Ethics Commission to investigate GOP complaint against Shekarchi

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Nearly a month after the Rhode Island GOP filed an ethics complaint against House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, the Ethics Commission is moving forward with an investigation.

On June 1, Joe Powers — who’s the new head of the state’s GOP, filed the complaint — claiming that in 2017, Shekarchi “pushed for and voted in favor of legislation which overrode local zoning and financially benefited his legal client.”

Powers said this bill would’ve overruled the zoning of municipalities that didn’t allow large farm owners from hosting weddings on their properties for a fee.

Shekarchi was not speaker at the time at the aforementioned vote.

In a statement to ABC 6 News Tuesday, Shekarchi said that he “look[s] forward to mounting a vigorous defense against this political complaint,” adding that he “will not let this partisan political theater prevent me from promoting issues that are important to Rhode Island’s future.”