FRAN OSTENDORF
Voting is an important obligation for every citizen of the United States. If you are registered to vote, you should get out and vote on Nov. 6. In most Rhode Island cities and towns, the polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Jewish Voice wondered how the candidates for office in R.I. might answer the following question: What do you see as the greatest challenge facing our state, and how are you positioned to address it?
We reached out to candidates for contested statewide races as well as the race for mayor of Providence. What follows are the responses we received. Some have been slightly edited for space. Several candidates chose not to participate or did not respond.
We hope you will find this information helpful as you decide how to vote. There are other ways to educate yourself on the candidates and the three statewide ballot questions as well as numerous local issues on the ballot. You can find the information you need on the Secretary of State’s website: vote.sos.ri.gov. Scroll down the page to find ballot questions, candidate’s lists and information about polling places and hours.
Again, this year, poll workers will ask each voter to show a current, valid photo ID. This includes a driver’s license, passport or a R.I. voter ID card.
As part of a 501(c)(3), The Jewish Voice does not endorse any candidate. We also do not endorse any statewide issue. We provide you with information to make your own decisions.
Please take the time to educate yourself on the candidates and the issues and go to the polls on Election Day.
Fran Ostendorf (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of The Jewish Voice.
What do you see as the greatest challenge facing our state and how are you positioned to address it?
Gina Raimondo – (D) Governor
It’s been an honor of a lifetime to be your Governor, and I’ve worked hard every day over the last four years to bring change to Rhode Island.
When I first took office in 2015, Rhode Island was in need of new leadership. We had the highest unemployment rate in the country. Our bridges and schools were crumbling. People had been out of work for a long time and were losing confidence in our economy and in our state.
So, we got to work. We changed the way we approached economic development, job training and infrastructure – and we’re seeing results. Today, our unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been since I was still in high school. There’s more roadwork happening than at any time in my lifetime. New job training and apprenticeship programs have trained thousands of Rhode Islanders and have placed them into good- paying jobs. We’ve made it a priority to make sure everyone has a shot to compete in today’s economy. I will continue that fight in my second term.
There’s a lot at stake in this election. My opponents oppose the changes we’ve been making and will undo a lot of what’s been working. They’ll take us back to the old way of doing things, and Rhode Islanders will lose jobs and get hurt.
What’s more – Allan Fung and Joe Trillo won’t stand up to President Trump. When the President tries to hurt Rhode Islanders or take away health coverage, I won’t stay silent. I’ll protect access to quality, affordable health care. My opponents won’t. We can’t let that happen.
Change takes time. I am asking for a chance to finish the job we’ve started.
Allan Fung – (R) Governor
The number one problem facing our state and our country right now is that everyone is so polarized, we aren’t able to come together to solve our problems. In reality, there isn’t a Republican way or Democratic way of accomplishing simple tasks, you just need to get it done quickly and correctly. In Cranston, I became Mayor in 2009 as a Republican, while working with a completely Democratic council. I know how to work across party lines to help all citizens. We took a city in junk bond status and turned it into one of the Top 50 Cities in the United States. When I am elected Governor, I will not be a Republican or Democrat, I will be Governor for all of Rhode Island.
In this inability to build bridges instead of barriers, we find that old prejudices can arise. I’ve also seen the ugly side of it. I know that the Jewish community feels it as well. In Cranston, we’ve had problems, with hateful anti-Semitic symbols spray painted on our beloved Cranston Stadium. But we didn’t let them win. The city removed them that morning and quickly brought the community together to stand up to this hateful act.
What we need more than ever is a leader who transcends the noise, prioritizes what Rhode Island residents really need, and gets the financial resources to get it done. It is time Rhode Islanders have a strong leader at the helm whose priority is to help all citizens of this state, rich or poor. We need strong executive management and strict oversight to get everyone back on track. I’ve done it in Cranston, and I look forward to doing it in the state.
Paul Pence – (R) Lieutenant Governor
Rhode Islanders face crumbling schools that fail to educate our children, devastatingly-mismanaged health and human services that fail to protect our most vulnerable citizens, unsustainable taxation that cripples the state’s economy, burdensome regulation that drives out small businesses, and a neglected infrastructure that places us all in danger. These and so many other problems are due to failures of government.
Our greatest challenge is our inept government.
Trying to fix our inept government the same old way, by electing the same people with the same empty promises, only results in perpetuating the same old problems. Nothing gets fixed; we just reinforce the dysfunctional system of rewarding career politicians for chasing the news cycle, poking our emotional hot buttons, and acting like they have the monopoly on caring about us.
Career politicians are conflicted between doing what is right for the people and keeping their jobs secure. Too often the citizens lose out. Party loyalty, money from groups with deep pockets and loud voices, and deal making often win over what is right. Chasing hot news items means deferring promises and ignoring the care and maintenance of basic systems, but it gives politicians what they want – re-election.
I am not a career politician; when I am done helping restore some measure of accountability in Rhode Island government, I have a career to go back to. Like you I believe that Rhode Island deserves better than failing schools, crumbling infrastructure, and incompetence, so I stood up and said “Let me help.”
I have the skills to help. As an engineer, I’ve made a career of looking at complex systems, understanding them, finding the root causes, and implementing permanent corrective actions. I fix things. I fix things so that they stay fixed. I fix problems with complex business and administrative systems by facilitating change, getting the best out of others, and helping them excel.
The lieutenant governor’s office is the perfect match for my skills. With the position’s administrative freedom and access to the mechanisms of government, we can begin to address the failures of our inept government and build the expectation that politicians can be held accountable and government can work.
Seth Magaziner – (D) General Treasurer
Rhode Island is in the early innings of an economic comeback, but we still have more work to do to bring new jobs and expand economic opportunity in our state. As Treasurer, I am focused on using my office to contribute to Rhode Island’s economic recovery.
Small businesses are the backbone of Rhode Island’s economy, and there are many talented entrepreneurs who have the desire to expand their businesses but have trouble getting access to capital. I have moved millions of dollars of the state’s cash back home to local banks and credit unions to support lending to small businesses, so they can grow and hire more people. These businesses – including hair salons, restaurants and even some small manufacturers – are putting Rhode Islander’s to work and revitalizing Main Streets across the state.
Economic recovery doesn’t just mean helping businesses; it also means helping families become more financially secure. As Treasurer, I have modernized our unclaimed property program to reunite people with their missing money automatically, without any red tape or paperwork. Since we made these improvements, we have reunited more than 50,000 Rhode Islanders with their missing money. The average check size for money returned under this program has been $250 – that’s a big deal for a working family or a senior living on a fixed income.
To ensure our public employees can retire with dignity, I implemented the Back to Basics investment strategy, which earned $1 billion for the pension fund last year. The pension system under our leadership has been recognized as a model for financial transparency.
Over the past year I have also worked tirelessly to develop a plan to make a once-in-a-generation investment into repairing our public school buildings. Every child deserves to go to a school that is warm, safe, dry and equipped for 21st century learning. Improving our school buildings will allow for the expansion of early childhood classrooms, as well as career and technical education – getting students ready, from an early age, for jobs in today’s economy.
Since my first day as Treasurer, I have used the office in innovative ways to promote economic growth. I am prepared to continue this effort should I be elected to a second term, because we cannot stop until the economic recovery reaches all Rhode Islanders.
Nellie Gorbea – (D) Secretary of State
The greatest challenge facing our state right now is pervasive cynicism and lack of faith in political structures and leaders at every level. I am concerned about our inability to address challenges through political discourse and compromise, leading to a breakdown in government at the national level and a growing sense of despair locally. Many of us have become skeptical about whether any government can deliver. This makes me more determined to show that, in Rhode Island, government is still “of the people, by the people and for the people”.
I ran four years ago to make government work for people. During my first term as Secretary of State, we have shown Rhode Islanders that government can provide quality services that allow people to hold leaders accountable, securely participate in elections and help businesses prosper. Every day, the Department of State develops and uses technology to improve government and make it easier for Rhode Islanders to go about their lives. From making elections fair, fast, and accurate to strengthening lobbying oversight, and creating a streamlined rules and regulations portal for small businesses, the focus of my first term was bringing the Department of State into the 21st century. Furthermore, I set out to prove that we have the highly-skilled human resources in house to implement these changes rather than having private contractors hold our services hostage.
Communication and compromise are key components of a successful government. Sometimes, the solutions can be simple and straightforward. Last year, it was brought to my attention that the primary election date would coincide with Rosh Hashanah. I resolved the conflict by moving the date of the primary elections. But when I’ve faced big issues – lobbying reform, buying new voting equipment, building a new code of regulations – I have always convened groups of people from different backgrounds and perspectives to tackle the issue and generate viable solutions.
In my next term, I hope to help our small businesses grow through a more personalized service that leverages the agency’s new technology and renowned customer service to help them better navigate government, build a new permanent State Archives facility, and expand access to valuable data contained within our open government clearinghouse.
Sheldon Whitehouse – (D) U.S. Senate
The most pressing issue facing Rhode Island is protecting the middle class from President Trump’s harmful agenda.
I’m fighting to defend the Affordable Care Act, which has lowered health care costs for many Rhode Islanders and is constantly under threat from Republicans in Washington. I’m committed to moving toward universal health insurance as quickly as possible and lowering prescription drug prices so that all Rhode Islanders have the care they need at a price they can afford.
The most significant piece of legislation Congress has passed to combat the opioid epidemic is my bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act. I’m advocating for measures to build on the programs that law put in place.
It’s never been more important to work collaboratively with our allies. I’m the lead sponsor of bipartisan legislation to promote cybersecurity cooperation with Israel, and I’ve co-sponsored legislation to provide Israel with $38 billion of security assistance over the next decade.
We need to fix the Republican-led tax law, which gave an enormous benefit to the ultra-wealthy and created a massive budget deficit. I’ve introduced legislation to restore fairness to the tax code by closing loopholes that give big corporations an unfair advantage over our small businesses.
Republicans have stated their intention to use the deficit created by their tax cut as an excuse to trim the Medicare and Social Security benefits. I will do everything in my power to prevent cuts to those vital programs, which seniors have paid for over a lifetime of hard work.
We need to keep growing the economy and creating good jobs through major infrastructure investments. I helped secure $1.3 billion over five years to rebuild our highways, and Senate Democrats have a $1 trillion plan ready to upgrade our national infrastructure.
It’s urgent that we take action on climate change before rising seas change the map of Rhode Island and our coastal economy. I’m leading the charge in Washington to get ahead of what’s quickly becoming a major challenge for businesses and homeowners here.
One important side of my job is to fight back when something is wrong for Rhode Island or wrong on principle. I am relentless at those times. It’s also important to work together where we can, and I’ve passed a flood of bipartisan legislation.
Robert Flanders – (R) Senate
The greatest challenge facing our state is the gridlock in Washington, D.C. Our all-Democrat delegation can’t get things done to help our state overcome its most challenging problems, including the opiod crisis and our lagging education system, particularly as regards our Latino children.
Washington is broken and we desperately need a change. After 12 years of Senator Whitehouse’s adherence to global alarmism and hyper-partisanship, Rhode Island needs a proven problem solver as our next U.S. Senator. As the state appointed receiver for Central Falls, I worked with all stakeholders to rescue the city from insolvency, and I led them out of bankruptcy through adoption of a consensual balanced budget and a five-year recovery plan. The issues we face in this country, including fixing R.I.’s worst-in-the-nation roads and bridges, immigration reform, and enacting an affordable and accessible healthcare plan, can’t be tackled successfully unless we elect a problem-solver to the United States Senate who is ready to put country and state above party and work with all sides and the President to get the job done.
Patrick Donovan – (R) 1st Congressional District,
U.S. House of Representatives
The looming disaster that is the runaway pricing of electricity will hit all fellow Rhodes Islanders. We’ve watched the Public Utilities Commission and our State House Representatives do nothing to answer the call of replacing electricity generated by carbon-based fuels. Wind and solar not getting it done! They are helping to drive the cost of electricity to the average resident here ever higher. Decisions that are not in the best interest of the rate payers have already been made. The question to me is what can be done to change the direction of a myriad of bad decisions?
Cheap, available, renewable electricity is trapped in Canada. They have been trying to sell it to us for more than 10 years. New Hampshire already buys some from them. They are keeping it from us and our elected federal reps won’t put up the fight to get this for us. I will. This is a federal interstate issue.
Our elected officials have proven they do not care enough about our struggling citizens and companies who have to pay ever higher prices.
The offering price is 3 cents per kilowatt hour versus what we will soon pay –18 cents. 600% more!
David Cicilline – (D) 1st Congressional District,
U.S. House of Representatives
Rhode Islanders and Americans across the country are frustrated. They are sick and tired of feeling like government isn’t working for them. There is a growing inequality in our country as middle-class families are working harder than ever but still are unable to get ahead. They’ve seen their wages remain stagnant while their cost of living rises. This is the biggest challenge facing our state. Too many Rhode Islanders are struggling to make ends meet as the Trump administration and GOP push forward policies that hurt middle-class families.
While middle-class families see their paycheck stay the same, they see the cost of their health care, prescription drugs, and education rise. And they witnessed the Republicans in Congress push through a tax scam that mostly benefited corporations and the richest Americans. This tax scam hurts the middle class and Republicans are now proposing cuts to important programs that Americans have earned, like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, to pay for these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations. These are programs that Americans rely on to be able to afford their health care and retire with dignity.
Middle-class Americans and hard-working families need someone in Washington who is looking out for them. So many people have been left disillusioned with our political system and so many have lost faith in our democracy. I’ve witnessed this frustration firsthand and I’ve seen the corrupting influence money has on our political system and how it has led so many in Washington to work on behalf of special interests and not for the people they represent. I’ll continue to be a champion for Democracy reforms and proposals to get money out of our political system.
I have been fighting in Congress against the reckless policies of the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress, and I will continue to do so. I know what it takes to get the job done and I’m committed to continuing to fight in Washington for the people of Rhode Island. I and my fellow Democrats have a real plan to put Americans to work, raise wages, and secure a better future.
What do you see as the greatest challenge facing Providence and how are you positioned to address it?
Jorge Elorza – (D) Mayor of Providence
I believe the greatest challenge facing Providence is the city’s long-term finances, which is why I have proposed monetizing the water system. After a comprehensive analysis of the city, the number one recommendation given to me was the monetizing of our water. I have been working diligently throughout my last four years in office to ensure our finances are stable. However, more action must be taken. I have said many times that we cannot kick the can down the road and that we must take action.
I believe my work throughout the last four years on this issue, along with my experience with accounting, make me uniquely qualified to work on this very important issue.
My love for this city and my understanding of these issues motivate me every day to find the best solution for everyone.
Dianne “Dee Dee” Witman – (I) Mayor of Providence
Our city’s biggest struggle is the lack of proactive, independent leadership. This gap in effective leadership has led to the deterioration of our city infrastructure and services, and our residents deserve better.
Our school buildings are crumbling and our classrooms are full of dangerous mold, impacting every student’s ability to learn. Their teachers are asking for repairs and a seat at the table to address their concerns. Instead, they’ve been working for almost two years without a contract. Our roads and sidewalks aren’t safe for pedestrians, bicycles, strollers or cars. Our police force is woefully understaffed. Snow isn’t being cleared from the streets in time for buses to get to school safely. Trash collectors aren’t held accountable for missed routes and piled up trash and our zoning laws aren’t being enforced.
As an independent candidate with experience working with people of all backgrounds, I am uniquely qualified to work with the residents of our city to make Providence safe, clean and welcoming. I have served on numerous boards and city commissions, including the Providence Public Building Authority, so I have the institutional knowledge of what this city needs. My experience with nonprofits and fundraising has taught me how to bring stakeholders to the table and collaborate toward common solutions.
I am ready to take on any challenge and bring positive change to our city. I love Providence, I raised my family here and I know we can do better.
