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November 5, 2007

Shelton dogs Carcieri

Henry Shelton is at it again. And this time, he’s got a theme.

The 77-year-old antipoverty activist is drawing from the 1952 Western classic, High Noon, in the George Wiley Center’s latest campaign to draw the governor’s attention to the thousands of Rhode Islanders going into the winter season without heat.

Shelton or another Wiley Center representative has appeared at the governor’s State House office at “high noon” for 10 consecutive work days — dating back to Oct. 23. They vow to return until the governor meets with them to talk about shutoffs and food stamp issues.

“He knows we’re coming because we come each day at noon,” he told Political Scene on Friday just before noon. “He’s well aware of what we want. We’ve been trying [to meet] for over two months …Other tactics weren’t working. Finally, it was High Noon.”

The old Western features Gary Cooper, an embattled town marshal married to Grace Kelly. Ultimately, Cooper is forced to face a gang of killers by himself. Shelton admits he hasn’t seen the movie in years and doesn’t remember the intricacies of the plot. But he likes the theme.

And Political Scene learned late Friday that Shelton’s tactics may have worked.

“Governor Carcieri has agreed to meet with Mr. Shelton in the coming weeks,” the governor’s spokesman said Friday around 5 p.m. “The governor’s staff will reach out to Mr. Shelton to set a date and time. That said, I would note that Governor Carcieri met with Mr. Shelton and his associates on these exact issues in January.”

Neal added that representatives of the Wiley Center have had “numerous other meetings” with the governor’s policy staff and department directors since the January meeting. Shelton said he wasn’t satisfied by the proxies.

“We want the governor there. He’s the final decider,” Shelton said.

Posted by Pam Cotter  at 9:42 AM | Permalink

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