Michael Pinga

"Time For A Change"

Michael Pinga Democratic Candidate for State Senate 9

A life long resident and local business owner for 25 years, Michael J. Pinga has announced his candidacy for State Senate District 9. Mr. Pinga is the President of Westcott Baking Co., which has been serving Rhode Island for 52 years. Mr. Pinga also manages the family commercial real estate investments.

My father Joseph Pinga taught me to always be “vigilant of our government.” Mr. Michael Pinga states, “We must continue to promote this practice if we would like to see an efficient and responsive government. The working people and seniors of our community need someone to protect the public’s interest rather than the political insiders and free-wheeling lobbyists.” The RI General Assembly must be returned to the common man. Mr. Michael Pinga is ready to put “the people before politics”.

Pinga's campaign focuses on three main goals:

  1. Fiscal Responsibility – The state needs to establish sound, long-term fiscal planning. This will accomplish stability and sustained growth in the RI economy. A 5-year budget plan should be developed for our state. One time fixes such as the squandering of the Tobacco Settlement funds and other stopgap measures have brought us to the current fiscal crises. That MUST change!
  2. Responsible Budgeting – The General Assembly must adopt a truthful and realistic budget. This budget should not contain unspecified savings. The Providence Journal has indicated the latest FY09 budget has a potential $158 million deficit built into it! My opponent, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, has stated that he believes it is 99.9 percent likely that the state will face a supplemental budget of at least $100 million next year (Warwick Beacon July 2008). Rhode Islanders are likely to face other financial challenges in early 2009 such as a supplemental tax increase. What do you think the General Assembly will do after the election?
  3. Remove the “Cloud of Corruption” – The State House and the town of West Warwick are under suspicion and investigation due to insider, self-enriching deals. We need greater transparency in the General Assembly and more aggressive enforcement by the RI Ethics Commission.