Primary results: LORIB loses, real Democrats win

MAGA gun PAC seems to have lost EVERY Democratic primary

By Will Collette

EDITOR'S NOTE: Am having tech problems with graphics. So in the absence of that, check out this one Tina posted on Xitter yesterday: Tina Spears on X: "Are you HOOKED on civic engagement??? 🎣 I know I am! Early voting wraps up today, and tomorrow is your last chance to CAST your ballot. Make your voting plan and REEL in that vote! https://t.co/ep8qJXDxDZ" / X

Well, the top story for Charlestown is our respected state Representative Tina Spears absolutely crushed her opponent, sex crime defense lawyer Leah Boisclair, by a margin of 82% to 18%, despite a ton of money poured into Boisclair by the ultra-rightwing League of Rhode Island Businesses, and the gun lobby. 

Based on the posted results as of 9 PM, Tina’s margin of victory is the highest for a Democrat facing a LORIB-funded challenger.

Since Tina has no Republican challenger in the General Election unless LORIB boss Dave Levesque wants to spend more money running a write-in campaign. Otherwise, Tina wins a third term as Charlestown’s Rep.

State Senator Alana DiMario, representing neighboring South Kingstown and Narragansett, beat her LORIB challenger Mark Mesrobian by 72% to 28%. She also has no opponent in the General Election.

Bob Craven Jr. won his primary to replace his dad as state Representative for North Kingstown by 74 to 26 beating LORIB-backed Kevin Hoyle.

LORIB lost all six of the Democratic primary challengers they paid for upstate: three in the Senate and three in the House. Only two of those races had margins of less than 10 points.

There will be a second chance for LORIB in November when its remaining clients, all running as Republicans, attempt to beat Democratic incumbents. We have many of those in South County where LORIB is going to try knocking out Charlestown’s state Senator Victoria Gu by backing a guy Victoria has already beaten twice.

In South Kingstown, Rep. Carol McEntee also faces a loser, Jessica Drew Roy, who also lost to McEntee twice already. Rep. Kathy Fogarty will face Jennifer Nerbonne whose main political experience was as a Donald Trump delegate at the 2024 GOP Convention.

Rep. Megan Cotter will face climate-change denier and Moms for Liberty maven Jasmine Roy.

The most peculiar LORIB challenge is an effort to unseat Westerly state Rep. Sam Azzinaro, funding his opponent developer Christopher Stanton. Sam, a very conservative Democrat, doesn't fit the LORIB target profile. Indeed, in other districts, LORIB has backed DINO incumbents, such as Coventry-West Greenwich state Senator Leonidas Raptakis and several others.

The November race that may be the most high drama is the effort by Richmond Town Council President Samantha (Sam) Wilcox to finally rid South County of the embarrassing MAGA nut, Sen. Elaine Morgan who represents the top half of Charlestown and is backed by LORIB. Go, Sam, go!

Cold consolation

While Dave Levesque ponders where all his money went while crying into his iced latte, there were some LORIB-adjacent scores that may give him some cold comfort.

Levesque and LORIB did not endorse any candidates for state office or Congress, but there were still such characters as Florida carpetbagger and MAGA nut Vic Mellor who hung around LORIB a lot. He won the GOP primary by 58% to 42% for the green light to challenge Charlestown’s US Representative Seth Magaziner in the November election. I just wonder how serious Mellor would be about representing RI District 2 since he is already a registered representative of government of Cuba. Not joking.

LORIB-adjacent Republican Aaron Guckian appears to have edged his MAGA-nut opponent Elaine Pelino by 298 votes. We’ll see if that result holds up.

In Charlestown, lots of Leah Boisclair signs were paired with LORIB-adjacent Democratic candidate for Attorney General Joe Solomon. He lost, coming in third out of four candidates, losing to winner Kim Ahern by a wide margin. If Rhode Island had run-off elections when no candidate gets 50+% of the vote, Solomon would not have made the run-off.

Bye, bye Dan

The marquee event of the day is of course the battle for Governor between inept incumbent Dan McKee versus Helena Foulkes. As expected, McKee got waxed by a margin of 62 to 38.

I think everyone in the state knew this was coming, given McKee’s unprincipled and incompetent management of the state’s business. Democratic voters chose corporate Democrat Helena Foulkes to move on to the three-way November election. She will definitely face so-called independent Ken Block and most likely Republican challenger Aaron Guckian.

I have no illusions about Foulkes being far more corporate than progressive. Despite that, I kind of like her but expect, as I am with nearly every politician, that I will probably be disappointed. However, she could be great. And I believe she will be a far better Governor than either Guckian or Block.  

South County Democrats: Beware of DINOs on the Sept. 9 Primary ballot

The League of RI Businesses is a wolf in sheep’s clothing

An oped from Bill Ibelle

There’s a new, big-money player on the Rhode Island political stage that’s targeting many of our finest environmental legislators because they also support gun control.

The League of RI Businesses is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, posing as a moderate, bipartisan, pro-business organization, when in fact, it was created last year specifically to knock off legislators who voted for a ban on assault weapons.

So if you feel safer knowing the guy down the street has an assault rifle hanging in his living room gun rack, then by all means, vote for a League-endorsed candidate. (listed below).

The League’s founder, David Levesque, knows that most Rhode Islanders don’t believe a deer hunter needs to pump out 60 rounds a minute to bag a doe. 

So Levesque and his cohorts rarely mention assault weapons when explaining why the League has targeted so many fine legislators. Instead, in an interview with Ocean State Media, he said that the League is merely targeting legislators who “fail to support the Constitution.” Only when pressed repeatedly by an interviewer does he concede that he’s referring exclusively to the Second Amendment—the right to bear arms.

Apparently, the League believes that James Madison had assault weapons in mind when he introduced the amendment to Congress in 1789. Never mind that an assault rifle, at that time, was a musket, a ramrod, a powder pouch, and a lead ball that took nearly a minute to load and, because it had no rifling, had the accuracy of a pea shooter.

He’s also against renewable energy because it’s unprofitable, doesn’t work, and has driven up electric rates by 27 percent — all untrue. What is true is that he revealed his true colors when he claimed that if we eliminated all state wind and solar programs, “we could literally put almost $30 million a month back in the hands of Rhode Island businesses.” Translation: The heck with our children’s future, we want bigger profits now.

Levesque insists that his group wants “middle-of-the-road, common-sense people” in office. This seems just a wee bit hard to believe, given that Levesque is a vocal Trump supporter who, when asked by the Providence Journal about our president’s second term, said, “I think it’s going awesome.”

So if ICE raids make you feel safer; if you think the war with Iran is the best use of $37 billion in taxpayer money; if you believe the skyrocketing price of oil is the path to affordability; and if you thrill at the grade-school insults our leader routinely hurls at our foreign allies—then by all means, take the League’s advice on who to vote for.

If you’re still not convinced that this organization is poison, consider the League’s subversion of the state’s campaign finance laws. To get around the state’s $2,000 limit on individual donations, they formed 40 separate Political Action Committees (PACs). In an interview with Channel 12, Levesque boasted that “What we did is extraordinary. It’s never been done before. We opened more PACs than anybody’s ever done [in Rhode Island]. This will allow us to give $80,000 to an individual candidate. There’s no other organization in the state of Rhode Island that can put that kind of money into a candidate’s hands.”

Just to be clear, the state donation limit is $2,000 and the League says its armada of 40 PACs makes it legal to give $80,000.

If you would like to reduce the influence of money in state politics, you might want to vote against the candidates the League is financing.

Here is a list of incumbents the League has targeted and the candidates it is backing to unseat them:

The League also endorsed nine incumbents: John Brien, Elaine Morgan, Leonidas Raptiakis, Patrick Maloney, Gregory Constantino, Marie Hopkins, Paul Santucci, Stephano Famiglietti, and six candidates running for open seats:

 

Green Report Card Gives Rhode Island’s Climate Change Actions Bad Grade

Rep. Tina Spears and Sen. Victoria Gu score "A" grades, Sen. Elaine Morgan gets an "F"

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

Tina and Victoria fought hard for the environment

Rhode Island has slowed its actions against climate change in the past two years, and environmental groups have found themselves playing defense.

That’s the takeaway from a new report by the Environment Council of Rhode Island (ECRI), a coalition of some 60 organizations dedicated to environmental advocacy. The group released its biennial Green Report Card on Aug. 27, less than two weeks before the state primary elections.

It’s a big difference from just four years ago, when the report card for the legislative sessions of 2021-2022 called them “the best two years of environmental policymaking” in state history.

Elaine Morgan didn't

“We need to act quickly and decisively to slash emissions from buildings and transportation and get on track to meet our climate commitments,” said Jordan Miller, ECRI’s executive director. “We must ensure that all our communities benefit from a just transition to a net-zero future. The next steps we take are vital if we want to secure a healthy and sustainable future for all Rhode Islanders.”

Environmental organizations have had a tough few years in the General Assembly. Of the 68 priority bills ECRI identified in 2025, only 21% passed the Legislature. The group fared a little better this year, with a third of its 78 endorsed bills securing passage out of legislative chambers.

None of the group’s eight top priority bills from the past two years passed into law. Those priorities included a package to fund the Rhode Island Public Transit Agency, new offshore wind procurement, a bottle bill and extended producer responsibility omnibus bill, and building benchmarking legislation.

That doesn’t mean the General Assembly has been completely hostile to the group’s priorities; ECRI noted in its Green Report Card that the past two years saw some significant wins in standards for labor and workforce development, new protections against PFAs and rodenticides, and a stronger Green Bond for voters in November.

South County Democratic women get a wave of legislation passed at the end of the General Assembly session

Coffee autocrat wants to push them out to MAGAtize South County

By Will Collette

MAGA millionaire Dave Levesque, owner of the Brewed Awakenings coffee shop chain wants to change the political landscape of South County to fit his vision of a MAGA paradise by ousting virtually every South County Democratic woman holding a General Assembly seat.

To further his dream, Levesque set up the “League of Rhode Island Businesses (LORIB)” with a statewide political action committee and a local version in all 39 Rhode Island cities and towns. Don’t bother looking for the “Charlestown LORIB” or the “Westerly LORIB” because they only exist on paper filed with the Board of Elections.

This panoply of PACs serve the useful purpose of allowing Levesque to get around state law that limits PAC donations to $2000 per candidate. His clever solution: set up each of his candidates with multiple donations from his array of PACs.

Charlestown’s challenger to our state Rep. Tina Spears, self-described “sex crimes defense attorney” Leah Boisclair, received her initial cash from five different Levesque PACs.

According to declarations filed with the Board of Elections, Levesque is challenging these incumbent Democrats:

• Rep. Tina Spears (Charlestown, So. Kingstown, Westerly and Block Island) faces a Sept. 9 primary challenge
• Rep. Megan Cotter (Hopkinton, Richmond, Exeter and West Warwick)
• Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee (South Kingstown et al.)
• Rep. Kathy Fogarty (South Kingstown et al.)
• Open seat left by Rep. Julie Casmiro
• Open seat left by Rep. Bob Craven Sr.
• State Sen. Alana DiMario faces a Sept. 9 primary challenge
• Sen. Victoria Gu (Charlestown, Westerly and South Kingstown)
• Plus conservative Democrat Rep. Sam Azzinaro (Westerly)

Levesque supported Laura Turini to challenge Sen. Bridget ValVerde in the Sept. 9 Democratic Primary, but Turisi didn’t file a declaration. He also failed to find candidates to challenge one of his prime targets, Rep. Teresa Tanzi as well as Sen. Sue Sosnowski. Tanzi, Sosnowski and ValVerde are now running unopposed.

If records make any difference, Levesque bevy of challengers will have to confront the incredibly productive General Assembly session these Democrats achieved as well as their earlier achievements.

Just before the Assembly closed this session, the following bills were passed. I am using the descriptions produced by the State House News Bureau.

Charlestown Democrats - Don’t be fooled

There is only ONE Democrat running in the September 9 primary

By Will Collette

Boisclair sign in front of Jim Mageau's house.
Photo by Will Collette

The September 9 Democratic primary is important not just for the three statewide contests to pick candidates for attorney general and lieutenant governor plus the epic match-up pitting Helena Foulkes against hapless incumbent Governor Dan McKee.

Here in Charlestown, September 9 will decide who will represent Charlestown in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. 

It will feature incumbent Rep. Tina Spears, running for a third term versus self-described sex crime lawyer Leah Boisclair who is backed by rich MAGA gun nut Dave Levesque.

Here is her "menu" of sex crimes she is willing to defend from her own website:

Rape, child rape, child pornography, sex trafficking, slavery are all crimes Boisclair will defend

Boisclair is running as a Democrat even though she has no connection to the Democratic Party other than to say she’s a Democrat this year. Her signs are popping up along South County Trail, including in front of the house of Charlestown’s most vocal Trumper Jim Mageau.

Her record is that of running a law practice that takes pride in representing child abusers, rapists, spouse beaters, bad drivers, crooks and cheats. She uses her website to advertise these specialties and to seek more such clients.

Sure, under the Constitution, everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence and to legal counsel. But LAWYERS choose who they will represent.

Even public defenders have discretion under the Code of Professional Responsibility to decline representation to a client if they are unable to mount a rigorous defense. In fact, the Rhode Island version of the Code expressly acknowledges “[A] lawyer is also guided by personal conscience and the approbation of professional peers.”

Boisclair CHOOSES to represent scumbags. Don’t believe me? READ her own website, as well as the screenshots I have presented taken directly from that site. I was particularly impressed with her graphics in this section on her representation of men accused of crimes against women:

But wait, there's MORE! Here are the other types of crime she will defend:

How is Boisclair different from, for example, a mob lawyer? Or a Trump lawyer? Or a lawyer defending men in Jeffrey Epstein’s circle of friends? Or any other pedo protector? I dunno…you tell me.

I would not want to spend a lot of time in her office's waiting room.

On this alone, I could never support Boisclair. Frankly, why would ANY Charlestown voter want Boisclair to represent then in the General Assembly? I’d rather bring back Flip Filippi, even though he represented the January 6 insurrectionists, the Oath Keepers. But as the saying goes, “but wait, there’s more!”

Boisclair’s main backer, far right MAGA gun nut Dave Levesque, set up 40, count ‘em 40, political action committees under the banner of the “League of Rhode Island Businesses” (LORIB). He has a statewide plus 39 “local” PACs, supposedly for each Rhode Island city and town. Their registrations all look the same, with no local people on any of the PACs and that includes the Charlestown LORIB PAC.

See if you can find any connection to Charlestown in the Charlestown LORIB PAC:

Levesque uses these PACs to get around the state campaign finance law limiting PACs to $2000 in contributions to a single candidate. Since Levesque controls all the LORIB PACs, he simply cuts checks to endorsed candidates from several of his PACs.

Levesque owns the Brewed Awakenings coffee shop chain and is a long-time anti-gun control activist. The gun lobby is also heavily backing his candidates.

Support - LORIB Main PAC

Levesque also takes in anonymous donations. In fact, he has solicited donations by advertising how they can game the system to prevent having their names reported as LORIB donors.

He set Boisclair up with six LORIB checks totaling $10,500 coming from six LORIB PACs. There’s the Charlestown LORIB PAC of course, plus the LORIB PACs purporting to be from Westerly, South Kingstown, North Kingstown, Newport and Block Island.

Levesque also opposes any attempt to tax the rich. He was a big opponent to last year’s “Taylor Swift” tax that imposes a state levy on multi-million properties owned by non-residents. He also unsuccessfully fought this year’s “Millionaire Tax” that imposes a 1% income tax surcharge on millionaires.

His candidates, including Leah Boisclair, toe that line. They should have a generic LORIB bumper sticker reading “Don’t regulate guns. Don’t tax the rich.”

Levesque has targeted nearly every Democratic woman legislator in South County because their progressive stances. He is bankrolling opponents to our state Senator Victoria Gu as well as South Kingstown Dems Teresa Tanzi, Carol McEntee, Alana DiMario, Kathy Fogarty and Bridgette Valverde.

Sen. Alana DiMario and Rep. Kathy Fogarty, both targeted by Levesque, introduced legislation to close what ought to be called the “Levesque Loophole” (2026-S 2720, 2026-H 7450) by extending the $2000 limit to apply to multiple PACs that have the same owner. Unfortunately, that legislation did not pass.

Finally, Boisclair’s land use legal work ought to earn her the opposition of the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA), especially this case that was covered by ecoRI (CLICK HERE). So should Jim Mageau’s support for Boisclair.

Those are the negatives. Let’s look at your positive alternative

Why you should vote for Tina Spears

Here's where I stand. Photo by Will Collette

Tina Spears has served all of Charlestown and the rest of House District 36 with distinction for two terms and seeks your vote for re-election.

Tina points to these achievements from the recently completed General Assembly session:

We were able to make life in our community better by:

·       Fully funding library aid

·       Increasing education funding, especially for special education

·       Securing funding for the Charlestown Breachway rebuild

·       Passing the South Kingstown High School bond

·       Advancing legislation allowing New Shoreham to increase landing fees, manage its water district, and better structure its taxing authority. ​

I am especially proud to have sponsored and passed two bills: 

The Act on Coasts provides Rhode Island with a roadmap to strengthen coastal infrastructure in the face of rising seas. Rather than debating the causes, I am focused on preparing our communities, particularly in District 36, for the changes we are already seeing along our coastline 

The Purple Alert establishes an early alert system when individuals with disabilities go missing, making Rhode Island one of a small number of states to prioritize this vulnerable population. In partnership with advocates, families, and public safety officials, we turned a tragic situation into meaningful action that strengthens our public safety response and saves lives.​

Tina has a long record of community service, while Boisclair has none. Tina often teams up with other legislators such as state Senator Victoria Gu to boost her ability to get bills passed. She meets often with voters in her district. On top of that, she’s a genuinely kind and warm-hearted person.

Vote for Tina Spears in the September 9 Democratic primary. You must be a registered Democrat to vote in this primary.

And Tina DOES NOT protect pedos.

Bottle Bill, Producer Responsibility Again Topics of Legislative Debate, with No Resolution in Sight

Looks like we're going to kick the can (and nips and water bottles) down the road again

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

House Environment and Natural Resources Committee Chair Rep. David Bennett, D-Warwick, tells the same story every year.

One year, for Christmas, he gave his 5-year-old grandson a toy truck. His grandson asked him for help opening the packaging on the truck, which had hard plastic, wire ties, buttons, and cardboard. It was difficult for his grandson to open, and, as Bennett tells the story, just as difficult for him as an adult to open.

Bottom of Form

“It took me penny cutters, write cutters, scissors, and pliers just to open the packaging on the truck,” Bennett said during a committee hearing May 27. “About 15 minutes later I’m done, and I turn around and he’s got three more trucks.”

For years now, Bennett has told that story when introducing his legislation (H7910) for extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for packaging and paper. The program puts the onus on producers of plastic and paper packaging to come up with a recycling program for the materials.

There’s no easy way to recycle the hard plastic that encases toys, electronics, and other high-value products. The traditional catechism from some producers of some packaging is it makes it harder to shoplift and cuts down on theft — but it also all but guarantees packaging fills up Rhode Island’s already limited landfill.

“It’s a theft, we’re throwing all that stuff in our landfill,” Bennett said. “We have to pay for that.”

Stronger EPR legislation has struggled to make it out of the General Assembly in recent years, due in part to local business opposition to its close cousin, the bottle bill (H7911).

Bottle bills, or beverage container redemption systems, attach a fixed fee — 10 cents per container, according to this year’s legislation — that can be redeemed once returned to a recycling collection center.

The redemption fee is aimed at incentivizing consumers to recycle empty water bottles, soda bottles, and other plastic waste associated with drinks. Similar programs exist in Rhode Island already for two categories of products: mattresses and paint.

Bottle redemption programs, like EPR programs, are run by producer responsibility organizations, entities made up of the producers of the waste being recycled.

Sen. DiMario, Rep. Fogarty introduce legislation to address loopholes in campaign finance law

Bills need action before General Assembly session ends 

Here is a prime example of the kind of election abuse
this legislation is designed to fight. From the League
of Rhode Island Businesses (LORIB) which set up
40 PACs and is running candidates against nearly
every Democratic woman legislator in South County.

Sen. Alana M. DiMario and Rep. Kathleen A. Fogarty have introduced legislation to close a variety of loopholes in state campaign finance law.

“As elected officials, our constituents expect us to represent their best interests and not the best interests of wealthy donors,” said Senator DiMario (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown, New Shoreham). 

“Furthermore, our state constitution charges the General Assembly with setting limits on political donations and ensuring that campaign donations and expenditures are clearly and publicly reported. But as with many laws that we pass, we have to keep an eye on them so that they work as intended. This bill seeks to close the gaps between intention and practice in campaign finance by closing loopholes that have become apparent over the years. It’s time for the letter of the law to reflect the spirit of open, fair and transparent campaigning set down in our constitution.”

The bill (2026-S 2720, 2026-H 7450) would strengthen Rhode Island’s campaign finance laws in a variety of ways, including closing a loophole that allows campaigns to receive unlimited donations from vendors if those vendors agree to allow an outstanding invoice for their services to remain unpaid for an indefinite period of time. The bill would set a time limit for unpaid invoices before they must be classified as donations.

“This is critical legislation that closes loopholes surrounding election donations and campaign expenditures,” said Representative Fogarty (D-Dist. 35, South Kingstown). “Our laws are clearly intended to place reasonable limits on the role of money in politics and make sure its influence is transparently reported. But we’ve been falling behind upholding these ideals as donors, candidates and political action committees have found and exploited loopholes since our laws were last updated. By addressing areas where our laws are coming up short, this bill will increase transparency and boost public confidence in the electoral process.”

The bill would also prohibit using multiple political action committees under the control of the same person or group of people to evade the annual $2,000 limit on contributions to a political candidate — a practice already outlawed in federal elections — and strengthen the penalties for illegal straw donations that are similarly used to subvert contribution limits.

It would also clarify the definition of an in-kind contribution, require campaigns to itemize payments to vendors, tighten rules for political action committees to stop them from scamming donors by spending the bulk of their funds on overhead and close a loophole that could allow corporations that are banned from donating to candidates in Rhode Island to evade the ban by donating paid personal services.

Senator DiMario and Representative Fogarty’s legislation was supported in committee by the Rhode Island Board of Elections, the Campaign Legal Center and Common Cause Rhode Island, the latter of which wrote “together these changes will make our campaign finance limits and reporting more effective and reduce the role of money in our politics.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: LORIB has targeted Charlestown state Rep. Tina Spears as well as our state Senator Victoria Gu. The authors of the legislation, Rep. Kathy Fogarty and Sen. Alana DiMario are also targets, as are Rep. Teresa Tanzi, Rep. Carol McEntee, and Sen. Bridgette ValVerde. Many of these challenges take the form of putting up a DINO (Democrat in name only) candidate up against a real Democrat in the September 9 Democratic Primary. That's the case in Charlestown where a pro-gun lawyer specializing in defending clients charged with sex crimes is up against our hard-working state Rep. Tina Spears.    - Will Collette

Rhode Island House approves Rep. McEntee’s clergy sex abuse bills

Expanding accountability for clerical sex predators

The House approved Chairwoman Carol Hagan McEntee’s five-bill legislative package that delivers accountability for victims of childhood sexual abuse.  Three of the bills were recently recommended within the Attorney General’s report on clergy sex abuse.

“This report is a long time coming and it should be clear to anyone reading it that the systematic coverup of this pervasive and appalling behavior is just as bad as the actual assaults of countless helpless children.  Like the Epstein files, this report shows the lengths to which vile predators were shielded and protected from accountability by powerful institutions, and it should make us all angry and disgusted.  Revealing the truth about this immoral corruption is the first step to delivering real justice for so many victims, and I will continue to support our victims’ rights and quest for justice through this legislation that will hold both the abusers and the institutions that protected these predators accountable in the courts,” said House Judiciary Chairwoman McEntee (D-Dist. 33, South Kingstown, Narragansett).

South County women under attack from MAGA gun nut

Charlestown’s Rep. Tina Spears and Sen. Victoria Gu among them

By Will Collette

A new right-wing political group hopes to decimate the ranks of Democratic state legislators representing most of South County. It’s called “The League of Rhode Island Businesses (LORIB)” which has set up 40 political action committees all over the state – one in each municipality and the state PAC.

This new group was founded by Trump supporter David Levesque, a Warwick coffee shop owner who says he was motivated by the state’s passage of a ban on assault weapons. In addition to gun rights, the League is also vehemently opposed to taxes on the rich such as the state’s new Taylor Swift law that levees a state surcharge on high-priced absentee-owned property.

The League has already announced a slate of candidates and plans to recruit more who will push Levesque’s MAGA agenda. Most of his targets are women, all are Democrats. Most of the targets voted to ban military-style assault rifles.

Who is on the LORIB target list in South County?

•     Rep. Tina Spears (Charlestown, Westerly, Block Island, So. Kingstown)
•     Sen. Victoria Gu (Westerly, Charlestown)
•     Sen. Alana DiMario
•     Sen. Bridgette ValVerde
•     Rep. Carol Hagen McEntee
•     Rep. Kathy Fogarty

Levesque is looking for candidates to challenge:

•     Rep. Teresa Tanzi
•     Rep. Julie Casimiro
•     And to challenge for the open seat being vacated in North Kingstown by Rep. Bob Craven

In all but one instance, the League is backing DINO candidates in the hope of unseating incumbents in the Democratic primary. The exception is Sen. Victoria Gu – LORIB’s only Republican pick is MAGAnut Westin Place who was trounced by Victoria twice (2022 and 2024).

Levesque also has a major South County footprint as a Narragansett resident and principal in the following businesses:

I am hoping Levesque’s focus on the primaries will backfire. By definition, only registered Democrats can vote in those primaries and primary voters tend to pay more attention than voters in the General election. Democratic Town Committees will need to make sure voters understand what’s at stake and may need to prepare to counter business-sponsored mailer blitzes.

The Providence Journal says the League of Rhode Island Businesses “pledged full financial support” to its endorsed candidates. Whether Levesque can actually raise enough money to back up that pledge remains to be seen. It’s not showing up in any serious way in their most recent Campaign Finance reports.

The League of RI Businesses Charlestown reported a cash balance of $15. Its registered office is in Cranston.

Last October, attorney Leah Boisclair was among the first of the LORIB candidates to declare, bagging a Westerly Sun “top story.” The article was pretty much a news release, light on detail and high on puff. However, looking a little deeper into Boisclair’s record, there wasn’t much there besides her defense of criminal defendants.

She’s a defense attorney who, according to her website, defends clients charged with violent crime, domestic abuse, crimes against property and sex crimes.

She is a self-described "Sex Crimes Defense Attorney." I'm not making this up.

Of course, under the Constitution, everyone is judged to be innocent until proven guilty and is entitled to a defense. Here is a list copied directly from her website listing the types of sex crimes she defends:

Sexual Assault

• First-Degree Sexual Assault (Rape)
• Second-Degree Sexual Assault (Sexual Contact)
• Third-Degree Sexual Assault (Statutory Rape)

Child Molestation

• First-Degree Child Molestation (Rape)
• Second-Degree Child Molestation (Sexual Contact)
• Third-Degree Child Molestation (Statutory Rape)

Sex Crimes Charges

• Indecent Exposure
• Video Voyeurism
• Unauthorized Dissemination of Indecent Material

Child Exploitation or Harm

• Possession of Child Pornography
• Distribution of Child Pornography
• Indecent Solicitation of a Minor
• Exploitation for Commercial Purposes
• Electronic Dissemination of Indecent Material to Minors
• Cruelty to or Neglect of a Child
• Child Endangerment
• Patronizing a Minor for Commercial Sexual Activity

Prostitution-Related Offenses

• Procurement of Sexual Conduct for a Fee
• Loitering for Prostitution
• Solicitation of Prostitution
• Promoting or Permitting Prostitution
• Trafficking an Individual
• Sexual Servitude
• Forced Labor

I’m not making any of this up – this is from HER website.

Again, while everyone is entitled to a defense and presumption of innocence, I’m sure glad I’m not the one doing the defending. Further, I’m not very comfortable with this promotional piece, especially the stilettos and underwear, shown in this screenshot from her website:

Given her portfolio, her practice would probably be very successful in Washington, DC with its abundance of pedos and sexual predators. Maybe her MAGA sponsor felt that this portfolio was a plus for her. This is a question that I hope will be explored during the campaign.

I didn’t see much in her history about any sort of public service or civic engagement. She waitressed at the Homestead on Route 2 and staffed a booth for the Grange at the Washington County Fair, but that was about it. She’s running as a Democrat, but I’ve never seen her at any local Democratic function.

Maybe we’ll learn more about her as the campaign year progresses.

I’ll also be curious to see whether the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) weighs in. The CCA backed Libertarian Republican Blake “Flip” Filippi in his defeat of long-time District 36 state Rep. Donna Walsh. Will they support the LORIB PAC effort to oust Rep. Spears and Senator Gu?

But for now, Charlestown has an outstanding state representative in Tina Spears who is running for reelection to a 3^rd term. Compare her record of community service and legislative effectiveness to Boisclair’s and I believe the choice is clear.

Speaker Shekarchi appoints Rep. McEntee as chairwoman of House Judiciary Committee

McEntee replaces Bob Craven after Craven’s aborted AG campaign

Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee (D-Dist. 33, South Kingstown, Narragansett) has been appointed by Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi as the new chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee. She has served as the committee’s first vice-chair for the last several legislative sessions.

“It is a tremendous honor to be appointed as the new Judiciary chair, and I thank Speaker Shekarchi and my House colleagues for having faith in me to lead this important committee. At a time when countless rights are being trampled upon and disregarded, the House Judiciary Committee stands as a crucial line of defense for all Rhode Islanders and that will not change. I look forward to working with other members of the committee and the entire House of Representatives to ensure that the people of Rhode Island are cared for, supported and protected,” said Chairwoman McEntee (D-Dist. 33, South Kingstown, Narragansett).

EDITOR'S NOTE: South Kingstown representative Carol Hagen McEntee replaces long-time Charlestown assistant solicitor Bob Craven after Bob's four-day long disastrous campaign for Attorney General revealed issues about his past legal problems that made his candidacy untenable. In addition to ending his campaign, Bob also resigned as Judiciary Committee chair, the position McEntee is filling, and declared he is not seeking re-election.  - Will Collette

Rep. McEntee receives Audubon 2025 Legislative Leadership Award

Hagan McEntee honored for hard work for the environment

From the left: David Caldwell, chair of Audubon Society of RI,
Rep. June S. Speakman, Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee and
Meg Kerr, board member of Audubon Society of RI.

Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee was honored with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island 2025 Legislative Leadership Award at the Society’s 128^th Annual Meeting on October 19, 2025, in Bristol, RI.  

Audubon recognized Representative McEntee for her dedication to Rhode Island’s environment and the protection of birds, wildlife, and the people of Rhode Island.

Representative McEntee (D-Dist. 33, South Kingstown, Narragansett) was first elected in June 2015. She is the chair of the House Small Business Committee and is the first vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Representative McEntee is also a member of the House Labor Committee and the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

Throughout her legislative career she has worked closely with Audubon, prioritizing legislation to benefit the environment. Her hallmark accomplishment is the Plastic Waste Reduction Act, which passed in 2022 and became effective on January 1, 2024. 

This bill was sponsored by Representative McEntee and former Senate President Dominic Ruggerio and bans Rhode Island retail establishments from providing single-use plastic bags to customers at the point of sale. Plastic waste is a tremendous problem world-wide and negatively affects the health of birds, other wildlife, and people. Representative McEntee’s successful work on this act will begin to reduce plastic pollution in the Ocean State.

Democratic South County women win passage of lots of good legislation

General Assembly powerhouses

By Will Collette

Thank you Tina and Victoria

In case you haven’t noticed it, most of South County’s General Assembly members are Democratic women. Among the few exceptions are Charlestown-connected Rep. Bob Craven of No. Kingstown, one of the body’s most powerful members, and two Westerly DINOcrats, Sen. Sam Azzinaro and Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy.

Then there’s MAGA outlier Sen. Elaine Morgan (R) whose contribution this session has consisted of embarrassing MAGA stunts including one where she impersonated a DOGE agent to try to get into a homelessness program in Providence.

The dominance of South County’s Democratic women shows in their remarkable output of significant legislation and, this year in particular, their ability to get these bills passed.

Now that this year’s General Assembly has closed, my inbox is filled with notices of bills passed. Sponsors of these bills include Charlestown’s Senator Victoria Gu and Tina Spears, South Kingstown’s Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, Sen. Sue Sosnowski, Reps. Teresa Tanzi and Kathy Fogarty, and Sen. Alana DiMario.

Today’s roundup only includes bills passed at the end of the session, not the bills passed earlier. I’ve usually posted notices about those bills as they happened.

Rep. Megan Cotter (Richmond, Hopkinton, Exeter) scored her impressive achievements on bills to protect lives, land and homes in the past few weeks.

The greatest achievements are in the areas of affordable housing, land use and health care.

I congratulate them all. Trying to get anything done in the General Assembly is hard and often disappointing work but they can all take pride in their ability to get things done to benefit South County and the rest of Rhode Island.

Below, I’ve pasted in the reports on the bills that passed at the session’s close.