An open letter to Rep. Nicholas Mattiello:

I have a few comments I would like to make concerning the pamphlet, Representative Mattiello, that you mailed to us, your constituents in District 15.

First, the pamphlet says on the front page, “Dear Friend, I have worked on your behalf for the past five years. Feel free to call or contact me.”

Maybe you didn’t get your own memo about replying back, since I sent a couple of e-mails recently that can be verified and you did not get back to me. This was the case in your first election as well. I sent e-mail on a concern and was told, "I was busy, sorry I didn't get back to you."

I will not elect a rep that is too busy to get back to a constituent and voter. I will remember in November!

Did you not return my e-mail because the topic was on the Utah "for profit" college bill you are trying to sneak into Rhode Island? You should be supporting R.I. public education – not an out of state "for profit" college with an exceedingly high $21,000 tuition, for many students unobtainable without help; or $86,000 for 12 quarters for degrees and certifications, in computer tech, that our colleges already have. We don't need duplication in education. We don't need a carpetbagger college usurping the money and resources that are meant for our local R.I. colleges at a time when money is at a premium.

But isn’t that the strategy Neumont uses to make their profit?
They take advantage of the poor who can’t afford their college tuition. They make their money by raiding the public treasury, either by scooping up job-training funds, Pell grants, Veterans' Education grants, or subsidized student loans. As a friend said to me, that means, “they're being supported by you and me, and that gives us an interest because we are the taxpayers.”

With Rhode Island's poor economy, 10 percent unemployment and many struggling homeowners having a hard time making ends meet, I do not believe we should be supporting anything in the budget that does not focus on local R.I. public education. We don't need redundancy. CCRI and other colleges already award the computer science degrees this college wants to do.
And speaking of degrees, why did you not tell people about the accreditation Neumont uses?

It is not what R.I. uses. We use the New England Association of Schools and Colleges to make the degrees valid. They do not. They use the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), which is a non-profit education corporation.

As my rep, you should be protecting R.I. schools, and if you are so impressed with Neumont, perhaps have the colleges here look into their methods.
By the way, your pamphlet on the back page states the following:
Mattiello delivers...

You say you improved the quality of life bringing thousands of dollars of grant money to assist Cranston schools – from Oak Lawn, Orchard Farms and Hope Highlands schools to Western Hills.

It is unfortunate that you did not say how you significantly harmed the quality of life for the teachers of these schools by voting for the pension changes as you proudly say you co-sponsored the RI Retirement Security Act in your pamphlet.
Again, you did not protect R.I. public education teachers either – not even Cranston's constituent teachers who live not only in your district but many who live a few streets away from you, including myself.
And again, they will remember in November.

Your vote of NO on my pension/COLA means you will not get my vote nor will you get the AFT-Retirees' vote. You did not look out for people like me on a fixed income as you said you would.

We put in 9.5 percent and 8.75 percent into our pensions as a contract and you, as part of the "leadership" in the House, voted against all of us … and I will remember in November.

You threw me, and voters like me who worked their entire lives following the terms of a contract, under the bus. As a lawyer, you should know about contract law.

Engage RI donated $1,000 each on Dec. 29 to the campaign war chests of the top six in General Assembly for their efforts in getting the pension bill, known as the RI Retirement Security Act of 2011, passed.

You, Rep. Mattiello, were one of them who received this money. Could you really have sold out your constituents “for 30 pieces of silver?"

But then, as a Catholic who continues to do church readings at Immaculate, you voted for civil unions against Bishop Tobin’s request.

And you know, we will REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER.

Respectfully,
Jo Ann Fonseca
Cranston