Thanks to the Providence Journal’s Ed Fitzpatrick for making the severance pay of Governor Raimondo’s former Chief Marketing Officer the subject of his “YouGottaBeKiddingMe” today.

… Betsy Wall, who stepped down amid the state’s “Cooler & Warmer” slogan fiasco and who didn’t know Gaspee Days from “Happy Days,” is going to get $67,500 in hard-earned taxpayer dollars as severance after a little more than three months on the job? You’re telling me that an “at-will” employee with no contract will receive that much money on top of the $39,173 she was paid through April Fool’s Day?

Nice! At Governor Raimondo’s direction, Betsy Wall will receive more in severance pay than she earned while she was employed by the state.

Note that rather than a blanket omerta, Wall’s termination agreement includes the cleverly phrased stipulation that all parties will refrain from making any “disparaging comments”. As much of the tourism campaign was a “hot mess”, to use one of Fitzpatrick’s terms, and clearly worthy of many disparaging remarks on all sides, this will prevent any uncomfortable truths – i.e., accountability – from coming out about the failed, $5 million campaign – at least from Wall or Raimondo’s staff. Fitzpatrick correctly alludes to the fact that the rest of us are not party to the agreement, however, and are certainly free to make disparaging remarks – as we have done and will continue to do about this and many other instances of tax dollars squandered by the Raimondo administration.

Monique Chartier

Monique is a political gadfly, data junkie and contributor to the Ocean State Current and Anchor Rising.  Please consider supporting the terrific work of the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity here:

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