PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The fledgling Moderate Party of Rhode Island asked a judge Wednesday to block the release of public financing dollars to the state's political parties.
The party, which sued last month in federal court, argued in a request for an injunction that the formula used to divide the money up among parties is inherently unfair and set up to benefit Republicans and Democrats while putting third parties at a disadvantage.
The party is asking U.S. District Judge William Smith to block the distribution of any public funding, which it says could be distributed at any time between now and Sept. 1.
Under current law, the general treasurer's office distributes money to political parties that is contributed by taxpayers when filing income taxes each year. The money is divvied up among parties according to a formula based partly on how many general offices each party holds and the results from the last gubernatorial election.
The Moderate Party, which was formally recognized in August 2009, says the current system leaves it at a disadvantage by effectively subsidizing the Democratic and Republican parties.
Tim Gray, a spokesman for General Treasurer Frank Caprio, who was sued along with the state attorney general, said the office was still reviewing the injunction request and had previously tried to work out the issue with the Moderate Party -- a contention disputed Wednesday by the party's executive director, Christine Hunsinger.
Michael Healey, a spokesman for Attorney General Patrick Lynch, said the office had nothing to do with the distribution of the funds and questioned whether it should have been named in the suit. Mark Freel, a lawyer for the Moderate Party, said the attorney general was sued as the office responsible for defending the constitutionality of state statutes.
Both Lynch and Caprio are Democratic candidates for governor.
