Rhode Island Senate President Valarie Lawson is facing an ethics complaint accusing her of using her public office to advance the political priorities of the teachers union that employs her.
Lawson serves as president of the National Education Association of Rhode Island, or NEARI, while also presiding over the Rhode Island Senate. Defending Education filed an ethics complaint Monday alleging that Lawson’s dual roles created conflicts when she voted on legislation backed by the union.
NEARI and Lawson’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
According to the complaint, Lawson voted June 4 in favor of Senate Bill S2787A, a measure that freezes charter school growth and reduces the number allowed in the state. She also voted May 28 for S2924, which requires employer neutrality in the public sector.
NEARI listed both bills as part of its legislative program.
“Elected officials are expected to act in the best interest of their constituents – not themselves,” Defending Education President Nicki Neily told the DCNF. “Unfortunately, Sen. Lawson appears to be betraying the public’s trust by failing to recuse herself from votes on education which directly benefit the union that employs her, in direct contravention of an opinion by the state’s Ethics Commission.”
The complaint also points to testimony from NEARI’s government relations director, who spoke in support of S2924 before the Rhode Island Senate Committee on Labor and Gaming on May 13. Defending Education argues that Lawson should not have voted on the bill afterward because she had previously received an ethics opinion saying she could not vote on matters in which a “business associate” presents evidence or arguments before the legislature.
Lawson has faced ethics scrutiny over similar concerns before.
A 2019 ethics complaint accused her of voting in favor of collective bargaining legislation for public school teachers while also holding her role with NEARI. That complaint was dismissed after the Ethics Commission found no evidence that the legislation would have a significant financial impact on the union itself, according to Defending Education’s filing.
The new complaint argues that the circumstances are different this time. Defending Education claims S2787A directly benefits NEARI’s financial interests, unlike the legislation at issue in the previous case.
“We look forward to the Commission’s deliberation on this important matter – because Rhode Island residents deserve a state legislature that represents the views of all, and not just a privileged few,” Neily told the DCNF.
Lawson’s total compensation as NEARI president is $167,742, according to InfluenceWatch.
The complaint now puts the issue back before Rhode Island ethics officials, who will have to consider whether Lawson’s union position required her to step aside from votes tied to NEARI’s stated legislative agenda.
