PORTSMOUTH — Candidates for two local General Assembly seats sounded off on everything from the line-item veto to immigration legislation during a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Newport County Thursday night at Town Hall.

The forum featured Senate District 11 (Portsmouth, Tiverton and Bristol) opponents Democrat incumbent James Seveney and Republican Stephanie Calise; and House District 72 (Portsmouth and Middletown) candidates incumbent Republican Kenneth Mendonça and Democrat Terri Cortvriend. 

League member Adrienne Haylor served as moderator and asked the candidates a series of questions, including their single most important legislative proposal to benefit their district.

Ms. Calise said she would work toward enacting the office of state inspector general. “I feel this (position), which is independent of government, has the authority to detect waste and fraud to protect every taxpayer. We’re not getting a return on our investment for taxes,” she said.

Sen. Seveney said his top priority remains the same: to establish a consistent funding stream for substance abuse prevention statewide and in local communities. “Nearly all the money we spend on prevention … comes from federal grants,” he said. “There’s money out there to be had; all we have to do is fix the law to get that stream in place.”

Both District 72 candidates said they would focus on getting more funding for local school districts. 

“Portsmouth and Middletown have taken a big hit in the school funding formula,” said Rep. Mendonça, noting that taxpayers are making up the difference. 

Ms. Cortvriend, who chairs the Portsmouth School Committee, said she would push for increased state funding for the schools, noting an “overreliance” on property taxes. 

Gun laws

On whether he was satisfied with Rhode Island’s current gun laws, Sen. Seveney said he was not, but that there have been some positive changes made in the legislature.

“I am a gun safety/sensible gun ownership proponent. I was the Senate sponsor of a ban on bump stocks,” said Sen. Seveney. “I understand very clearly what high-powered weapons and high-volume fire can do, which we’ve all seen.”

Ms. Calise said the weapon itself is not the problem. “I don’t support legislation that circumvents people’s constitutional rights,” she said. 

She referred to the so-called “Red Flag” bill as a possible “witch hunt.” Signed into law by Gov. Gina Raimondo earlier this year along with the ban on bump stocks, it allows a judge to order firearms removed from people if police provide evidence they are a danger to themselves or others.

“Without due process, that person could essentially be considered guilty before he or she has the chance to prove otherwise,” Ms. Calise said.

Rep. Mendonça said while he voted for both pieces of legislation, “I think the Second Amendment is just as important as the First Amendment.” 

He pointed out that the Newport Rifle Club, which resides in District 72, is comprised of “responsible people who reach out to the community” and that its voice should be heard as well.

Ms. Cortvriend said she would have voted for both bills and that legislators need to do even more to keep students and others safe from gun violence.

“I think we should do more when a student can walk outside a school and be killed in the streets of Providence. We have to balance gun ownership with public safety,” she said.

Abortion rights

Asked for her stance on the Reproductive Health Care Act that would codify the protections of Roe v. Wade into state law, Ms. Calise said while she supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, she has some problems with the local bill. 

“I don’t believe a lot of what’s been said about this legislation,” she said. “I don’t … agree with partial-birth abortions. I would never want my child to cross over the state border to have an abortion without me not knowing what’s going on.”

Sen. Seveney labeled himself pro-choice. “It’s a privacy issue and a fundamental freedom that a woman has the right to decide what to do with her body — period,” he said, adding that partial-birth abortions “is not part of the discussion” and that the local bill doesn’t expand on Roe v. Wade.

“I am a pro-life candidate but do support a women’s right to choose,” said Rep. Mendonça. He said he doesn’t support the bill as currently written, however. “It doesn’t just affirm Roe v. Wade … it actually goes beyond that.”

Ms. Cortvriend said she supports the bill. “This is a fundamental right of women to have control over their body. It’s a right of privacy between them and their doctor. I don’t know what will happen at the federal level,” she said.

Immigration legislation

On whether Rhode Island needs additional legislation regarding immigration, Ms. Cortvriend said she doesn’t want local police having the extra burden of enforcing the issue.

“I don’t support state government getting involved in anything we’ve see on the southern border and splitting up families. That’s a federal issue,” she said.

Rep. Mendonça and Sen. Seveney both said they supported a bill allowing Rhode Island Dreamers with current or past DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) status to apply for and receive driver’s licenses regardless of what happens at the federal level. Other than that, they don’t believe any additional legislation is necessary.

Ms. Calise said illegal immigration is a state problem that needs to be dealt with. “It’s a drain on the state and it’s the onus of the Rhode Island taxpayer,” she said.

General agreement

All four candidates generally supported a constitutional amendment allowing the governor to veto individual line items in the annual state budget, as well as proposed legislation to allow in-person early voting, and a more independent review of redistricting which the state takes up in two years.

Candidates said the early voting bill would go far in improving voter turnout. 

“Anything we can do to make voting easier and more accessible, I would be in support of,” said Ms. Cortvriend, adding that local canvassing officials also support the proposal.

Rep. Mendonça and Ms. Calise, however, said they want to see more details before throwing their full support behind the bill. “Too early is too early,” said Ms. Calise. 

Ms. Cortvriend said an independent study of re-drawing district lines is greatly needed. “As I walk the streets of District 72, I wonder how we came to dividing it up in this manner,” she said.

Rep. Mendonça agreed. “Gerrymandering makes it difficult for people to understand what districts they’re in, and these cutout were done specifically for political purposes,” he said.