In November, Rhode Island voters will be sending a clear message to the next governor on major issues to tackle, and there’s plenty from which to choose. Ahead of the election, we asked two political experts what the next governor should be thinking about. (Note: Primary election results were not available at press deadline.) Top concerns range from leadership and budget to a severe housing shortage, healthcare, infrastructure, and resources for an aging population.
“First and foremost is filling what’s become a leadership vacuum,” says Ted Nesi, the Target 12 politics and business editor for WPRI-TV. “The General Assembly has rarely felt the need to defer to the governor out of fear of public opinion,” he says. “It sounds so simple, but the next governor should be trying to establish broad public support to pursue an agenda that a majority of Rhode Islanders thinks puts the state on the right trajectory.”
Emily Lynch, associate professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island, says states should continue to push back against President Trump’s executive actions to roll back social safety net programs, end renewable energy projects, and retrieve voter files with sensitive voter information. “Addressing fiscal challenges driven by the federal government’s decisions to reduce healthcare support is front and center in this year’s budget proposal,” Lynch points out in the New England Journal of Political Science. “Increasing access to healthcare and dealing with rising healthcare costs remain top issues for political leaders.”
“Governor McKee’s budget places healthcare at the top of his priorities as he addresses how Rhode Island will have to contribute more funding to social support systems due to the reduction in federal support. Political leaders are also working with the healthcare industry to come up with long-term strategies to support healthcare in the state,” says Lynch.
She points to the successful acquisition of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, which are owned by Centurion, an out-of-state nonprofit organization. “This prevented the two hospitals from closing due to previous owners who faced bankruptcy,” she says. On education, Lynch views the return of public schools in Providence and Central Falls from state to local control as a plus. She takes a wait-and-see approach to a moratorium on new charter schools and encourages further study of reworking school funding formulas.
The housing shortage is also a major concern. Lynch points to a years-long effort by former Speaker of the House Joseph Shekarchi’s push for comprehensive legislation to address the shortage, along with Governor Dan McKee’s budgeting for a $120 million bond issue to spur new housing development.
Nesi says that “housing costs are closely linked to another big challenge facing the next governor: the graying of Rhode Island. The number of babies born in the state has dropped by roughly 25 percent during this century, and the state’s population is expected to shrink 5 percent by 2050. Does Rhode Island want to try to reverse that? What is the goal for the number of residents in 10, 20, or 30 years? How much new housing is needed to achieve that? What’s the plan if it doesn’t happen?”
Trying to narrow what Nesi calls “the Mass gap,” – attempting to match the economic successes of neighboring Massachusetts – should be a priority for the next governor. Then there’s the poor state of Rhode Island’s roads and bridges. “But more money won’t help if it’s spent poorly,” Nesi says. “Rhode Island faces the same cost and performance problems as many other blue states. RIDOT spends enormous amounts of money for the worst state roads in the country.”
October 4: Deadline to register or update voter information.
October 13: Deadline to request a regular mail ballot.
October 14: Early in-person voting begins.
November 2: Early voting and emergency mail-ballot applications ends at 4pm.
November 3: Election Day. Polls are generally open 7am-8pm.
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