Voters of Rhode Island State Representative District 68, which encompasses areas of both Bristol and Warren, will have two candidates to vote for come election day, as the incumbent, Democrat June Speakman, faces independent candidate John Hanley.

Speakman is a professor of political science at Roger Williams University and has served in the House of Representatives since 2019. Before that, she lived in Barrington, where she was a member of the Barrington Town Council for 14 years.

“I thought that I had retired from politics, but a seat opened up unexpectedly in this district and the Democratic party asked me if I would consider running for it,” she said

Speakman believes the biggest concerns for Rhode Islanders, both in her district and the town, are housing and coastal resiliency. She mentioned the coastlines that exists in both Warren and Bristol, specifically mentioning how rising sea levels threaten areas that are low altitudes in both communities.

During the General Assembly’s last session, Speakman helped pass a bill that made it easier for property owners to build Accessory Dwelling Units, or “in-law apartments,” on their land. She said passing that bill, one of AARP’s biggest priority bills, was one of her biggest accomplishments during the last session.

“That gives greater flexibility to property owners and keeps the neighborhood looking the same, but now you have a place for your mother-in-law to live, or graduate student,” Speakman said.

Another bill she cited as one of her biggest accomplishments was a bill that codified that insurance companies could not deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

Speakman said she has other objectives for the next session if she were to get re-elected. She said one area of focus is nursing homes, mentioning that there are many in her district

“We need to make sure that we have excellent care for the residents, good-paying benefits for the workers, and sufficient reimbursements for the owners so that they don’t go out of business,” Speakman said. “That’s a very hard balance, and we still haven’t figured that out yet.

The challenger

Her opponent is John Hanley, president of the Warren Town Council. Hanley previously ran for this seat in 2019, the year Speakman was first elected. Hanley, who works as a building inspector in Pawtucket, also sees housing as the number one issue affecting Rhode Islanders, but he believes current lawmakers are going at it the wrong way.

“I see the intent, but I don’t see the results happening that they’re expecting to happen,” Hanley said.

He said that issue, along with changes made involving local building officials, were what inspired him to run. Hanley spent years as a Democrat, describing himself as a “Kennedy Democrat,” before he re-registered as an independent, saying that the party went in a different direction from his beliefs.

Hanley believes Speakman does not pay enough attention to the people of her district, saying they would be his first priority.

“My loyalty would be to the people of Bristol and Warren, not to the speaker, not to special interests,” he said. He cited that he is running his campaign on $400, which was used to print out signs.

One of the things he cited was roadwork in the district, saying that Speakman should have spent more time focusing on getting those projects completed. Hanley would also want to bring more money into the area, citing Warren’s current financial issues.

“I would love to get some money in here to redo the streets of Warren. I would love to get some money in here, so Warren and Bristol could get a lot more of the infrastructure,” he said. He specifically mentioned hoping to bring in state money to fix side roads that have not been fixed in years.

Both candidates participated in a candidates forum on Tuesday, Oct. 1, held at Roger Williams University. The forum was sponsored and recorded by the the League of Women Voters.