CAMPAIGN: 2022 RI General Election Candidate Surveys

1. Do you support passage of the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, which would provide Medicaid funding and state employee health insurance coverage for abortion?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

2. Do you support a state constitutional amendment that would establish a legal right to an adequate, equitable and meaningful public education?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

3. Do you support repeal of the state’s photo “Voter ID” law?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

4. Do you support requiring a fiscal impact statement for any legislation that establishes new criminal offenses or increases prison sentences for existing criminal offenses?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

5. Do you support passage of legislation eliminating the sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

6. Do you support reinstatement of a law mandating that police collect data on traffic stops and searches and having an independent analysis of that data to examine racial disparities?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

7. Do you support the reduction of state funding for school resource officers and a focus instead on increased counseling and mental health support services in schools?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

8. Do you support the passage of legislation that would ban, except in very limited circumstances, the use of out-of-school suspensions on elementary school students?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

9. Do you support the passage of legislation that would set limits on the use of “automated license plate reader” surveillance technology by law enforcement?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

10. Do you support the passage of legislation that would generally bar school administrators from accessing the camera and microphone of school-loaned computers when students are outside of school?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

11. Do you believe businesses should have the right to refuse goods or services to the public on religious grounds if it conflicts with state anti-discrimination laws?

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

12. Please note any police reform legislation you would actively support.

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

13. Please indicate any ways you would use your role as Governor to promote civil rights and civil liberties.

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 

Ashley Kalus (R): No response
Daniel McKee (D): No response

1. Do you support passage of the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, which would provide Medicaid funding and state employee health insurance coverage for abortion?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): Yes

2. Do you support a state constitutional amendment that would establish a legal right to an adequate, equitable and meaningful public education?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): Yes

3. Do you support repeal of the state’s photo “Voter ID” law?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): Yes

4. Do you support requiring a fiscal impact statement for any legislation that establishes new criminal offenses or increases prison sentences for existing criminal offenses?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): Yes

5. Do you support passage of legislation eliminating the sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): Yes

6. Do you support reinstatement of a law mandating that police collect data on traffic stops and searches and having an independent analysis of that data to examine racial disparities?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): Yes

7. Do you support the reduction of state funding for school resource officers and a focus instead on increased counseling and mental health support services in schools?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): No

8. Do you support the passage of legislation that would ban, except in very limited circumstances, the use of out-of-school suspensions on elementary school students?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): Yes

9. Do you support the passage of legislation that would set limits on the use of “automated license plate reader” surveillance technology by law enforcement?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): Yes

10. Do you support the passage of legislation that would generally bar school administrators from accessing the camera and microphone of school-loaned computers when students are outside of school?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): Yes

11. Do you believe businesses should have the right to refuse goods or services to the public on religious grounds if it conflicts with state anti-discrimination laws?

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): No

12. Please note any police reform legislation you would actively support.

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): "I support reforms to the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights consistent with the recommendations of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association."

13. Please indicate any ways you would use your role as Governor to promote civil rights and civil liberties.

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): "I have spent my entire career fighting for the rights of those who have not historically had representation or an equal voice in the decisions that impact their lives. I came to this country as a young woman without knowing English. I put myself through school while also working full time. I spent years navigating the systems where most people do not look like me or know the challenges faced in my community. I know that it’s those whose circumstances do not fit the mold, whose challenges are not well understood, whose needs are not always part of the discussion, who are the most vulnerable and in need of the protection that organizations like the ACLU work to protect. As Lieutenant Governor, I have brought a fresh perspective to the office and given a voice to those who have not previously had a seat at the table. As LG, I lead the state’s Equity Council, where we work to address racism and injustice throughout the state."

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 

Aaron Guckian (R): No response
Sabina Matos (D): "Since I was sworn in as Lt. Governor a year and a half ago, I have revitalized the office of the Lt. Governor. I played a key role to secure $250 million in housing and worked closely with the Governor to eliminate the car tax and strengthen Rhode Island’s gun law. And while my opponents have mixed records on reproductive rights, I used the full force of my office and my decades of work fighting for women’s healthcare to get Governor McKee to support an expansion of abortion rights after the disastrous Supreme Court ruling. Serving as your Lt. Governor is a true honor and a huge responsibility."

1. Do you support requiring a fiscal impact statement for any legislation that establishes new criminal offenses or increases prison sentences for existing criminal offenses?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

2. Do you support passage of legislation eliminating the sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

3. Do you support legislation reducing the use of money bail as a condition of pre-trial release to ensure that individuals are not incarcerated solely on the basis of their inability to pay?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

4. Do you support reinstatement of a law mandating police collection of traffic stop and search data and an independent analysis of that data to examine racial disparities?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

5. Do you support the reduction of state funding for school resource officers and a focus instead on increased counseling and mental health support services in schools?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

6.  Do you support mandatory minimum sentences?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

7. Do you support the passage of legislation that would set limits on the use of “automated license plate reader” surveillance technology by law enforcement?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

8. Do you support revising the definition of a “misdemeanor” from one year to 364 days in order to avert the deportation of immigrants under federal law based solely on misdemeanor convictions?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

9. Do you support limits on police inquiries about the immigration status of crime victims or witnesses unless necessary to investigate criminal activity that is unrelated to enforcing immigration law?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

10. Do you support laws imposing residency restrictions for sex offenders?

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

11. Please note any police reform legislation you would actively support.

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

12. Please note any criminal justice reform legislation you would actively support.

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 

Charles Calenda (R): No response
Peter Neronha (D): No response

1. Do you support a constitutional amendment allowing for same day voter registration?

Gregg Amore (D): Yes
Pat Cortellessa (R): No

2. “Prison gerrymandering” is a term given to the practice of counting inmates, for purposes of drawing voting districts, as residents of their place of incarceration, rather than their home address from which they otherwise must vote. Do you support legislation that would eliminate prison gerrymandering in Rhode Island?

Gregg Amore (D): Yes
Pat Cortellessa (R): No

3. Any voter who goes to the wrong polling place on election day is given a provisional ballot, but only their votes for federal office are counted. Do you support legislation that would provide for counting votes cast on provisional ballots for all offices for which the voter is legally eligible to vote?

Gregg Amore (D): Yes
Pat Cortellessa (R): Yes

4. Do you support the repeal of the state's photo “Voter ID” statute?

Gregg Amore (D): "While I have supported the repeal of this law in the past – it now has support from leaders in the voter access space like Stacy Abrams and is widely accepted by the public which is evidenced by polling. Rhode Island has one of the most expansive and inclusive Voter ID laws in the nation. I am committed to making sure every Rhode Islander has access to the tools they need to be able to exercise their most fundamental right – the right to vote – by making the process open, transparent, and accessible, and getting folks the ID they need to vote."
Pat Cortellessa (R): No

5. Do you support requiring major public bodies in holding in-person meetings to allow for public attendance and participation remotely as well?

Gregg Amore (D): Yes
Pat Cortellessa (R): Yes

6. The Attorney General’s office is currently charged with the duty of interpreting and enforcing the Open Meetings Act and the Access to Public Records Act. In light of the Secretary of State’s involvement with public records maintenance and its responsibility for maintaining a web site of all open meetings, do you support moving enforcement of these laws to the office of the Secretary of State?

Gregg Amore (D): "As a matter of due process, I do not believe that a singular agency should have the responsibility of being judge, jury and executioner. While I believe that the issue is analogous to the interaction of the Board of Elections and the office of Attorney General with regards to campaign finance violations and that the office of the Secretary of State should have a larger role in the enforcement of our open meetings and public records laws, the office of Secretary of State as it is presently constituted does not have the staffing or the resources necessary to take on the added responsibility of enforcing the Open Meetings Act and the Access to Public Records Act.

Bifurcating the responsibilities of the office of Secretary of State and the office of Attorney General may address the due process concerns of the agencies impacted by the laws, however having an agency attempt to enforce the laws without having the adequate resources to address the complaints brought to its attention would not serve the public’s interest in ensuring an open and transparent government.

As Secretary of State one of the first steps I plan on taking is working with my fellow general officers and other branches of government to eliminate duplicative services and streamline the responsibilities and policies of the office.

A practical and efficient way to improve the open meetings law would be to improve the SOS web page infrastructure to create a universal portal where city and town postings and all supporting documentation and information could be accessible in a one stop, consistent and user-friendly platform."

Pat Cortellessa (R): No

7. What changes to improve the Access to Public Records Act and the Open Meetings Act would you actively support in order to promote government accountability and transparency?

Gregg Amore (D): "I believe that we should consider exempting those materials that are made available on an agency’s website from having to be produced by the agency as part of any request. This would encourage agencies to make information more readily available much in the way that Covid caused the House to provide all the written testimony submitted to the committees available on the general assembly’s website.

While APRA makes clear that an agency is not responsible for researching and analyzing APRA requests to provide the answers to questions the requester may be looking for in the documents, as a practical matter I have been told of situations where agencies are expanding an hour of free search time to produce records that are already available to the public online. Ideally agencies would recognize that it is more cost effective for them to make more of their information available online and thus provide more open and transparent government.

The exemption would be limited only to those documents that the requester can be directed to and would not limit the ability of the requester to appeal the decision or forward a complaint to the office of the Attorney General."

Pat Cortellessa (R): "no fees to obtain documentation"

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Gregg Amore (D): No additional comments
Pat Cortellessa (R): No additional comments

1. Do you support passage of a federal law to guarantee nationwide access to safe and legal abortion care?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

2. Do you support passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

3. Do you support the passage of federal legislation that would provide a private cause of action for individuals whose constitutional rights are violated by federal law enforcement officials?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

4. Do you support the passage of legislation to provide LGBTQ+ people with explicit protection against discrimination under federal civil rights laws?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

5. Do you support the passage of legislation to create a pathway to citizenship and legal residency for some undocumented immigrants?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

6. Do you support granting statehood to Washington D.C.?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

7. Do you support legislation that would end the long-standing criminal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

8. Do you support efforts to reinstate Title 42, the policy that authorizes the expulsion of people seeking asylum at the border without an opportunity for them to first seek protection under U.S. laws?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

9. Do you support the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which would require employers to make reasonable accommodations for qualified employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

10. Do you support legislation which would abolish the federal death penalty?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

11. Do you support legislation to decriminalize marijuana on the federal level?

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

David Cicilline (D): No response
Allen Waters (R): No response

1. Do you support passage of a federal law to guarantee nationwide access to safe and legal abortion care?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

2. Do you support passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

3. Do you support the passage of federal legislation that would provide a private cause of action for individuals whose constitutional rights are violated by federal law enforcement officials?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

4. Do you support the passage of legislation to provide LGBTQ+ people with explicit protection against discrimination under federal civil rights laws?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

5. Do you support the passage of legislation to create a pathway to citizenship and legal residency for some undocumented immigrants?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

6. Do you support granting statehood to Washington D.C.?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

7. Do you support legislation that would end the long-standing criminal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

8. Do you support efforts to reinstate Title 42, the policy that authorizes the expulsion of people seeking asylum at the border without an opportunity for them to first seek protection under U.S. laws?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): "I support comprehensive immigration reform that secures the border and strengthens the systems in place to lawfully and humanely manage asylum seekers who present themselves at the US border."

9. Do you support the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which would require employers to make reasonable accommodations for qualified employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

10. Do you support legislation which would abolish the federal death penalty?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

11. Do you support legislation to decriminalize marijuana on the federal level?

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): Yes

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Allan Fung (R): No response
Seth Magaziner (D): No additional comments

1. Do you support restricting the City’s participation in efforts by states that criminalize abortion to obtain information about individuals who travel to Providence seeking abortion care?

Brett Smiley (D): Yes

2. Do you support legislative passage of a state constitutional amendment that would establish a legal right to an adequate, equitable and meaningful public education?

Brett Smiley (D): Yes

3. Do you support reinstatement of a law mandating police collection of traffic stop and search data and an independent analysis of that data to examine racial disparities?

Brett Smiley (D): Yes

4. Do you support repeal of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights?

Brett Smiley (D): No

5. Do you support the reduction of state and city funding for school resource officers and a focus instead on increased counseling and mental health support services in schools?

Brett Smiley (D): No

6. Do you support the passage of legislation or school district policy that would ban, except in very limited circumstances, the use of out-of-school suspensions on elementary school students?

Brett Smiley (D): Yes

7. Do you support the passage of legislation or school district policy that would generally bar school administrators from accessing the camera and microphone of school-loaned computers when students are outside of school?

Brett Smiley (D): Yes

8. Do you support the passage of an ordinance that would set limits on the use of “automated license plate readers” by the police department? 

Brett Smiley (D): Yes

9. Do you believe businesses should have the right to refuse goods or services to the public on religious grounds if it conflicts with state or municipal laws banning discrimination in public accommodations?

Brett Smiley (D): No

10. Do you support restricting police access to harm reduction centers as an integral part of the public health service of these centers?

Brett Smiley (D): Yes

11. Do you support the creation of mental health or crisis hotlines that would bypass police involvement in relevant circumstances?

Brett Smiley (D): Yes

12. Please note any police reform at the municipal level that you would actively support.

Brett Smiley (D): "Every 9-1-1 call does not require a response from an officer with a gun and we know that by providing evidence-based and immediate crisis response, we can improve outcomes while allowing officers to focus on violent crimes. Just last year, the city established a Behavioral Health Crisis Response Program which I will work to expand as Mayor. I believe that by better investing in mental health and substance use supports, we can better serve residents and reduce the burden on our first responders. The City has already established strong partnerships with organizations like Family Service of Rhode Island, the Nonviolence Institute, Tides Family Services and other community-based organizations. By increasing and expanding partnerships like these with a prevention-first policy and health-based approach, we can reduce violence in our community and better support our youth and families."

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Brett Smiley (D): No additional comments