I'm writing as a Rhode Island resident who cares deeply about honest government and public schools that work for every kid. I want to be straightforward with you: I have real concerns about Senate President Valarie Lawson voting on legislation that affects the teachers' union she leads. That's a conflict-of-interest question worth taking seriously. But I'm equally concerned about who filed this complaint. Defending Education is a Virginia-based organization with a track record of targeting LGBTQ-inclusive school policies and DEI programs across the country. They are not Rhode Island neighbors. They are outside operators using our ethics process to advance a national agenda.
Here's what worries me: when out-of-state groups weaponize legitimate ethics tools, it makes it harder to hold our actual officials accountable. It muddies the water. Rhode Islanders end up arguing about the messengers instead of the real question — whether our Senate President should be voting on bills that directly benefit an organization she leads. We deserve an ethics process that answers that question honestly and independently, without becoming a vehicle for groups that want to gut public education and erase LGBTQ students from our schools. Our state Ethics Commission should do its job — review the substance fairly, set aside the outside pressure, and let the findings speak for themselves.
I'm asking you to publicly call for a thorough, independent review of this complaint on its merits, and to make clear that Rhode Island's ethics process belongs to Rhode Islanders — not to national organizations importing culture-war fights into our state house.
Please stand up for a transparent ethics process that protects both accountability and our public schools.
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