While McKee turns against the environment, Foulkes steps up
By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff
The Providence Streets Coalition, a grassroots activist
organization devoted to increasing funding, safety, and reliability in the
state’s transit network, announced July 21 that it is backing former CVS
executive Helena Foulkes for governor.
“For far too long, this community has advocated for our
state leaders to care about improvements and investments for safer streets and
a transit system that works for all,” said Nichole O’Loughlin, political
director for the Providence Streets Coalition, at the group’s endorsement
announcement. “Unfortunately, our current governor has repeatedly done the
opposite, and we need to change that right now.”
Transit and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority have
not fared well under Gov. Dan McKee. Thanks to a persistent $32 million budget deficit and a lack of
support from the governor’s office and the General Assembly, RIPTA had to make
deep operational cuts to balance its budget, reducing bus service or frequency,
resulting in fewer and worse rides for the agency’s regular users.
The cuts have particularly hit hard in the state’s metro
area, where it sees the bulk of its riders, many of whom cannot afford to own a
car or come up with transportation alternatives outside of RIPTA. Foulkes,
meanwhile, has pledged to fully fund and invest in expanding RIPTA’s bus
service, as well as the state’s network of roads, bridges and bike
infrastructure.
In her remarks accepting the Providence Streets Coalition
endorsement, Foulkes said she had spent hours attending listening sessions when
the cuts were first proposed, recalling riders gathering in small rooms to
share their personal stories of what cuts to bus service would mean to them.
“Owning a car costs over $11,000 a year in this state, and
riding a bus is less than $1,000 a year,” Foulkes said. “If we want to attract
young people and keep them here, this is the wave of the future.”
The group didn’t endorse a gubernatorial candidate in 2022.
Other endorsement announcements from the Providence Streets Coalition are
expected later this summer.
Tuesday’s announcement was far from the first endorsement
Foulkes picked up from an environmental organization. Last month Climate Action
Rhode Island announced it was endorsing Foulkes, citing her policy
platform of investing $40 million for residents and businesses to install solar
and battery storage, and her pledge to hold Rhode Island Energy accountable for
its rate hikes.
“Helena is a leader who understands that local clean energy will lower our utility bills while protecting our air, water, and climate,” CARI’s executive director, Jeff Migneault, said in a statement announcing the endorsement. “We are committed to doing everything we can to help get her elected. Our election work will include member engagement, direct voter contact, and a GOTV effort.”
CARI described McKee’s environmental record as
“disappointing.” The group credits McKee for supporting offshore wind, but
admonished the governor for pushing back the Renewable Energy Standard and cuts
to energy efficiency programs earlier this year.
In 2022, during the last gubernatorial election, the
group endorsed Nellie Gorbea in the Democrat primary.
Just weeks after CARI made its own endorsement announcement,
McKee made his only veto of legislation this year, striking out the General
Assembly’s building benchmarking program it passed in the closing days of the
legislative session.
McKee cited conflicts with a pre-existing program for state
buildings written into this year’s state budget, as well as a lack of funding
for technical assistance to help large building owners measure their emissions.
In a statement to the press after the veto, CARI questioned
how much politics, and their endorsement, played into the veto decision.
The group has also endorsed Providence City Council
member Sue AnderBois for lieutenant governor, as well as
a slate of General Assembly candidates.
