The National Republican Senatorial Committee says a letter to residents from Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey was a campaign mailing at taxpayer expense.

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 11, 2006

BY MARK ARSENAULT
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE --

A national Republican political committee that supports Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee yesterday filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against the senator's Republican primary opponent, Stephen P. Laffey, accusing the two-term Cranston mayor of using taxpayer money to advance his Senate campaign.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, a group of Republican senators chaired by Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, claims that a letter from Laffey sent to Cranston residents last month with their tax bills was "a promotional campaign mailing at city taxpayer expense," according to a statement from the NRSC.

A campaign spokeswoman for Laffey called the complaint "ridiculous and frivolous."

NRSC spokesman Dan Ronayne said in a statement yesterday: "This is a serious matter and Mayor Laffey should know federal candidates who hold local office cannot use city government resources to pay for campaign propaganda. Mayor Laffey now has the FEC to worry about in addition to the many residents of Cranston he has offended with this gratuitous political mailer."

Laffey's letter to Cranston residents promoted his accomplishments in office, and urged residents to watch out for fiscal traps that could affect their tax bills in the future. The letter reads in part: "I am humbled and honored to have served as your Mayor over the past four years. When I signed up for the job, I did so with the sole intent of putting Cranston back on its feet, and I am happy to say that together, we have succeeded beyond our expectations!" The letter also compares the city's fiscal conditions now to four years ago, when Cranston's finances were nearly taken over by the state because of deficits and low bond ratings.

Laffey has sent similar letters to residents in past years, as have previous administrations.

Last month the Democratically controlled Cranston City Council, on a 7-2 party-line vote, passed a nonbinding resolution urging Laffey to reimburse the city for the $3,300 cost of including the letter with the tax bills. Laffey has not repaid the sum; his office said yesterday the letters were "perfectly appropriate" and "standard operating procedure" for a municipality.

The Chafee campaign made a complaint against Laffey in May. Chafee asked the FEC to ask for an investigation into the way Laffey accounted for contributions, and to determine if Laffey got a prohibited corporate contribution. Laffey's campaign called the complaints baseless. Laffey campaign spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik yesterday criticized the senatorial committee for joining Cranston Democrats in attacking Laffey.

"It is no surprise that Linc Chafee and his political bosses down in Washington are in such disarray that they have nothing better to do than to jump into bed with the Democratic Party hacks on the Cranston City Council with this ridiculous and frivolous complaint," she said. "Mayor Laffey's tax letter is completely legitimate.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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