Dems running for RI lieutenant gov. debate on energy, schools, bridge 13%
By Wheeler Cowperthwaite16%
7/31/2026, 4:49:00 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Unattributed Quote, Biased Writer Voice, and Confirmation Bias, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 13.3% saturation with 116 hits. Analysis detected 922 faulty-reasoning hits from 869 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 24.6% and a BS Rank of 13% (22,187 of 25,292 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 87.70% of the article peer group.
EAST PROVIDENCE – The four people running in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor agree on a lot of things.
They all agree that Gov.
Dan McKee's attempts to roll back a 100% renewable energy deadline to 2050, from 2033, in an attempt to lower utility bills, is a huge problem.
That McKee was right in shutting down the Washington Bridge so quickly.
That they would have signed the legislation McKee signed creating a moratorium for new charter schools for the next few years.
In a mostly bloodless debate on WPRI, moderated by Tim White and Ted Nesi, Lt.
Gov.
Sabina Matos and her three challengers, Sue AnderBois, Xay Khamsyvoravong and Cindy Coyne, answered questions on topics ranging from the Washington Bridge to the nature of the office to the relationship with the governor.
The debate premiered on July 31, the day it was taped, and also runs on Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. in the normal "Newsmakers" time slot on Fox Providence.
It's available online.
The bridge
While everyone agreed the bridge needed to be shut down, the real question was, what should have been done differently at the start?
Khamsyvoravong: McKee should have been more focused on getting the bridge fixed.
Matos: Get more money out to affected businesses more quickly.
AnderBois: She would have immediately taken responsibility for the crisis, "instead of blaming the past administration or trying to figure out who to blame on" as well as offering "more creative" solutions to get people over the river, instead of just "how many cars can pack on that bridge."
Coyne: Communication was poor, and East Bay residents are still angry about McKee's comments that the bridge traffic was a "minor inconvenience."
Going forward, she said, the state needs an "organized maintenance program."
Had the candidates been governor, would they have booted former Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti following the bridge closer?
Matos said she would have kept him "in order to get through the crisis," while the other candidates all would have removed him posthaste.
The environment
All the candidates agreed that McKee's efforts to push a deadline for Rhode Island to transition to renewable energy from 2033 to 2050 is unacceptable.
AnderBois, whom McKee targeted for removal from the state's Energy Efficiency Council, said the state is overly reliant on natural gas, and pushing the deadline out to 2050 will result in much more natural gas infrastructure being built, which energy customers will directly pay for in their bills.
"That's going to raise the cost of energy," she said.
"So even in a world where you don't care about climate change, that is an irresponsible decision."
Matos said the state needs to stick to 2033 to stop its reliance on fossil fuels, especially since a war, a natural disaster or politics can all decrease supply.
Khamsyvoravong leaned on his time as chairman of the Providence Water Authority.
During that time, the authority transitioned to running entirely on solar power.
"That didn't just make sense for the environment," Khamsyvoravong said.
"It also saved our ratepayers nearly a million dollars a year.
The only way you get to a point like that is if you move with urgency under the plan that you have in front of you at that point in time."
Coyne said she was a co-sponsor on the Act on Climate bill, passed on 2021, that created the 2033 deadline.
For Coyne, part of the answer to high utility bills is ending the gross earnings tax on electricity and gas.
Should the governor and lieutenant governor be on the same ticket?
Matos said she wants the governor and lieutenant governor to run on one ticket in the general election, but keep the lieutenant governor's race at the primary level.
"They should work together, and it's a challenge for a governor and lieutenant governor to be able to have that relationship because they're not elected together," Matos said.
Khamsyvoravong said the governor needs to give the lieutenant governor "clear scope, clear support and a clear planfor what you're doing with the office and the support that you have from the governor."
Coyne swiped at Matos that she would "do it differently" than Matos has with McKee and would "initiate an open dialogue with the governor and his or her team."
AnderBois called herself a "radically collaborative" person and said she would try to work with the governor, "but you can't push me around."
Abolish ICE?
All of the candidates agreed that U.S.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is terrorizing Rhode Island residents and, to one level or another, that it should be abolished.
Matos moved to the United States when she was 20, and Khamsyvoravong's father moved to the country as a refugee, and both talked about their backgrounds.
Coyne said she agrees with "abolishing Trump's ICE" and that there has been federal overreach, and AnderBois said she would also abolish it.
The next debate by WPRI will be the Democratic candidates for attorney general on Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. at Roger Williams University School of Law, followed by a debate with McKee and Helena Foulkes on Aug. 18 at Rhode Island College.
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