By ETHAN HARTLEY -- Tomorrow former Mayor Scott Avedisian will start his new job as CEO of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Before he does, he's made plans assist Warwick nonprofits he worked with for many years.
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Tomorrow former Mayor Scott Avedisian will start his new job as CEO of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. On Tuesday he was enjoying catching up on some spring cleaning at his Warwick home, and chatted for a bit about his plans to continue contributing to Warwick, despite his change in careers.
Avedisian was asked multiple times if he wanted to have a retirement party thrown for him to celebrate his more than 18 years of service as the head of Warwick’s executive government after he stepped down from the role earlier this month to pursue a new path at RIPTA.
“I don’t want a retirement party,” he said on Tuesday. “I’d rather do something to say thank you to everybody and to the city.”
Through some brainstorming with friends, Avedisian decided the best way to do that would be to start a charitable foundation to help fund some of the organizations he finds to be especially beneficial to the Warwick community.
Thus, the Avedisian Charitable Foundation was born and will be managed through the Ocean State Charities Trust. Each year, he said, the foundation will donate money to groups such as the Boys and Girls Club, Mentor RI, Cornerstone Adult Services, the Elizabeth Buffum Chace Center and the House of Hope.
“I would rather do that than have a party focusing on me,” Avedisian said. “Then we can talk about the work these groups have done over the years and what the future holds and they can get some needed and necessary funding to keep their programming going.”
Avedisian said he was interested in pursuing partnerships with other Ocean State Charities funds, such as the Robert Shapiro Fund, and scholarship funds like the William Bowling Memorial Scholarship fund, to amount to a bigger gift each year to more than one entity, expanding the reach of the foundation.
“These groups already do great work,” he said. “I would envision that we could partner with them. It could be a good community process. We could team up and have double the impact for people.”
Avedisian has pledged to infuse the fund with money leftover in his war chest from his political campaigns. According to the state Department of Elections, Avedisian ended the most recent quarter with a little more than $15,000 in his campaign account. He said this number would change, though, due to costs associated with paying for his campaign headquarters space on Airport Road. He did not specify how much this would total or for how long these payments will proceed.
The foundation will have an inaugural fundraising event at the Crowne Plaza on Tuesday, June 19 from 5-8 p.m. Suggested donation is $75 or $100 per couple. Light appetizers and a cash bar will be available. Donations can be made out to the Avedisian Charitable Foundation, P.O. Box 7866, Warwick, RI 02887.
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richardcorrente
As I recall, there was a lot more in Avedisians war chest than $15,000. Whatever happened to the 237 Political Action Committee donations he received that I verified through the Board of Elections. Add that to his lifetime $80,000-a-year taxpayer-funded pension (plus full benefits) as well as his $140,000+- taxpayer-funded salary at RIPTA and I hope readers will forgive me if I seem a little skeptical. I think they will.
As a licensed mortgage broker I have written several mortgages for people involved in "charitable organizations". I noticed that although the organization was "non-profit" the people involved were making huge salaries, huge expense accounts, cars, air fare, dinners, so-called conventions, and a whole lot more.
So here is my question. Is Scott Avedisian getting any money or benefits for being the head of this charitable foundation or would that be confidential information? I'm sure the 80,000 taxpayers that are paying the tab here in Warwick would like to know.
Happy Summer everyone.
Rick Corrente
The Taxpayers Mayor
Thursday, May 31, 2018 Report this
CrickeeRaven
"Whatever happened to the 237 Political Action Committee donations he received that I verified through the Board of Elections," asks the make-believe mayor, who has been provided with the specific information on numerous occasions that former Mayor Avedisian received nowhere near 237 PAC contributions during the 2016 election.
He also compounds this failure to understand basic data by hypocritically calling for an accounting of Mayor Avedisian's campaign spending when he, himself, has moved his campaign office rent off the books of his campaign, the better to hide those payments from the public.
"I'm sure the 80,000 taxpayers that are paying the tab here in Warwick would like to know."
Private nonprofit organizations are generally funded by private donations, not tax money.
Clearly the make-believe mayor thinks he is still running against the former mayor who so decisively defeated him on 2016, and continuing his streak of making false accusations against him.
Thursday, May 31, 2018 Report this
CrickeeRaven
For readers who value true information, here is a link to the contributions to former Mayor Avedisian's campaign from Jan. 1, 2015 through Dec. 31, 2016: http://bit.ly/2uH2JWG
This Board of Elections data shows 28 PAC contributions -- not 237 as the make-believe mayor is falsely claiming.
As is typical of him, he does not provide a link to the objective data and instead simply claims that he "verified" the information -- but, as is also typical of him, when the actual data is provided it completely disproves his claim and proves him to be a liar.
Friday, June 1, 2018 Report this