If the 2004 legislative session were to end today, the biggest news to have come out of it would be the resignations of Senate President William V. Irons and Sen. John Celona. The senators resigned after ties between them and corporate clients raised not only ethical concerns, but sparked an ongoing State Police investigation of the Legislature.
That would be truly unfortunate – and it would mean that the citizens of Rhode Island had once again been shortchanged by their government.
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To his credit, Irons resigned before the session even started, saying that he did not want to become a distraction to the important business of the Senate. Celona took far too long to step aside. He finally decided to do so last Tuesday (March 9). His decision came amid growing pressure from Senate colleagues and a day after the State Police spent several hours searching his North Providence home.
“Although I wish nothing more than to be able to represent in the Senate the voters of District 7 who have supported me and elected me to office, it has become all too evident that I can no longer function in the Senate,” he said in a prepared statement.
But not only could Celona not effectively function, since January it appears as if the ethical controversies gripping the Legislature have prevented the General Assembly as a whole from functioning properly.
Consider the following comments from Senate leaders in the wake of Celona’s resignation:
“The Senate can start working on a lot of important issues…”
“This will allow us to move forward…”
“Now we can get on to some issues…”
Now, they can get to work? It’s mid-March! Halfway through the 2004 legislative session and they’re talking about getting started. It is really a shame.
In the coming days and weeks, legislators must work overtime to address critical issues, such as a whopping state budget deficit, the rising cost of health insurance and the dramatic impact it has on small businesses, and yes, real ethics reform.
If the 2004 legislative session is more about the ethical misconduct of its members and less about adopting measures that create jobs and foster economic opportunity, it will indeed be remembered as a colossal failure.
