This article ran in the July 13, 2009 Political Scene section of the Providence Journal.

We have submitted a response because we take exception to the label "GOP group." Not because we do not share values, but because it diminishes the work Democrats and Independents do with and for OSPRI. Our response will be posted once published.

GOP group polls R.I. public on federal stimulus

The Ocean State Policy Research Institute, a citizens group cofounded by First Lady Suzanne Carcieri, has launched a Web site that allows Rhode Islanders to vote on what they think of the way this state is spending its federal stimulus dollars.

The site — www.ristimulus.org — is a Rhode Island-specific version of the higher-profile www.stimuluswatch.org, which lets visitors vote on stimulus funding nationwide.

Here’s how the Rhode Island site works: you log onto and search projects by community or subject area (i.e., education, transportation, etc.). The site then allows you to read a description and vote on whether you find the project “most critical” or “least critical.” You can even add a comment.

Though OSPRI is ostensibly a Republican research and advocacy group, president William Felkner tells Political Scene that the site does not promote any one point of view.

“We don’t want to have any opinion about our projects. We’re just letting the citizens know what’s going on,” Felkner said. For example, “I’m not saying I know [what projects are] good for Warwick. I don’t live in Warwick.”

In recent months, as part of what it calls its “transparency train,” OSPRI has also placed various municipal spending records and state payroll records online.

“If people know where their money is going and how it’s being spent, I think they’ll be much more likely to become involved in the democratic process,” Felkner said.