WPRO Debate Week: Governor Candidate Last Night, Secretary of State Tonight
GoLocalProv Politics Team
WPRO Debate Week: Governor Candidate Last Night, Secretary of State Tonight
The three candidates participating last—Democrat Frank Caprio, Republican John Robitaille, and Moderate Ken Block—took the opportunity to pummel the one missing candidate—independent Lincoln Chafee. Both Democrat Frank Caprio and Republican John Robitaille hammered Chafee over his proposal for a one percent sales tax to cover the budget.
“He wants to raise taxes, Frank wants to hold the line on taxes, and I want to cut taxes,” Robitaille said.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCaprio added: “I would have loved to have asked Linc Chafee tonight how his plan to tax so many items right now that aren’t taxed in Rhode Island would have helped families across our state who are looking at a pile of bills on their kitchen table.”
On the other issues:
• Abolishing public employee unions: none of the candidates explicitly supported the complete abolition of public employee unions. “I think we need to dial back expectations to a certain extent but I don’t see it as a fight to the death with the unions,” Block said. “I don’t believe public employee unions serve the public interest,” said Robitaille, who favored changing the state labor relations act to limit the scope of what is covered in collective bargaining agreements. Caprio said it was up to the voters to make the decision.
• Binding arbitration: Caprio and Robitaille clashed briefly over the Democratic candidate’s position on binding arbitration for public employee contracts. Caprio said he supported current law—which mandates binding arbitration for police and fire unions but not for teachers. Robitaille said his position was “confusing” and had changed.
• Negative campaigning: Both Block and Robitaille expressed disappointment over the negative campaigning surrounding the race between frontrunners Caprio and Chafee. “It’s an empty, empty, empty race,” Block said. He added: “I’m not hearing the answers to the questions people care about. We should expect better. We deserve better.” Robitaille said Rhode Islanders were “sick and tired” of negative campaigning.
• Democratic and Republican Governors: Asked if, after nearly 16 years of a Republican in the governor’s seat it might be a time for a change, Robitaille countered that the state had been run by the Democratic Party for 70 years. “If Republicans do not keep the office of governor this state is in big trouble,” he said. Caprio said the state had been better run under Democratic governors like Bruce Sundlun J. Joseph Garrahy. Block rejected the premise of the question. “I reject the whole idea that the answer lies in one party or the other,” he said. “Our politics have devolved into a farce. People vote for the party as opposed to the person.”
Click here for 630 WPRO’s full synopsis of the debate.