Sabina Matos was in favor of the Fane Tower. In 2018, Providence City Councilwoman Matos voted to override Mayor Elorza’s veto of a needed zoning change. (WPRI 12.14.18) Ultimately, Mr. Fane’s funding fell apart and he went away, but Matos has returned to the riverfront and now seems pretty cozy with the Bally’s gambling people (see below).
Sabina Matos has a history with sketchy associates. In January of 2019, Matos was sworn in as City Council President. In assigning members to the all-important council committees, she largely left out Councilwomen Helen Anthony, Nirva LaFortune, and Katherine Kerwin, as well as Councilmen Seth Yurdin and David Salvatore. Meanwhile, she appointed Luis Aponte as chairman of the Committee on Urban Redevelopment despite the fact the he was under indictment on charges of one count each of unlawful appropriation and embezzlement and two counts of personal use of campaign funds. She even gave him another committee seat. Said Councilman Salvatore:
It boggles the mind that someone facing embezzlement charges could be appointed to lead a committee such as the Committee on Urban Redevelopment, Renewal and Planning, which is charged with overseeing federal funding that is allocated to the city.
By July, Aponte was a convicted felon and forced to resign from the City Council.
On April 13, 2021, Matos resigned from the City Council and on April 14th she was sworn in as Lt. Governor in the McKee administration.
Now Lt. Gov. Matos is running in the Democratic primary hoping to represent Rhode Island’s First Congressional District in Washington. Unsurprisingly, there have already been problems with the signatures on her nomination papers (Boston Globe, 8.8.23). Matos claims she has received enough signatures to qualify which completely misses the point.
. . . the Board of Elections faced criticism and calls for a wider review amid evidence that Matos’ nomination papers included the names of dead people and people who said they had never signed those documents. And now the board will be embarking on an analysis with an uncertain outcome, raising further questions for Matos, who entered the race as the presumed front-runner.
Matos has received the endorsement of the Laborers union (LIUNA) who also supported the Fane Tower. (WPRI, 7.14.23)
And now we have the unnerving sight of Lt. Governor Matos back on the riverfront in the 195-District Park, with Governor McKee and Mayor Smiley, cutting the ribbon at the new Bally’s Event Lawn! (WJAR, 8.9.23)
Bally’s is buying the naming rights for $2.2 million to the 195 District Park along the Providence riverfront.
The location is right next to where the Fane Tower would have stood.
Do not send Sabina Matos to Washington.
(The opinions expressed here are mine only. Complete disclosure: I am supporting the candidacy of Aaron Regunberg.)
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Go here for report on abc6 News.
Both Senate President Ruggerio and Gov. McKee are all in with Bally’s.
I 100% agree. In fact if it were Sabina 1-1 vs AR I’d hold my nose and vote for him. But the good news is there are many other reasonable, centrist, non-sketchy candidates to chose from. We don’t need a radical choice like AR or a croook like Matos.
Voters, take this election seriously, do you research and send a candidate to Washington who might be interested in coalition and not divisiveness.
Another point you did not mention and may wish to investigate further is her relationship with Goncalves and what he has been promised in return for running. It is clear from the data that he has no hope of winning and is running as a favor to her to siphon votes from Rugenberg in Providence. This type of arrangement is often suspected in politics, but typically the two candidates involved do a better job of hiding their cozy relationship. Good luck on your reporting.