Charlestown Dems complete endorsements, urge you to vote in the Sept. 9 Primary

 

C-Town Dems News

August 2026

Early voting has begun!

You may cast your vote in person at Charlestown Town Hall Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM–4:30 PM

The Charlestown Democratic Town Committee has endorsed the following candidates:   House District 36 Tina Spears Senate District 34 Samantha Wilcox Senate District 38 Victoria Gu US Senate Jack Reed US House of Representatives District 2 Seth Magaziner Governor No endorsement was made Lieutenant Governor Xay Khamsyvoravong Secretary of State Gregg Amore General Treasurer James Diossa Attorney General Kim Ahern Charlestown Town Council Deborah Carney, Jill Fonnemann, and Cynthia Drummond Chariho School Committee Holly Eaves, Craig Louzon, and Linda Lyall

Thanks to all who attended our Summer Fundraiser

School Committee candidate Craig Louzon mans the grill.

Our next meeting date is September 2, 2026 Join us at the Charlestown Police Station at 6 PM. All registered Democrats are welcome!

If you'd like to donate to the Charlestown Democratic Committee, you may   Send checks payable to: Charlestown Democratic Town Committee P.O. Box 1088, Charlestown, RI 02813  or Scan the QR code  or Click the button below   DONATE

Volunteer for Tina Spears! Click here to help send Tina back to the State House.

Call for Volunteers Your Charlestown Democratic Town Committee needs you! We are looking for active participants who want to help support Democratic candidates and causes. If interested, visit charlestowndemocrats.org and click VOLUNTEER. Please consider joining us!

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The Charlestown Democratic Town Committee manages the affairs of the Democratic Party in the town of Charlestown, RI subject to RI Election Law, State Party rules and its own bylaws. We meet the first Wednesday of every month at 6:00 PM at the Charlestown Police Station. Any Charlestown registered Democrat is welcome to attend.

P.O. Box 1088, Charlestown RI 02813

RI Dems convention split leaves no endorsements for governor, LG and AG

Bad news for McKee and Matos

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Neither Gov. Dan McKee nor challenger Helena Foulkes will get the top spot and asterisk signaling the party endorsement on the September primary ballot after the Rhode Island Democratic Party declined to endorse either at its state committee convention Saturday.

The outcome marks yet another setback for McKee, who will be the first sitting governor in at least recent history not to win the backing of his party, said Joe Fleming, a WPRI 12 political analyst.

“I don’t recall an incumbent governor ever not winning the endorsement, and I’ve been around a long time,” Fleming said in an interview Monday. “This is not a good sign for the governor.”

McKee received 81 votes to Foulkes’ 75, while 11 voting committee members opted not to endorse, according to vote totals shared by the Rhode Island Democratic Party. To secure party backing, candidates need to get 50% of all votes cast plus one — or 84 of the 167 committee members who cast ballots at the Teamsters Local 251 union hall in East Providence Saturday.

Should URI start a medical school?

Senate commission feasibility study finds URI ‘well-positioned’ to launch medical school

Dawn Bergantino

A Rhode Island Senate special legislative commission charged with studying Rhode Island’s health care workforce and issues related to the state’s primary care crisis met to hear public testimony regarding the prospect of creating a medical school at the University of Rhode Island.

In advance of the public hearing, the commission released an independent feasibility study that found establishing a medical school at URI is “both viable and necessary to meet the state’s pressing healthcare needs.” 

The 21-member commission was appointed in July 2024 by late Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, and is chaired by Senator Pam Lauria and URI President Marc Parlange. The independent study, conducted by consulting firm Tripp Umbach, a nationally regarded firm with leadership in economic impact studies and consultation services for academic medical campuses and medical schools, was commissioned in February 2025 following a competitive process.

The Economic Progress Institute celebrates 10 wins that promote progress and equity for Rhode Islanders

Even in hard times, we can move forward

Steve Ahlquist

As the Rhode Island General Assembly concluded its legislative session, the Economic Progress Institute (EPI), a nonpartisan research and policy organization dedicated to improving the economic wellbeing of low- and modest-income Rhode Islanders, highlighted ten wins at an annual celebration.

10. Protecting Consumers from Medical Debt. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a Protect Our Healthcare Coalition member, championed stronger protections for Rhode Islanders with medical debt. Building upon last year’s victories, legislation was enacted to cap interest on medical debt at 4% and prohibit medical debt from resulting in liens placed on principal residences.

“This is important because medical debt leads to bankruptcy for many people,” noted EPI Executive Director Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies.

9. Staffing & Quality Care Act. The Raise the Bar Coalition, led by SEIU 1199NE, advocated for safer staffing for direct care staff and better care for nursing home patients. The General Assembly allocated $12 million to hire new staff at nursing home facilities that do not yet meet the safe staffing requirement or raise wages and benefits for existing direct-care workers at facilities already in compliance. This ensures that nursing homes have the tools and accountability to deliver safe, dignified care and recruit and retain quality direct care staff.

8. Enhancing healthcare coverage for Rhode Islanders. The General Assembly and the enacted budget together improved healthcare coverage for Rhode Islanders in four distinct ways:

• Removing Prior Authorization Requirements. The Protect Our Healthcare Coalition, co-led by EPI and RIPIN, advocated easing the burden on primary care by removing prior authorization requirements. Enacted legislation established a three-year pilot program prohibiting insurers from requiring prior authorization for services ordered by primary care providers and for in-network outpatient behavioral health services.
• Sustaining Psychiatry Teleconsultation Programs that Support Healthcare Professionals. The Right from the Start Campaign and the Protect Our Healthcare Coalition advocated to maintain funding for the Psychiatry Resource Network (PRN) programs that connect providers with psychiatric consultants to support better patient care. The General Assembly allocated $750,000 of state funds to sustain MomsPRN. PediPRN will also continue through existing federal grant funds. These programs support healthcare professionals through clinical consultations or referral services related to mental health for children and pregnant and postpartum Rhode Islanders.
• Expanding Eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program. The Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island championed expansions to the Medicare Savings Program alongside the Protect Our Healthcare Coalition. The enacted budget adds $7.1 million, including $0.7 million from general revenues, to expand the Medicare Savings Program. This expansion increases eligibility to 125% of the Federal Poverty Level for the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary group and up to 168% for the Qualified Individuals group.
• Increasing Primary Care Reimbursement Rates. The Rhode Island Medical Society championed increasing funding for primary care providers, alongside the Protect Our Healthcare Coalition and the Right from the Start Campaign. The enacted budget includes $8.3 million from general revenue and $26.4 million from all funds to increase Medicaid primary care reimbursement rates to match Medicare rates.

“House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi made a statement when he passed the budget that healthcare was a priority for this General Assembly, and many people worked to ensure Rhode Island becomes a healthier and more vibrant state,” said Executive Director Nelson-Davies. “These wins are a testament to that.”

Former state Senator Sandra Cano resigned from office for a job with the SBA. It lasted two months.

She took her shot but lost when Biden lost

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Cano with her partner state Treasurer
 James Diossa and their kids

Former state senator Sandra Cano insists she has no regrets about her decision to leave political office to serve as New England regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration, despite her brief tenure in the presidentially appointed role.

Cano’s last day with the SBA was Jan. 20 — the same day President Donald Trump took office, she confirmed in an interview on Monday. She had started the federal position on Nov. 4, a day before the presidential election.

Her last day was exactly two months after the SBA confirmed the rumors that Cano had been tapped to lead its small business programming for New England. While she suspected Trump’s victory would put her out of a job, she didn’t get her official notice until two weeks before he was sworn into office, she said.

“I am definitely honored to have served,” Cano said in an interview. “It was important for me to play a vital part in advancing programs that promote small business and entrepreneurship.”

She gave up her jobs as commerce director for the city of Pawtucket and resigned as a state senator representing Pawtucket’s Senate District 8 to take the federal position. 

“When the president of the United States calls you to serve the country, for me, that is a great honor and opportunity to serve,” Cano said.

Assembly OKs bill to help sexual assault victims access fund

The right thing to do

The General Assembly approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Pamela J. Lauria and Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee to help sexual assault victims access the state fund that assists victims of violent crime with the costs they’ve faced as a result.

The legislation (2024-S 2767A, 2024-H 7449A), which now goes to the governor, would enable victims of sexual assault to submit a medical forensic exam performed within 15 days of the assault by a licensed health care provider in lieu of a police report in order to establish eligibility for funds from the Crime Victim Compensation Program. 

The program reimburses victims for expenses resulting from crimes, such as medical and counseling costs, cleaning, relocation, loss of earnings, funeral expenses and more.

Nearly-$14B budget plan breezes through Rhode Island House on 69-5 vote Friday

New budget even draws a few GOP votes

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Finalizing the state’s annual spending plan is often a contentious, drawn-out process.

Not this year. A $13.96 billion fiscal 2025 budget breezed through the Rhode Island House of Representatives Friday night.

The 69-5 vote came after a mere 3 1/2 hours of discussion that included high praise for funding of critical and often contested issues like state pensions for retirees, K-12 education and health care provider rates. 

“Through this budget, we are emphasizing education at every level and supporting children,” House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said in a statement Friday night. 

“This budget is the result of a truly collaborative process between my colleagues here in the House, the dedicated members of the House Finance Committee, our partners in the Senate and Governor McKee and his team to carefully create a plan that meets Rhode Island’s needs for education, students and children first, while addressing our challenges, such as housing and health care.”

The $13.96 billion spending plan falls just shy of the $14 billion high water mark that characterized fiscal 2024’s approved spending plan, but is $271 million more than what Gov. Dan McKee proposed in January. 

Four of the nine Republican members, including House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale, also voted for the revised spending plan. Chippendale credited Shekarchi and the leadership team for giving deference, and a listening ear, to his party’s priorities.