The candidates for the RI House of Representatives District 66 seat, Janine Wolf and Jennifer Boylan, shared the stage first at a series of forums held at Barrington Public Library on Monday night, Sept. 30.

Wolf, a Republican, and Boylan, a Democrat, differed on nearly every question posed by the moderator, East Bay Media Group General Manager Scott Pickering. 

Wolf and Boylan voiced their differences on new legislation regarding gun control.

Wolf said she supported some of the laws, but also said officials needed to target the sources of illegal street guns and not firearms owned by law-abiding citizens.

Boylan shared her support for the gun control legislation — she said she has been active on the issue since the Sandy Hook, Conn. tragedy years ago. Boylan, who is in her first term at the General Assembly, said she was proud of the gun control laws she has worked on, while Wolf said Democrats want to eventually ban all guns. Boylan said she was not coming to take away everyone’s guns. She said her “end game” was to reduce gun violence.

The two candidates differed widely on the state budget. Boylan said she likes the work the General Assembly did on the budget, while Wolf spoke about the government’s ever-increasing size and expanding budgets. 

When asked if the General Assembly should do more to increase the number of primary care physicians in Rhode Island, Wolf pointed blame at health insurance industry. She also placed some of the blame on politicians for not being tougher on insurance companies. Boylan said there were many causes for the shortage of physicians, and referenced a commission that will study the issue.

The biggest separation surfaced when Pickering asked how the General Assembly could help the state be ready for climate change.

Boylan said she introduced a series of bills to combat climate change — the solar neighborhoods act, building de-carbonization, and having the state government lead by example. She also spoke about an effort to pass laws funding climate change education in schools, and added that she wants the state to act with more urgency on the matter.

Wolf disagreed. She referenced the climate alarmists and spoke about how officials refer to every storm as being a “gotcha” moment. She said officials practice “fear-mongering” with the public and put needless stress on children. Wolf said there is no empirical data that shows the use of fossil fuels is causing the climate change. Wolf said the Democrats want to make people feel guilty about climate, and then make people pay guilt money.