1. What are your top 3 legislative priorities, and why do you feel that these are the most important on which to focus?
I’d like to make sure our state does what it can to prevent gun violence by passing legislation like the Safe Schools Act, which prevents people from carrying concealed weapons into schools, and Rep. Knight’s assault weapons ban. I want to make sure our state treats its women as full and equal citizens, so I want to make sure we pass a real fair pay act that protects women and others against wage discrimination, and I want to pass the package of bills about sexual harassment protections that were proposed by Rep. Tanzi’s commission. Also, with the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, I want Rhode Island to pass the Reproductive Health Care Act, to protect the right to choose in our state, given the increasing danger that the Supreme Court will overrule Roe v. Wade. We also need to fund our schools. Here in House District 30, we just had a roof collapse at Eldredge Elementary School. We haven’t been adequately funding our infrastructure needs, and schools in every community, including East Greenwich, need better and more stable funding streams in order to ensure our kids get the best education they can. I’ll be working hard at the state level, and also in partnership with local officials, to make sure they get it.
I hear about these and other issues when I’m talking with voters in East Greenwich, and I’ll be working hard to impact and support legislation on the full range of issues our state government can affect. Anyone who wants to talk more about these or other issues can contact me at 401- 212-7320 or at hq@justine4ri.com and I’d be happy to hear your concerns and ideas.
2. How do you distinguish yourself from your opponent?
First, I disagree with him on a number of issues.
- He voted against a law to keep guns from domestic abusers,
- He voted against a law that would have allowed police, with court approval, to temporarily take firearms away from people deemed an immediate threat to themselves or others (a “red flag” law),
- He voted against a law to legalize same-sex marriage,
- He was endorsed by Rhode Island Right to Life,
- He voted against a law to create the Climate Change Coordinating Council,
- He voted against a law to create the Renewable Growth Energy Program,
- He voted against a law to automatically register voters,
- He voted against a law to exempt university researchers from public records requests, thereby allowing climate-change deniers to begin harassing them even before they publish their research,
- He voted against a law to raise the subminimum (tipped) wage from $2.89 an hour — and I don’t believe that any server should have to choose between being harassed or abused and making $2.89 an hour,
- He voted against a law to raise the minimum wage from $8.00 an hour to $9.00 an hour.
I also think I’ll bring more energetic representation to the district. Rep. Giarrusso doesn’t hold constituent meetings or forums. When a local group of residents concerned about gun violence invited him to an event about it to discuss their concerns, he declined. When the House voted on the “red flag” legislation, Rep. Giarrusso was on vacation, and in later interviews, got it confused with a different piece of legislation (the legislation banning “bump stocks”). I think we need someone who is more involved in the details of the job.
I’ll be involved in the district — meeting with constituents, going door-to-door, meeting with members of our Town Councils (in East Greenwich and West Greenwich) and School Committees. This sort of engagement hasn’t happened the past six years; in fact, Rep. Giarrusso said he had no responsibility for dealing with what was going on in Town. I disagree — I think House District 30’s residents will be best served by state-level officials working in partnership with local officials, and I’ll bring that to the job.
3. Our Governor has been very vocal in criticizing President Trump and his agenda. Do you agree with her, or do you feel we should be supporting him?
I was partly inspired to run for office by the election of President Trump, and my desire not to let him define what kind of country we were going to be — and what kind of state Rhode Island was going to be. I grew up here, and President Trump doesn’t represent what I know about the people of this state.
President Trump, like every public official — including me, if I’m elected — should be subject to criticism from the public when he takes actions we oppose. I oppose most of President Trump’s actions, as well as the coarsening of public discourse he’s brought to our country. I knock on every door — Democratic, Republican, and unaffiliated — and have had many productive discussions with Republicans. I think all of us, including public officials, are going to have to work hard to undo the damage that the Trump era has done to our ability to talk to one another. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ll work hard to figure them out.
I did write a piece about President Trump’s family separation policy, because as a mom I couldn’t stomach not speaking out about it. You can read my thoughts about that here.
4. Do you feel it’s important/appropriate for our State Rep. to be involved in town politics/issues? Why or why not? If you do feel it is important/appropriate, in what ways would you be involved?
I already covered this in the answer to question 2 — how I’d distinguish myself from my opponent. My answer is yes, and during his six years in the job, he’s demonstrated that his answer is “no.”
I will meet regularly with members of our Town Councils and School Committees in order to make sure I understand what they feel like our residents and local governments need from the state, and work in partnership with them to get it.
5. Do you have any plans on how to recruit more businesses to Rhode Island and, more specifically, our district? Do you have a vision on other ways to grow Rhode Island’s economy?
One of the reasons the United States has been the world’s economic leader is because we have one of the most transparent systems — we have the rule of law, rules are mostly enforced fairly, and so businesses know what to expect and can do the sort of planning necessary to succeed. Rhode Island should embrace these same qualities — we need to break up our “know- a-guy” culture and open up government to make it more transparent. That’s one of the reasons we need new people at the State House — to disrupt the culture that has been there for so long.
We Rhode Islanders joke about it, but the harm it does to our business climate and economy is not a laughing matter.
My husband is a small businessman, and he’s also helped me see that sometimes we have regulations that don’t make sense. We need to cut red tape when it’s not sensible. But we have to be careful about making blanket statements about “red tape” — what right-wing politicians sometimes mean when they say “red tape” are things like environmental regulations, to protect our clean air, or clean water, or climate — or protect our workers against discrimination, or health care catastrophes. Regulations that accomplish public good are necessary — but obviously they should be as sensible as possible while doing so.
Finally, we need to support the kind of education that the workforce is going to need in the 21st century. Technology is remaking entire industries. Yes, we need technology education — but also we need education that prepares people to use technology, and we need education to prepare more people for careers that will be less affected by automation. The state’s higher education system is an important part of that evolution, and Rhode Island needs to keep up. I have my Ph.D., went to URI for my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and have experience both as a teacher and student in higher education. I am well-prepared to work hard on these issues and help our universities keep up with the times.
6. Do you support universal healthcare and/or Medicaid for all Rhode Islanders? Why or why not?
Yes. I talk with voters across East Greenwich who are frustrated by their interactions with the health-care system, as well as people who have jobs in the health-care system. Almost everyone agrees that it’s too expensive and still too hard for Rhode Islanders to access care. And Republicans in Washington are continuing to try to weaken and undermine the Affordable Care Act, which will make it even harder.
That means our state government may have to step up and fill the gap the federal government is leaving. I supported Sen. Miller’s bill that codified the ten fundamental protections of the Affordable Care Act, including parity for mental health needs, in case Republicans in Washington try to take them away. I’ll support that and similar legislation as a Representative.
7. Do you support codifying Roe vs. Wade to protect a woman’s right to choose in R.I. in the event the decision is overturned federally? Why or why not?
Yes. I’ve testified three times at the State House on this issue, and written about it also. You can watch, and read, longer versions of my thoughts at those links, but in brief, the decision about whether to have a child is one of the most pivotal decisions any woman will ever make in her life. She should make it, not have a set of politicians making it for her.
People say we should focus on issues like education — but they forget that when a woman has a child, it dramatically affects her ability to pursue her education. They say we should focus on issues like jobs — but they forget that when a woman has a child, it has an enormous impact on her career. They say we should focus on issues like health care — but they forget that for women, abortion literally is health care, and that this is a health care decision, which should be made by a patient in consultation with her doctor.
People ask why we should worry about this in Rhode Island. Our current law prohibits abortion and criminalizes the behavior of doctors who help women obtain them. These laws are currently unconstitutional because of Roe v. Wade but could snap back into effect if it is overturned. The threat to the reproductive rights of Rhode Island women is clear and present, and we should immediately pass the Reproductive Health Care Act. That’s why when Justice Kennedy announced his retirement, I, along with two other women running for office, called on legislators to convene an emergency session to do just that.
8. Taxes in R.I. are pretty high. Do you feel lowering taxes is important? How would you make up the missed revenue and/or maintain services?
Americans just received a big cut to their federal taxes. As mentioned in the response to a previous question, our schools are crumbling in Rhode Island — including literally having a school roof collapse in East Greenwich. Our roads and bridges are in the worst shape in the country, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.
I’m all for putting money in taxpayers’ pockets, but the federal government has already done that for us. At the same time it has been slashing aid to states and cities for decades. Our state and local governments have been tasked with doing the same work with less and less — and that’s why our schools, bridges, and other infrastructure are crumbling.
I don’t think that we should be cutting state taxes unless we have a way to make up that revenue so that we can continue to provide the services that our businesses and residents need to keep Rhode Island working. The legislature needs to continually be investigating new possible sources of revenue, as well as ways to use tax dollars more efficiently to cut costs, and I’ll be a part of that work.
Engaged East Greenwich 