Pawtucket City Council candidate Stephen Larbi has failed to file campaign finance reports
"It is true," said Larbi. "That's just on my end. I'm serving as my own treasurer and I know it's something I need to get done."
Today, Pawtucket City Councilmember Clovis Gregor filed a complaint against his Democratic Primary opponent Stephen Larbi with the Rhode Island Board of Elections alleging “non-compliance with and violations of Rhode Island Campaign Finance reporting laws.”
The complaint alleges that Larbi there failed to file his required “28 Days Before Primary” campaign finance report due on 08/13/2024. Additionally, Larbi failed to file his campaign finance “7 Days Before Primary” report due yesterday. As a result, Larbi has declared no contributions or expenditures for this campaign.
The Gregor campaign presented evidence in their complaint that the Larbi campaign did indeed have both contributions and expenditures. The complaint cites the existence of lawn signs in the nighborhood and social media evidence of campaign fundraising events.
Reached by phone, Stephen Larbi told me he was unaware of the complaint, but confirmed he had not filed the required campaign finance reports. After I explained the gist of the report to him, we had this exchange, edited for clarity:
Steve Ahlquist: Are the complaints true and do you know why the disclosures were not made?
Stephen Larbi: It is true. That's just on my end. I'm serving as my own treasurer and I know it's something I need to get done. I was actually planning on finishing that up tonight. And yeah, I was collecting a few last addresses, but yeah, I said it should be filed by potentially the end of the night as long as I can get to it.
Steve Ahlquist: I also noticed, in looking through past disclosures, that you were late or didn't file several reports from a previous campaign for office.
Stephen Larbi: I might have filed late, but I always follow up with my reports. I wasn't elected in the last go-round and I think I missed a filing period, but I wasn't active. So yeah, I also amended that as well. Everything should be up to date except for, I guess, what has transpired this summer, which should be up to date by tomorrow morning.
Steve Ahlquist: Do you think this is problematic for potential voters?
Stephen Larbi: No, no. I don't have any concerns about my ability to serve as a councilperson. I understand how this could potentially be something where people may not understand why it wasn't done on time, but I assure you, I have no concerns about any of my finances or where I got anything. So I'm going to file the paperwork tonight and everything needs to be updated.
Steve Ahlquist: One last thing. You have the support of the Mayor of Pawtucket, Donald Grebien. Are you confident you still have his support?
Stephen Larbi: As far as I'm concerned, what I've done and accomplished over the years as a community leader in Pawtucket still stands strong. I'm confident in that regard, in my worth and ability to step up for this community. So yeah, I have no concerns.
Reached for comment, John Marion of Common Cause RI writes, “Campaign finance disclosure laws, and the reports they require, are the best tool the press, and voters, have to determine where candidates are receiving financial support. Voters deserve to have that information before they cast their ballot which is why the value of timely campaign finance disclosure is paramount. The value of timely disclosure is reflected in state law which requires reports at increased frequency as elections approach.”
In the complaint, Councilmember Gregor noted that campaign finance disclosure laws “are crucial in aiding the voting public in making an informed decision relative to casting their ballots. It is thus disturbing that the voting public should be deprived of the most basic of information: the full and proper disclosure of Mr. Larbi's campaign activities and the source of Mr. Larbi's funding and expenditures for his campaign.
“Mr. Larbi's complete failure to report required disclosures of campaign contributions or expenditures is thus highly concerning, especially in light of the fact that we are now only 6 days away from the September 10 in the Pawtucket Democratic Primary. In fact, there are a number of votes cast without having the benefit of any information relative to Mr. Larbi's campaign activities and source of funding.
“Mr. Larbi is not exempt from compliance and our residents deserve transparency in his campaign activities. Moreover, Mr. Larbi has nine outstanding/open campaign reporting violations. I am respectfully lodging this complaint and request that this matter be promptly looked into and properly addressed.”
Larbi has the support of Pawtucket Mayor Grebien. Here’s a flyer Grebien mailed to voters:
The campaign of Mayor Grebien did not respond to a request for comment.
Reached for comment, John Marion of Common Cause RI writes, "Campaign finance disclosure laws, and the reports they require, are the best tool the press, and voters, have to determine where candidates are receiving financial support. Voters deserve to have that information before they cast their ballot which is why the value of timely campaign finance disclosure is paramount. The value of timely disclosure is reflected in state law which requires reports at increased frequency as elections approach."
Seriously, if he can't get his registration information in on time, how can we trust him to file any required city documents or reports on time? Why is he so special that the deadlines don't apply to him?