EAST PROVIDENCE — The League of Women Voters Rhode Island along with the East Bay Media Group, parent company of The Post, a forum Monday evening, Oct. 17, for State Senate District 14 between two-term incumbent Valarie Lawson (D), David O’Connell (R) and Nicholas Ferrara (I).

O’Connell immediately attempted to paint Lawson as conflicted on matters of education because of not only her being a still active teacher but also a high ranking member of National Education Association Rhode Island.
Lawson currently serves as vice president of NEARI to president President Lawrence Purtill.

The East Providence High School instructor attempted to swat away those claims, saying she had followed all of the proper protocols put into place.

Lawson also was cleared of any wrong doing by the state ethics commission after a complaint was filed earlier in her political career. O’Connell made note of that, but inferred the review was insufficient, without getting into specifics.

On other matters like how the state can assist residents in the face of rising inflation and cost of living increases, Lawson answered first. She talked of the Assembly having eliminated the car tax, adding childcare tax credits and decreasing taxes military pensions and retirees.

O’Connell suggested suspending the gas tax and rebating some or all of the existing budget surplus to residents.

Ferrara said he would like to have all or some tangible taxes on certain small business be waved.

Asked if any further changes to gun laws were necessary, O’Connell said the three-piece legislative package approved by the Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Dan McKee — Bans on large-capacity gun magazines, raising the purchasing age from 18 to 21 and prohibiting open carry — were sufficient.

He said his priority would be to “bring safety to our schools…fortify schools” and challenged Lawson for not supporting a supposed measure to provide school districts across the state with additional funding.

Lawson, who backed all three gun measures, said that she was unfamiliar with any legislation of that kind and that she has supported laws to keep “all guns out of schools.”

In the future, she said she would support enhanced gun storage legislation, in part as a means of suicide prevention, and an assault-style weapons ban.

Ferrara, like O’Connell, said the package just passed was sufficient. He noted his support of the Second Amendment and adhered to the saying, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”

On the topic of how the state was doing on clean energy, environmental protection and climate change, Ferrara said it was a “crisis we need to tackle” and that he was in favor of the state’s goal towards 100 percent reliance on renewable by 2033.

Lawson said bills she supported, the Act on Climate package, were a “great step forward.” She said she was proud to have supported offshore wind legislation in part by accessing $35 million for the South Quay development in city, which will be used as a staging area for the industry regionally.

O’Connell said it should be a “priority” for the “Ocean State” to be prepared for anticipated rising sea levels.

And lastly of note, when asked about their stance on abortion, Lawson said she took pride in voting to codify a woman’s right to choose in Rhode Island law as freshman senator in 2019. She said she also supports passage of the Equal Abortion Coverage Act (EACA).

O’Connell suggested abortion rights were a settled matter, but did say he was opposed to the EACA because it would use taxpayer money to fund “elective” abortions for Medicare recipients and for state employees.

Ferrara said while “life is precious,” he “believes in a woman’s right to choose.” He added, abortion rights in Rhode Island were “codified…I have no interest whatsoever to change them.”

View the full forum for all races involving city candidates on the League of Women Voters Rhode Island website, https://my.lwv.org/rhode-island, “2022 Candidate Forum Videos” section.