.

Dana Wilson now coordinates affairs for the State Room, although she will not occupy Brown’s old corner desk. She is based in the media relations and communications office on the first floor.

Among the events Brown will miss …

Governor Carcieri plans to recognize several summer Olympians with Rhode Island ties this afternoon in the State House’s State Room.

At least three athletes will be on hand, including 15-year-old North Kingstown swimming star Elizabeth Beisel, soccer standout Michael Parkhurst, and Providence welterweight boxer Demetrius Andrade.

The public event is scheduled from 4 to 5 p.m.

The governor’s spokeswoman, Amy Kempe, told Political Scene that Brown University gymnast Alicia Sacramone won’t be attending. Neither will accomplished tennis player and East Greenwich native Jill Craybas, although her family is expected to be on hand.

Doris Kearns Goodwin at Roger Williams University

Sunday morning regular and Pulitzer-prize winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is coming to Rhode Island.

Goodwin will speak at a public forum Thursday, Oct. 9 at Roger Williams University, as part of the school’s “Civil Discourse” lecture series. A statement notes that Goodwin will share her expertise on the current and past presidential campaigns, including her thoughts on “how presidential campaigns have evolved into the no-holds-barred competitions we witness now.”

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Goodwin has reported on politics and baseball for more than two decades. Author of several best-selling books, she won the Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

“Understanding the complexity and evolution of the road to the White House is critical as voters make important decisions in this upcoming election,” university President Roy J. Nirschel said in a statement.

speoples@projo.com