 Hi everyone, if I can just have your attention. Thank you so much. Greetings from the Women's Fund of Rhode Island. We are so pleased to welcome you to the Roger Williams University School of Law tonight as we host our 2022 gubernatorial forum on centering equity. For those of you who don't know us, we at the Women's Fund of Rhode Island have a mission to invest in women and girls. And we do that through research, advocacy, grant making, and strategic partnerships designed to achieve gender equity. If you have joined us tonight in person, we have information out on the table just outside of the auditorium. And we invite everyone to learn more about us at www.wfri.org. And we want to thank the candidates for joining us this evening. It is my pleasure to introduce our partner, host for the evening, Jane Costa, a president of the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island. So it's so great to be here. And thank you for everyone that has come in person and for our candidates. And it's such an honor to be co-hosting this with the Women's Fund. So a little about the League. The League of Women Voters is a nonprofit political organization. We encourage informed and active participation in government, work to increase understanding of major public policy issues to influence public policy through education and advocacy. The League of Women Voters is a people organization that has fought a long and difficult struggle, beginning in the mid-1800s to improve our government and engage all Americans in the decisions that impact their lives and our lives. This struggle brought about the resolution in Congress and the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Over or only a few of the early activists that began at this point, maybe in the 1800s even, for this movement, lived, many of them did not live, to see their victory in 1920. Now the League operates at national, state, and local leagues through more than 750 plus leagues. We never endorse or oppose political parties or candidates, but we are political. Formed from the movement that secured the right to vote for women, the centerpiece of the League's efforts to remain to expand participation and give the voice to all Americans. Please visit our website at www.LWVRI.org for other candidate debates. The League is covering in various districts throughout Rhode Island this year. We are here tonight, the League, to follow in the footsteps of all who have worked to protect democracy for all, working to keep democracy for all. We thank the Women's Fund, and we're so grateful to be here. Many thanks also to our audience and our candidates for joining us this evening. It is now my pleasure to introduce our moderator for this evening's forum, Chelsea Jones. Chelsea, the WPRI News channel. And she is the anchor for that in the evenings. And you can also see her throughout Rhode Island, really, three days a week. So Chelsea has a passion for people and telling their stories. Before calling the Ocean State home, Chelsea worked as an anchor and a reporter for WPRI's 12th sister station, KTVE in Monroe, Louisiana. Chelsea grew up just outside of the nation's capital. She is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland, Phillip Merrill College of Journalism. Throughout her college career, Chelsea interned for WTTG, box five in DC, and the ABC affiliate, WJLA. Chelsea, the stage is yours. Well, good evening, everybody. Thanks for having me to moderate this forum. We just want to lay out some ground rules before we get things going with our candidates here. So first, we ask that you hold your applause and don't make noise throughout this forum. I want to give them a chance to speak and move this thing along for you tonight. Don't do anything visible or audible that might distract the candidates during the forum. And of course, you don't want to represent any opposition or support for the candidates. We just want them to talk. This is an educational event, not a campaign rally. We also ask that cell phones be switched off. If you are caught violating these rules, you will be asked to leave. And then we have some rules for you guys. There will be a two-minute time limit for most of the questions. So you want to be tight and succinct in your responses. We do have timekeepers. That'll hold up one minute, 30 seconds, and wrap it up. Those are your time cues right there. If you all can see them, just give me a thumbs up. Got it? OK, governor? Oh, yeah. OK. And candidates, don't interrupt one another when you are answering your questions. And personal attacks will not be tolerated by anybody. So we want to kick things off with introductions from our candidates. You'll each have a minute to tell everybody about yourselves. And we'll start with you, Matt Brown. Thank you. Can everybody hear me? All right. Thank you very much for doing this and hosting this. And thank you all for coming. Rhode Islanders have been struggling for a long time. And the people in power aren't going to change it. They're the ones who got us here. We can change things. But no one person can do it alone, which is why I'm running with Senator Cynthia Mendes for Lieutenant Governor and dozens of extraordinary candidates from all across the state, nurses, teachers, social workers. People have been doing the work of fighting for our communities for a long, long time. So I'm in a campaign not just to elect a new governor, but to elect a whole new government. And when we do, we will enact a $19 an hour minimum wage. We'll enact Medicare for all so everyone can see a doctor when they need to. We'll build tens of thousands of truly affordable homes and cap annual rent increases at 4%. We'll pass a Green New Deal. We'll raise taxes on the rich and fund our schools. And we'll pass the Quality and Abortion Coverage Act. We can do all these things and appreciate your support on September 13. Thank you. Beat you. All right, Helena, folks. OK. Well, hello, everyone. I'm so glad to be with all of you. At some level, I think I'm really running against the status quo. I was born and raised here. I love this state. I came back after school and started working in a cubicle and one socket at CVS. And I spent 25 years, I will say in this setting, in a very male-dominated world. And I worked my way up. I had every job you could have. I'm most proud of the decision I got to leave out of cigarettes. In 2014, it was a $2 billion category. It was a very hard decision to make. And I think that's relevant for where we are as a state. We need a leader who will make hard decisions. Not just be like, eh, it's OK. It's good enough. We've got to push. We've got to get big things done. Education is my number one platform. And I've said, if I don't improve our kids' scores, I won't run again. Because I think you should hold leaders accountable for results. That's what we're here to do. We're here to serve you. So thanks for being here tonight. Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea. Hi. It's wonderful to be here tonight. Thank you to the League. And thank you to the Women's Fund of Rhode Island. Both are organizations that were instrumental in my path to being here today as a candidate for governor. From the League, I learned how to advocate as a citizen. And from the Women's Fund of Rhode Island, it gave me a space to think about how really being at the table and making changes is exactly what women should be doing and other people as well. And so I am here running to be your next governor because I want to make an economy that's more equitable and just. And I know we can do this. For the last eight years as your Secretary of State, I've been proud to show you that government can work for people. Now I want to do it out of the governor's office. And I'm going to make housing my number one issue. I am going to be the housing governor because everyone from young people to seniors are being dramatically affected by housing costs. And I know how to do it because I was executive director of Housing Works, Rhode Island. And so I know many of the players that we need to bring around the table. And we're going to do a lot more of education and climate change as well later. All right, Ashley Kalis. Thank you so much for having me. I am the Republican candidate for governor. So when you vote in the general election, you will have one woman candidate to choose from. And if we're lucky as a state, maybe two. And so I'll tell you a little bit about myself. I am a businesswoman. I came from nothing. My mother was divorced when I was five. And she moved to a place with an excellent public school system so that her kids could get a good education. Because she knew that education was the great equalizer. It allows you to access opportunity. Within 10 years, I built one of the largest specialty medical practices in the region. And then I got very involved in the COVID response when the country needed me. I am the mom of three school-aged boys. So I did all of that also while having three children, which was difficult. And I'm still working through being a working mom. It's all I've ever known. Ashley, that's going to be it. Thank you. Governor Damakie. Yeah, thanks to the Women's Fund. Very familiar with the Women's Policy Institute. And we have staff members actually in my higher level of staffing in our chief of staff area and policy that has really been instrumental since I've been governor for the last 18 months and very proud of the progress that we have made in that 18 months, going from one of the worst vaccinated states to the number one vaccinated state in the entire country, second in the country on economic recovery, and first in the Northeast. In addition to that, unemployment rate lowest in the history of the state of Rhode Island and there's still good paying jobs left available. So I'm very, very happy to be here. Tell you what we've done as governor and four things I focused on. One was making sure people got vaccinated. Two, make sure our economy opened up as quickly as it could. And it did. Number three, education, which we'll certainly be talking more about. And number four was equity. I staffed my office for equity and we have had success because of that, because of the leadership. OK, governor, that's time. And our last candidate, Louis Daniel Munoz. Thank you so much for sharing this space. I'm Dr. Louis Daniel Munoz. I grew up in Central Falls. Saw the struggles of my mother, who's a single mother raising five kids and the struggles of a father who was struggling with addiction for many years. And witnessed that these systems that we talk about even today were inequitable. Then they continue to be inequitable. I serve on the state's equity council. Over the course of COVID-19, I have very much been an antagonist to administrations, to ensure that we were addressing vaccination equity, as well as supporting families that needed access to rent relief and other resources. I'm running for governor because I do not believe that we have had administrations here in the state that are willing to push the right buttons to really create access points for people. We have a political system that continues to disenfranchise communities. Even today, Dr. Omar Bos being excluded, the only black candidate in the congressional CD2 race. This isn't just about money. It's about political courage. And I'm running to ensure that the next four years, how we use these federal dollars are centered on people. All right, thank you so much, candidates, for the introduction. You will now have two minutes for the questions that follow, and we're gonna kick things off with why you think you're the right candidate for governor to address women's issues specifically. We'll start again with you, Matt. Thank you. As I said, I am running not alone, but with a whole group of candidates. And this is part of the Rhode Island Political Co-operative, which is an organization that I co-founded a few years ago that won a number of races for the legislature in 2020, and we're aiming to do even more now. And with those races we won then, we made the Rhode Island legislature more racially and gender balanced, and it has been ever before in history, and we're gonna do it again in 2022. A point-to-one policy issue, which is raising the minimum wage to $19 an hour, which is a really critical piece of addressing the equity pay, the pay gap, the gender-based pay gap. We've made some progress, but women still are paid less than men across the board, particularly women of color. And disproportionately, women and women of color earn the minimum wage. So raising the minimum wage to $19 an hour and eliminating the tipped wage, importantly, would go a long way in this state to closing the pay gap. There's a study out from the women's law center that shows that states that have eliminated the tipped wage, meaning that the people working in restaurants and everywhere else have the same minimum wage as everybody else have a much, much lower gender pay gap. So raising the minimum wage policy for us going forward. Thank you. Well, I feel that I'm the most qualified for women in particular, because my story is the story of so many women in the state. You know, I started on the ground floor of a company where I had over my 25-year career almost every job you could have. As you can imagine, I said before, it was a very male-dominated place. People made assumptions about me and what I wanted for my career and my family. I had four children in four and a half years, and when my youngest was just one, I got thyroid cancer. And I often, I share that story because I remind myself how lucky I was. I had good health insurance, paid time off and a very good boss, and not enough women have that. Too many women are one disaster away from really falling down and not being able to get back up, so that inspires me. I'm also inspired by my mother. You know, I told you before that I led our decision to get out of cigarettes, but what I didn't tell you is I'd lost my own mother to lung cancer five years before that. And we lose 480,000 people in this country every year to smoking-related illness. So I was able to lead a purpose-driven decision. What also happened out of that, and I think it's very relevant for the governor's role, is this decision inspired people to come work for us, to feel connected to us. And this governor has 13,000 people working for him. We need to engage this workforce so they're serving the people of Rhode Island. Just this morning, I was in Newport, meeting with people talking about SNAP benefits. We were the only state in the country that had lower SNAP benefits during COVID than before. And do you know why that was? The offices were closed and it took 90 minutes on hold to get access to your benefits. Today, it's still an hour and 15 minutes on hold. I know how to lead big things and get big things done and I want this state to work for all the people, especially the women of this state. Secretary of State. Equity and equality for women has been one of the core guiding principles in my life. In the minute I was in college, so right after, I have been involved in the women's movement in this country. And I'm proud of that record. I marched for abortion rights in 1989 and I've held the fight for a woman's right to choose. I am the best candidate because I can prove that my leadership makes a difference. And it comes from that wealth of energy and excitement around making sure that the policymaking table includes a diversity of voices. It's why I was motivated to move not only from civic engagement as a community organizer and being on the women's fund when we created the Women's Policy Institute to engage more women in this, but also because I saw the need to be at the policymaking table. I ran for office and restructured our election systems. And guess what? When you make elections more open and accessible to people, you get different results. And I am proud that today, the General Assembly has more women elected to office. We have more people of color elected to office. That's what happens when you put people who have leadership skills that bring people together and get things done in the policymaking square. I'm very proud of being here today and I'm excited about the possibilities of out of the governor's office really making sure that a variety of voices are heard. And I look forward to working with each and one of you to make that happen through improving our housing affordability by making sure that education is accessible and of a high quality and making sure that we've to battle climate change. I think experience matters and by not coming from privilege and dealing with a lot of the barriers to being a woman in the workforce, I think I understand how you can take policy, but it may not work. I talk a lot about school choice and that's saving my future. Also, I understand how difficult it is to be a working parent or to have things change. So one example that I give is in 2009, I was in graduate school and I was pregnant and I thought my husband was gonna be driving distance away and unfortunately the economy collapsed and all of our plans did as well. So I was alone and I was pregnant and I knew that if I stopped my graduate education at that point, the chance of me returning with a child was very, very low and what that meant for my career and my future was not great. So I stuck with it and I was able to graduate. I also built a large organization that was friendly to moms. I had my children in my office and I also made sure their organization was structured in a way that allowed women to succeed. And that sounds, when you hear it from a policy perspective, that sounds very easy, but doing it on the ground day after day is actually very hard. As an employer, you have to accommodate different things. You have to have flexible scheduling. You have to really want it and you have to make sure that you're inclusive in a way that is sometimes inconvenient for businesses and so I have lived having a diverse organization. I also had the power to make the decision to do so. It wasn't a large corporation telling me I needed to do so. It was my own business and I felt that it was important and I felt that it was worth making less money for spending more time on an individual to make sure that we were able to support it in order to have a child in a lobby all day. It was fine. And so when you have a leader that actually understands what it is on the ground and how policy and practice can be different, it'll change what you decide to do and what you decide not to do. I think- Ashley, that's time. Thank you. Governor Dan McKee. Thank you. So I've had a history of making equity a priority in my life, well before I was a governor. My dad started the Boys Club in our town. 25 years later, I was the president of the Boys Club and I changed the name. Before, Susan and I actually were raising our family to the Boys and Girls Club, knowing that equity in that space was important. First one in New England, I believe and everybody followed that lead. So as governor, it was really easy for me to set up equity as being an actual priority, right? And for women in particular as well. So we restructured our office for equity and opportunity today, first time ever. Over 10% of the state contracts are going to women-owned, minority-owned businesses. We're actually exceeded the 10% and we're at 16% right now. So that's action, right? That's actually putting action in place that puts your words mean very little unless you actually do it. Not only of the staffing as well in terms of the deputy chiefs staff. One of our deputy chiefs as well, a woman who is a graduate from the Policy Institute or whether it has to do with a judge or a colonel of the state police or someone that's running our hospitality and our tourism and a woman that's a colorist doing that or whether it's Rosa over here who heads up our community engagement. It is clear that I have been able to use this office in a way that no one has ever been able to use it and accomplish more in terms of equity than ever has happened before. Take a look at the pay issues, right? So we did sign a pay equity bill. It was unfair for people to be interviewed and then being asked what do you pay? What do you get paid? And then determine your pay scale based on that. So that's just one example of what we're doing. Gun violence issues, signed three pieces of legislation have to ask. Governor, that's time. Lewis? Yeah, we live in a state that has a very inequitable education funding formula concentrates poverty. We had the quality and abortion coverage act that was pushed to committee to get killed by Democrats as much as by Republicans. We have a rent relief program that sourced the workout to Rhode Island housing that sourced it out to a company in Utah that was leaving families behind, developing protocols that were rejecting people that had technology access issues. We continue to face structural challenges and we have Democrats in the state that do not even wanna talk about it, let alone solve it. We do need to get people towards a livable wage. Is $19 gonna get us there? No. We need aggressive supplemental wage programs that can really get people towards that $25 mark so they can barely pay rent because that's what you need to barely pay rent in Rhode Island. In the poorest cities in the state based on childhood poverty, we have families that are paying over 30% of their income on rent. In those same communities, we have close to 50% single family households. How do we solve these challenges if not by making aggressive radical investments which starts with changing our education funding formula, having a waiting system so that poverty isn't just based on free and discounted lunch, having $100 million minimum supplemental wage program that can support small micro-businesses and the employees that they employ. Aggressively addressing the fact that while we can increase taxes all we want, we have one of the most regressive taxes on our micro-businesses, changeable property tax. So when people say increase minimum wage but they don't talk about how the bodegas in the corner are gonna go out of business, there is a challenge there and it's a racial justice issue. I don't think we should talk about equity here without acknowledging that this is a racial justice issue in the state of Rhode Island because equity for who? As on the state's equity council, what I have seen time and time again is people of color, women of color are always left out of discussions and left out of the table as well. Well, this next question will be about reproductive freedom. So while abortion remains legal in Rhode Island, access to it is not equitable. It is estimated that roughly 84,000 people on Medicaid and state employee health insurance can't use their insurance like other Rhode Islanders to pay for abortion care. The fiscal note from both the House and Senate this year show that the equity or equality I should say in abortion coverage act would be revenue neutral. So the question is, will you commit to putting funds in your first budget to ensure there's equitable access to abortion care for all Rhode Islanders who need it? And if you need me to repeat the question as we go down the line, I know it's a bunch of you, just let me know. But we'll start again with you, Matt. Okay. Yes, I would, I said that at the time that it came up and, you know, it's an emergency. Roe v. Wade was overturned months ago. People in this state don't have access to abortion. We've had this bill in the legislature for a number of years. Speaker Shikarchi, Senate President Regirio should have brought it to the floor. They should have called a special session if they couldn't get it done before the session ended. Governor McKee should have put it in his budget. He didn't. I would put it in my budget. We've got to get it passed and we've got to get it passed immediately because it's urgent. Thank you. Helena? Yes, absolutely. I do want to go back for a second and then I'll answer this question. I'm a little puzzled by highlighting the number of women you have in leadership roles, which I think is, you know, we should be half of the representation of any key cabinet in our state. And so I just want to highlight that that feels oh so 1989 when I started working. Absolutely, totally support the EACA. I think this was a missed opportunity on the governor's part. And I would say that a couple things. We had an opportunity to insist that we would not pass the budget unless the EACA was included. I think it's terrible that one third of our women do not have access to abortion coverage. So that's one thing. We were also behind Massachusetts. The Republican governor of Massachusetts beat us to the executive order on making sure we were protecting women. And the first budget that I would put in place would be a budget that includes access to abortion coverage. I would not sign a budget unless we had that in the provision. I've also said that I would like to be forward looking on top of all of this and lead all the northeastern states and pull us together as governors and make the northeast develop a regional compact to make the northeast the safest place in this country for women and doctors to have reproductive care. And I think it's critically important and it is what leadership is all about. It's the difference between politicians talking about them and leaders actually getting something done. And I think this is what the people of Rhode Island are looking for. Nellie Gorbaea. You know when something is really a value of yours to your core, you work on it your entire life. Change takes time. It is confronted with many, many barriers and reproductive health and access to abortion rights is something that I have valued my entire life and I have fought for my entire life through organizations that I've been a part of and through supporting activities like the city of Nellie's and being part of testifying, right? In 2019, when we codified Roe v. Wade, I testified in favor of it. I helped fight for the codification and by the way, it was women legislators that led that battle along with some of their allies in the ranks of the men. At that time, we had someone in the executive branch who's now our governor McKee who thought that that was just a gesture. This is not a gesture, people. This is real to women and particularly to women of color who tend to be disproportionately affected by these policies. As governor, I will absolutely make it one of my first things to pass the EACA and then include the money in the budget. The challenge here is that there are laws that are preventing us from making a very simple, very fair action which is to make sure that it is up to any woman whether she's on Medicaid or private insurance, whether she's a state employee or a private sector employee to make the determination about what she needs to do with her body in a situation having to do with a pregnancy. That can be done out of the governor's office and I look forward to being that governor that finally gets this done. Ashley? Like the majority of Rhode Islanders, I don't support late term or public funded abortions. And while I am in a different place, I'm not in a primary like the other individuals here. I wanna be clear because I assume this will come up in the general. So the right to an abortion was codified in state law in 2019. Nothing has changed in Roe v. Wade. I will do nothing to change that law. That is the law. And while I am personally pro-life, upholding the law is very important to me. One of the issues that I have with the current administration and I would say culture and government in Rhode Island or some places is a lack of respect for the law even when you don't disagree or if it is politically inconvenient. And so in this matter, I've been very clear where I stand. And fundamentally, this was already, the law was, it was decided. Governor Dan McKee? Yes, I think like all the Democrats on here, we support the women's right to choose. And I have done that. The secretary, it's the second time you mentioned 2019. July 2018, I put out a press release as the tenant governor saying that the Supreme Court was just appointed by the then Senate, the U.S. Senate was a danger to our reproductive rights. So, you know, the secretary doesn't really care too much about the facts. We saw that in the last week and clearly she keeps on repeating the long date. So I just wanted that clarified. In addition to that, I did sign an executive order that protected women who would come in from out of state and also the providers that would provide the service, you know, the health procedure. And I got a letter from the president of the United States thanking me for the quick action on that as one of the few governors that actually did that. So, it's clear that I've established as governor that this is an important issue as a lieutenant governor as well. And as far as the EACA, yes, I asked and I submitted testimony that was asking the General Assembly to put that bill in front of me for my signature and I would sign it. I've already said publicly, if there is a finance piece that needs to put in the budget, then it will go into my next budget. But it's gonna require the General Assembly to pass that piece of legislation. And it was acknowledged here right on the forum that they didn't have the votes at that point in time. I think the world has changed on that right now for because of the circumstances with the Supreme Court's decision, which I certainly have been more than aggressive in pointing out that they're supposed to defend our rights and in these cases, they didn't defend our rights. Louis? Who up here is willing to fight aggressively against conservative Democrats in the House? I am. For people who have served in office and have been unwilling to even call out the waving of minority women-owned business requirements, contract requirements during COVID-19, it just, for me, it's like you didn't say anything then. What are you gonna say tomorrow? We have a conservative Supreme Court. We're facing a DeSantis or Trump presidency. Being complacent is not the time, like this is not the time to be complacent. We have to be aggressive. So yes, increasing funding, including in the budget, but also a willingness to fight conservative Democrats in the state of Rhode Island publicly, because this is what it's gonna take to change the House. You can pick and choose who's gonna run with you and create a group. But at the end of the day, it's gonna take far more than people that are selected to run to actually create a movement that ensures that human rights, are protected here in the state of Rhode Island. I think that as a state, we need to acknowledge that there is no equity without access. So it really doesn't matter if we have something in our constitution, if every single access point is closed off to people who are economically disadvantaged, who are unfortunately women of color state, if you look at the data in terms of Medicaid. So how do we move forward? It isn't enough that we just have that EACA. We need to change our healthcare system. We need to move away from a CVS-style for profit healthcare system. We need to control the purchasing of drugs and medical supplies. We need to invest in community health infrastructure to increase the number of access points across our five counties. We need to ensure that we have people of color at the table, not like Brown University that wanted to create a merger without talking to anybody. This is how we achieve equity in the state. So I continue to ask, when we say equity, who is it for? Needs to be for the people who have been left out. And many of them are not in this room right now. The next question is, where did the candidate stand on gun violence protection? Matt Brown. We need to act now, before there's a mass shooting in the state, before there's a school shooting in the state, not afterwards. And the single most important thing we need to do is to ban assault weapons. These are weapons that were created and designed for military combat. They have no place in our communities at all. Should have been done a long time ago. Should have been done in the last session, and it wasn't. And as governor, I'll fight to ban assault weapons in Rhode Island. Thank you. Alina. Agree. I have two sisters of mine who are teachers. And one of them recently sent me a video of the training she had to go through for active shooting training. And it was really horrifying. And traumatizing to the kids in her classroom. And I remember, I was saying to some people, I remember when I was in second grade, we had to be ready for the atomic bomb. And we would hide under our chairs. But nothing like what's going on today. And the mental health stress for our teachers and our kids is enormous. So we have to really step back and think about what is going on in this country. And why is it in Rhode Island, a very blue state surrounded by Massachusetts and Connecticut, which both have banned assault weapons? Why have we not? And that to me is about leadership. That is about having the courage to say, I won't just wait for the legislature to do what they might or might not do. I will take a leadership role in reaching out to everyone that I need to reach out to, to make sure that we pass a ban on assault weapons. That would be the first bill that I would put in place and I would actively fight for it because it's so critical to protecting the future of all of us, but particularly our children. Secretary of State, we'll go with you. We have a public health crisis with the gun situation in this country. And Rhode Island, unfortunately, has not moved far enough to manage that crisis. Every person deserves to be able to live their life in safety and without fear of random shootings. This is particularly true for our children. I will never forget the day that I became a real ardent supporter of gun sensible rules and laws. And it was when they started shooting up kids in the elementary schools, because my children, I remember thinking, how can I shield them from this information? And the truth is you can't. They live with that. And we need to, the adults in the room, need to take leadership and move forward on this. I'm proud to have been active on this issue area for many years now, to have testified, to have advocated for the passage of laws, to put my stamp as Secretary of State on the gun safety bills that were in our legislature. I am disappointed by the fact that there hasn't been leadership in the governor's office that pushed one of the most absolutely common sense measures, which was the restrictions on the purchasing of assault weapons and the safety of guns. After the Uvaldi crisis, that was a turning point moment. All five bills should have passed. There should have been active leadership from our governor to get that done, but it didn't pass. And there was no explanation and there's no excuse for that. We need leadership that will take this to heart to make this issue a top priority in their administration. And as your governor, I will do that. Ashley on gun violence protection. Yeah, I was just trying to count how many level one trauma centers that used to get gunshot wounds for. It was like three, I think, but then probably five hospitals is, I would see patients every week about and probably have dealt with that. I don't know everybody's history here, but probably more in terms of unwrapping hands, dealing with the injuries, and talking directly to victims and folks who weren't necessarily victims or were victims, but were injured and maybe part of the violence. And I think that we have some of the strongest gun laws in the country. And I don't think additional laws will change the level of violence. I think that we need to enforce the laws that we have. I think by not doing that, it's sort of performative public policies in a lot of ways. If you pass a law and then you have no intention of enforcing it, you're not really getting anywhere. I also think that we need to deal with the root causes of violence. And really, I believe having someone in schools to implement school safety plans keeps our kids safe. I think it also creates a positive or can, if it's done in the right way, a positive relationship between safety officers and children. I think that there is a problem now where that doesn't happen. And creating an environment where interaction is not always a stressful interaction is important to dealing with relationship between the community and the police that is not where it should be, quite frankly. Okay, Governor? The NRA just gave out grades. I was happy to get an F. That was not the first time I got an F. Mom's to Band Action has been a good partner of mine for years. And with Shannon Watts side by side with me when I signed three pieces of legislation, and she's actually made that a public thank you to me as a governor nationally for that leadership, raised the legal age to 21, banned hot lodge capacity magazines, banned open carry loaded shotgun rifles in public. I signed that legislation. I had breakfast with the Senate President and the Speaker and asked them to get that to my desk. What do I need to do to get that to my desk? They said, be very vocal. I was there and I was very vocal. And I continued to be that way. On the heels of what happened in Texas, I called all the state police together with the police departments along with ride and all the superintendents and all the school committee chairs and said, do an inspection of every school in the state of Rhode Island and come back with a report. And when you come back with a report, we can fund you up to $500,000 per district to make upgrades in terms of your gun safety in your buildings. Those reports are coming in. Those dollars are going out. And where there needs to be more work, we'll make sure those dollars are made accessible. Last year, we banned a carry on school grounds except for law enforcement. After the tragedies, like I said, we immediately requested sweeping safety assessments in all our schools. And I've made it very clear that I'm gonna ask the General Assembly to do what Massachusetts has done in terms of the assault weapon and the past piece of legislation like that. I believe that's gonna happen this year and I believe that I'm gonna be able to help make that happen. Louis, your stance. Yeah, I think we should ban assault weapons. I agree with all the legislation that has been passed. The day that that was being signed, there was an elected official that stood up in front of a crowd and he said, every police vehicle in the trunk of their car has an AR-15. That's because our guns need to be bigger than their guns and everybody clapped. I was thinking to myself, I'm like, why are you clapping? Why are you clapping? Because we can have all this legislation for gun controls but when we talk about bullets ending up on the street, it's ending up on the street in the hands of youth. We see that the death rate by guns is two times greater for kids related to guns that is compared to cancer every year. We know that the Australia's buyback program for guns was about a billion dollars. We don't have enough money to get the guns off the street. So why do the bullets end up on the street? Why are we not serializing bullets? Why are we not using the same technology that pharmaceutical companies use? Why are people not accountable for every single bullet that they purchase? If we really wanna change the gun culture in this country, we really need to think about how we're leveraging our tracking systems and stop talking just about the guns and start talking about the bullets because those are the things that people need again and again and again after they use them. I'm guessing the NRA will give me an F on that. But we also need SROs out of schools. We need them out. We have had 230 plus violent arrest in Providence school systems that's traumatizing. You're criminalizing our children. We need to integrate Medicaid's billing system with our schools to increase the number of mental health workers. We need to get to the root causes of why students may be behaving in certain ways and frankly the root cause of it all which is poverty. So again, we have an education funding formula that concentrates poverty. We need to think holistically on how we're supporting communities where we see the impact of gun culture and again stop relying on an over militarized police force that has AR-15s in the trunks of their car. Okay, well currently Rhode Island lawmakers can request fiscal notes for estimates of the revenue costs and benefits of proposed legislation. If policy makers were able to learn more about the historical context or budget items before that they're voted upon, it might be possible to prevent enactment of legislation that would increase disparities and into advanced legislation that would increase equity. So the question is, would you support requiring an equity impact assessment or statement, perhaps something akin to a fiscal note to evaluate proposals as to whether they're likely to increase or decrease equity and disparities based on sex, race, ethnicity, maybe even disability. We'll start this question with Ashley. Yeah, I don't see a problem with that. The more information that lawmakers have about the impact of their legislation, I think the better that would be. I can't see any downside of it. I mean, you hope that lawmakers understand and are looking into what they're doing. So adding an additional aid, I don't think would be too much to ask. All right, Lewis. Can you repeat the question? I just wanna make sure. So the question is, would you support requiring an equity impact assessment or statement, something like a fiscal note to evaluate proposals, whether they're likely to increase or decrease disparities? Yeah, I think we should have that across the board. So we should be working with our health equity zones, which are doing important work on the ground. They're in touch with communities. We should create education equity zones, essentially groups of organizations, probably even with the HESes that are coming together with our school committees to conduct equity assessments for our school districts as well, so that as we form a new education funding formula, we can address the factors that we'll be waiting, right? To ensure that we're heading towards an equitable education funding formula. I think my time on the state's equity council was revealing, let me just say this, that we're working with a department of health that's very much privatized. We have out-of-state contractors that don't have boots on the ground. They can't go through equity assessments. And so as we think about the resources where they're needed, growing disparity for vaccination access, or I would say people that have been vaccinated, when we talk about Rhode Island housing, the fact that its sources work out to a Utah company that doesn't assess the actual need, all of these things result in a lack of resources getting to the people that need it. So I think we should work a united way instead of Rhode Island housing. I think we should work with our local mutual aid organizations like Direct Action for Rights and Equality and the George Wiley Center to really determine the needs and to ensure that the organization's already doing the work for free, pretty much have the resources to support areas of housing, rent relief, utility support. We also should be looking again at leveraging our school committees with the HESES to ensure that our students have greater access to support services. Think about a secondary at Head Start per se in terms of making sure that we're supporting not only the education but the after-school programs and any additional resources that students that are experiencing poverty need. The assessments are only a means to ensure that we are held accountable as a state. The problem today is that nobody wants to address the problem or acknowledge that it exists and therefore there's no need to be accountable to solve it. Helena. Great. Yes, I think it's a very good idea. I think the more insights we have about the legislation we're passing can only make us better as a state. But I think there's a lot more we could do beyond that. One of the things that I did in my career, the last four years when I was running all of retail at CVS and then I went and turned around to business is when I was at CVS I had 200,000 people working for me in an $80 billion budget. So that compares to the state's budget which is $13 billion. I've managed this level of complexity. We have a huge opportunity to step back and really make sure that the money that we're spending gets to the people who need it. I see that as a huge opportunity to make government really work for the people. That doesn't happen with career politicians. I would be pulling in some of the expertise that I have using zero-based budgeting to really ask ourselves, for example, for all the money we spend on DCYF, could we reimagine how we spend that money so more of it is going to our children, more services? So that's one area I would love to lead as next governor. Education, huge opportunity when we think about disparities. And you just look at Providence where only 14% of our kids pass their grade level reading and 7% in math. Central Falls is even worse. So we've got a lot of work to do in education. It's not being addressed today. We are a state where teachers today have to pay for their own ESL certification. I think that's terrible. Massachusetts covers it themselves. Finally, I propose zero co-pays for diabetes and asthma meds. Those medicines in particular have two times the rate of black and brown people suffering from diabetes, for example. We could be first in the nation. So that I have a lot of ideas that are specific and clear, actionable. And that's what I'd love to do for the people of Rhode Island. Governor Dan McKee. Yeah, I think it's a good idea. We're doing much of that right now in our Office of Diversity. And I just mentioned going from, for the first time ever, 16% of our women's owned and minority business are actually receiving state contracts. I think it's good to evaluate best practices in the country on this issue. I think we're heading in that direction to make sure that we're equitable in all sense of the word. And this is one way that you can validate that. What I would do is take a look at best practices. I was reading today. As a matter of fact, Washington has a pretty interesting model where they're working on it. They started it in June of this year, where we bring in both the legislature and the executive branch in a way of evaluating which bills might be assessed and in a way in terms of an equitable assessment. I'll put money in the budget this year. I think that the Office of Diversity is a good place to be functioning from the executive branch along with our Office of Budget Management, which is what is being done in a couple other states right now. So yeah, I think that it's a really good idea. Equity is front and center. And I'd also say that my number one priority is to increase incomes for the people in the state or not. Secretary of State. Well, many of you know that here in this room that the women's- I'm sorry, governor, is there a problem? Is it done? Oh, were you not done? Was he good on time? I thought I had a minute there and then it went down, but that's okay. But anyways, I'll get back to where you think that my number one priority- Did he have more time? No? Yeah. You stopped, so we thought you were moving on. Well, I'll take a deeper breath next time. Okay. Sorry, Secretary of State. Yeah, so many of you in this room might remember that the Women's Fund, of course, along with the Economic Progress Institute, started analyzing our state budget in 2010 through a gender lens. That's a fantastic idea. I would love to see it applied to all legislation because how we analyze, how we evaluate what we're doing, absolutely factors in. It's not just about the efficiencies of the dollars and cents. It's about what are those policies that actually create change by the fact that you're doing them? And let's take something like, for example, affordable childcare. Affordable childcare is one of the things that I will absolutely champion in my first term as governor. And it's because it's one of those perfect spaces in public policy where we know that young children are at a particularly developmentally important stage between age zero and five years of age. Putting a child in an enriched environment so that their parents can actually go out and work in peace is a really big weight off the shoulders of the parents. And it's really great for that child. Now, you have to make that childcare more affordable to that family so that they can do this reasonably. And at the same time, pay more than a living wage to that caretaker, that person who's engaging with that child. And so if you look at it through the lens of just dollars and cents, it may cost a lot, but you're not looking at the full complexities of what it is that we're benefiting as a state. And that is parents that can go to work, children that can be well-developed and be ready to learn on day one, and then a standard of living for the caregivers of those children that actually allows them to have a reasonable life. And so that's why I believe that like looking at policies and legislation through a gender and an equity lens is so important. Okay, Matt Brown, your stance on an equity assessment. Yeah, I think it's a good idea. All the issues that we are struggling with, all the problems that we have have tied to them really deep racial and gender disparities, and let's mention a few, housing. Massive disparities in housing. And that's part of the reason why it's so important to us that we launch this plan to build tens of thousands of truly affordable homes. Under our plan, no one will pay more than 20% of their income for their homes, for these homes. And we'll cap rent increases at 4%. Rents will have an annual cap of 4% increase a year. Healthcare. The problem with our healthcare system fundamentally is that it's not designed to provide people with healthcare. It's designed to maximize profits for insurance and pharmaceutical companies. And it's a cruel and immoral and incredibly ineffective system. And it's driven massive, massive disparities based on race and gender. So we will enact a Medicare for all style system so that everyone can get the healthcare they need, the medicines they need and see a doctor when they need to. Pollution. The climate crisis has to be addressed by building out renewable clean energy. And we've got a plan to do that and make Rhode Island the first date in the country to be 100% run on clean and renewable energy by 2028. It also is a fight with the fossil fuel industry. We need to take it on and shut it down. And we have the fossil fuel industries lined up now in the Port of Providence poisoning. That community largely a black and brown community. So part of our green new deal to address the climate crisis will include shutting down those polluting industries in the Port of Providence. Thank you. All right. And speaking of housing, census data shows that Rhode Island is ranked number 15 in the country for highest housing values among US states. The cost is steadily increasing. Now the median value of homes in Rhode Island is right now at $420,000. The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in Providence is currently $1,875. That's a 25% increase since this time last year. So the question is what will you do to combat rising housing costs and ensure that all Rhode Islanders have equal access to affordable housing? And Helena, we'll start with you. Great, yeah. This is, I think this is an area where I'm assuming many of us will be on the same page from a policy perspective, but I think the big differentiator is who gets something done about it. We've been talking about this issue for the last decade. Rhode Island has produced the least new housing supply for capita of any state in the country. So it's one thing to talk about, it's another thing to produce results. We're 20,000 units short in this state today and we need short, medium and long-term issues and ideas to implement to help people get to a better place. I wanna share a little story that really inspires me and you know many of these people in your own life. I met a guy who's in his 60s, who's a teacher. He said to me, Helena, 40 years ago I bought my first house. It cost me two times my salary and today I have three sons all in their 30s. They wanna buy homes in Rhode Island. It'll cost them five times their salary. They're being priced out just as your data suggests Chelsea. So this is a problem of supply. We've gotta work on this. Some of my ideas, for example, are in the very short term, we received $100 million from the federal government to prevent evictions and it took us over a year to spend that money and we didn't get it in the hands of people quickly enough. So speed and action is something that's missing today from government. Second area in the short term, we could increase supply by allowing cities and towns to do accessory dwelling units. We could allow homes built before 1980 to be turned into multi-unit housing. We are one of only two states in New England that does not have a match in the federal low-income housing tax credit. We've left $1.4 billion on the table and that would pay for itself. So all of these ideas are on my website. I urge you to go look at them. At the end of the day, we need a governor who is not only these ideas but can hold people accountable to actually produce results. That's what my whole career's been about. Governor Damakie, housing. Yeah, so the train has left the station and we're doing a lot of work right now. It's not being recognized up there on the panel, but let's talk about that, right? First of all, the amount of money that was for rent relief was $200 million, not $100 million. And I took an aggressive role in making sure we're the only state in the country, by the way, that on a per capita basis has used the entire $2 million for rent relief and I put $17 million out for a utility relief when I was told that that might be a risk to take, but it was a risk that was worth taking to make sure that we satisfied a $17 million of electric bills that for people who couldn't pay them. Not only $250 million in the budget as a first time in historic investment in housing, which I believe will leverage to about a billion dollars worth of housing, but also in the first budget where I had 11 days to prepare it, actually Kim Ehren, who was a graduate of the Policy Institute here, really encouraged me and we put in the first time that there's actually an annual amount that's gonna go towards low income housing. Granted, it's $5 million, but that $5 million wasn't there before and I put it in on 11 day notice. 80, of course, hold on, don't take away my minute. 80 million dollars has already been invested for 825 units, 800 on being low income housing that's gonna be spread across 17 communities in the state of Rhode Island. The list continues long. We did not have a written housing plan in the state of Rhode Island when I showed up as governor, we have one in the process now for the first time in the history of the state of Rhode Island and then we're gonna determine, work with all the municipalities in terms of what they need to do as I did in Cumberland. If you did what I did in Cumberland when I put in the first affordable housing plan approved by the state of Rhode Island, we would have built over 6,000, I got 15 seconds. No, that's not how that works. We would have put in 6,000 affordable housing units. Your time is up, your time is up. Thank you, Secretary of State. Yes, thanks. Everyone deserves to have a safe, are we okay? Everyone deserves to have a safe and affordable home, a place to call home. And I have made much of my life this issue. I was executive director of housing works which is where I met a number of you as we actually convinced the powers that be to finally pass a housing bond and actually with the second one of those we were able to build 2,000 affordable homes that are wonderful places for people today. And so I have said that I am going to be the housing governor. I'm gonna be the housing governor because having affordable homes, whether it's at the low income level where you absolutely need subsidies or to help house the people who are currently on house is foundational to those people being able to make it ahead. It's also foundational to those who are upper in the upper levels of our economic strata right now. The working families, even seniors, right? They need a place to be able to call home that's affordable to them. And so we are at a complete log gym. Housing can help us with educational opportunities. Housing can help us with health and housing even has an impact on climate change. I know how to make those players all work. And by the way, I see the home building industry which is increasingly diversifying. Meaning there are Latino black contractors moving into this field that are really vibrant participants. That part of our economy, we could be a regional leader in building sustainable affordable homes throughout New England but you need a governor that actually knows how to break the log gym with the cities and towns, bring about coalitions and get things done. And I've shown you that I've been able to do that in my previous work. Matt Brown. Yeah, as I mentioned before, our plan will build tens of thousands of truly affordable homes. No one will pay more than 20% of their income for those homes and will cap annual rent increases at 4% because rents went up 34% over the last 18 months. That's not manageable for people. The root of the problem is that we've got people in power who are not up there working for struggling people. They're working for corporations. They're working for the very rich but they're not working for people who are struggling. Just this year, Governor McKee gave millions of dollars to corporate developers to build luxury apartments in the Superman building that most Rhode Islanders will never be able to afford. These are policy choices that leave most Rhode Islanders behind. They're the choices that the people in power have made for a long, long time. It's wrong. When I'm governor, it will end. This is the richest country in the world. There's no reason why people should be struggling to put a roof over their heads. We can make this a state where everyone can afford to put a roof over their heads and over their family's heads and when I'm governor, we'll do it. Thank you. Ashley. Yeah, we didn't get here overnight. And in 2016, there was projected over 30,000 units. We're gonna be needed affordable housing units. And here we are years later and we still haven't made any progress. So it's amazing what it's like in an election year with career politicians. All of a sudden they're taking all sorts of actions and sounding like a kid who's like procrastinating and all of a sudden studying for an exam. That's kind of what I feel like, I've done this, now I've done this, now I've done this. Now, well, where were you throughout your career? You know, in business, I've always delivered results. You can have vision, but without substance, you're absolutely broke. And that's what I feel like we've had from these career politicians. So let's talk about affordable housing. What you would get with me is, you get 200, so let's have a pool of money and we will have developers that come in and focus on building affordable units. Immediately you would get me getting together with the cities and towns to figure out why exactly they can't meet their 10% goal because you really do need them as a partner and each city and town has a specific issue that is holding them back and the state should be able to support that. The other thing is the $250 million it's allocated. I will be a responsible administrator of that funds and I can tell you based on the corporate welfare that was talked about with the Superman building or also what was done with the soccer stadium, you don't have that in current leadership. So you need someone who's actually going to manage the money in a responsible way that isn't based on a NOAA guy system or trying to actually win the next election by pleasing special interests. Lewis. I believe that healthcare is a human right. I think the soccer stadium was brought up as a resident but second my biggest concern outside of it just being a bad deal is when you look at the investment it was supposed to go to affordable housing and then it was shifted from a values perspective completely off, right? When you think about the Rhode Island housing program and how that money was dispensed or not dispensed, one of the challenges I face is that when you ask the Rhode Island housing staff why they weren't doing community driven vaccination clinics like Rep Lonella Felix and I were doing like Delia Rodriguez was doing in the Providence school system, the answer was we can only justify 10% of what we can identify as the need in administrative cost. So you're not in the community, you can't assess the need and so you constrain yourself to your small staff that's making six figure salaries. So we need to completely change how we're managing these support systems and work with other organizations. When we think about the federal low income housing tax credit, I agree, we're not using that. We should be doing more with that. But at the same time, we should focus on legislators that have proposed legislation. So Senator Kalman at the end of this session proposed legislation that will create homes really focusing on the state taking more ownership over subsidized and low income housing. How do we overcome these invisible lines of classes and if we're not actually creating mixed housing and having the state more, you know, more I would say directly support subsidized housing. That's how we support seniors and families that are struggling today. So there's legislation out there. How do we get there? Well, you know, we support the legislation itself and then we focus on working with cities and towns and incentivizing them to conduct their zoning law reform. If they don't wanna do it, then Senator Kalman's piece of legislation is gonna help us bypass it. And so we need to have a two prong approach here. That's how we increase housing. That's how we do so quickly. And ultimately as someone who experience homelessness as a child, you know, that's what's gonna keep me at night up at night as governor, thank you. All right, studies show that the gender pay gap won't close for a hundred years at least. This disparity is linked to inadequate minimum wages with few benefits or none at all. Paying less for jobs primarily held by women. And more recently, the exodus of women from the workplace as a replete relates to finding quality, affordable family care options. So the last question for tonight will be what one other thing will you do to advance gender equity in Rhode Island? Secretary of State, let's start with you. So there is not one thing that will promote gender equity. My entire administration, my entire set of policies is going to be guided through a gender lens because equity and equality, inclusion are not just values, they're actually really good ways to conduct public policy and to grow an economy. We leave opportunity on the table when we're not fully allowing all of us to participate in whatever way we are able and choose to. So to take one example, I talked already about the affordable childcare. That is a multi-benefit policy that I'm hoping to implement in my first term so that by the end of my first term, every working family that needs affordable childcare can find it within their community at an affordable rate and that we're paying those caregivers the rates that they deserve as part of the caregiving economy, which we should be valuing some more. And this brings me to another topic, which is we need to value those who give care. It is not just about the dollars and cents as the efficiency model. It is also about making sure that the people who are taking care of people, that our government is investing in the people that live within our state. And as governor, I look forward to creating an economy that's more equitable and just by making sure that everyone has a way to participate in it, whether it be because they're in safe, affordable homes, because they have access to a quality education and because we're growing in a renewable energy economy that from the get-go, from the very beginning, includes a diversity of genders, sexual entities, and of races and ethnicities as part of the jobs that are created and also the businesses that are created. There's a leadership component here that my administration will bring as we build Rhode Island forward. That is time, Governor Dan McKee. So the work continues. I mentioned about a Signing Affair Pay Act. Being aware that there is a disparity in incomes is important, it's known. We're gonna continue to work through legislative process where it makes the most sense. As I mentioned before, Susan and I raised a son and a daughter. And I expect that both the son and daughter will have the same opportunities as each other has. And we're gonna make sure that that is done across the board, regardless of it's an education. I coached basketball before I was governor and boys, girls, very diverse group of kids, hundreds of games. And so in that space, equity issues that need to be addressed. And so when I was governor, we immediately got to work. And on education, not only are there gaps equity-wise in terms of population. The Hispanic community right now is the lowest performing Hispanic community in entire country. I'm governor who has been involved in education for decades. And making sure that we're closing those learning gaps. Because as I was saying earlier, my number one priority is to raise incomes to people in the state or down. And make sure that they're equally distributed. But work on an economy, like I mentioned when I started, we have the second fastest recovering economy in the country. We are the most vaccinated state in the country. We have the largest surplus that was ever managed by a governor in the history of the state of Rhode Island. Those dollars are going into equity and jobs. So yes, we need to make sure that level playing fields are made for my son and my daughter and every other man and woman and boy and girl that lives in the state of Rhode Island. And I intend to do that. That's time. Thank you, Governor Matt Brown. As I mentioned before, our plan to increase the minimum wage to $19 an hour will make a significant dent in the pay gap, particularly because it includes the elimination of the tip minimum wage level. So that everyone will be earning at least $19 an hour in the state. But we also have to look at paid family leave. Rhode Island has the least ample paid family leave program in the country. And this disproportionately burdens the careers and the incomes of women, especially women of color. When I was 21, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. And I quit college and moved home and helped to take care of her. And I hope and believe that that made some difference to her. There are a lot of people in our state who when they've got a sick family member or a newborn baby or someone in the family with disabilities, someone who needs care, they can't, they're not able to find the time and take the time to care for them. So Rhode Island's paid family leave program, we will expand to 16 weeks and we'll ensure it covers not 60% of someone's paycheck, which just isn't enough for a lot of working people, but 100% of their paycheck. Thank you. Ashley. When I started this campaign in my launch video, I said the days of I know a guy are over. And that's a statement about equity. That says that in a careless administration, it'll be about what you know, not who you know, which will result in a better government. Because the only thing that I care about is somebody who can deliver results. And if you're an outsider and somebody who isn't beholden to special interests, you're able to just pick people and policies based on what is best for Rhode Island and not in a way where you're afraid of upsetting special interests or your friends or you think you need to do something for your family or whatever that nonsense is, it has to stop. It is lawless and it is against the principles of good governance and it also leaves people out. And so if we change the way that we conduct the business of government so that we no longer use the NOAA guy system, but really look at merit and also go outside of a circle of who you know and just pick the people that are best for the job. And I think that that would make a really, really big difference in Rhode Island. The NOAA guy system has been detrimental to the success of our state. It needs to stop. It's something that we cannot be proud of anymore. It does not work for everyone in Rhode Island. Louis. Just to kind of reset here, the difference between an egalitarian and an equitable society is that in equitable society, we acknowledge the differences in need, right? The historical oppression that has placed many people in cycles of poverty, many people who are not being supported. And we exist in a state where equity continues to be mentioned and yet in our very political process, it's designed to keep people of color out. In our political process today, we have a candidate, black candidate for Congress who has been left out from congressional debate. We have a mayoral candidate in Providence who experienced microaggressions through a media outlet today. These stories that are told about people who are experiencing inequities, ultimately dictate who gets to sit in the room or not and they're never in the room. We're never in the room. We need a free healthcare system, single payer. There's a means to do that. Legislation, operationally through the executive office of Health and Human Services. We need an equitable education funding formula that does not concentrate poverty and addresses racial justice. We need to completely rethink our criminal justice system which right now is keeping disproportionately people of color locked up. We have the lowest incarceration rate in the country and we have the highest parole rate. And we have to dig into these facts or not equity doesn't really matter because there is no access if people cannot sit at the table. There is no access even with money if the doors don't open. And I'm just, the time we've shared here, I've been listening to the opponents, to my colleagues and there's a lot of pandering to the people that are in this room. And my biggest concern is that of the 1.1 billion ARPA dollars that we have, most of it should not go to the people that are in this room. Most of it should go to subsidized and affordable and low income housing. Most of it should go to a free healthcare system. Most of it should go to an education funding formula and annotation process that gives to East Cranston more than West Cranston. That is time. Helena. Well, being here with the Women's Forum, I wanna start by sharing my own personal story about gender, pay equity discrimination. I'll never forget it. And I'm sure many, many of you have your own stories you remember vividly. I had just been promoted. I was really proud. And lo and behold, I discovered that this new bigger job where I kept my old job and had the new, I was getting paid less than my predecessor. And it felt terrible. And I had a boss who solved for it as soon as I highlighted it. But I think it reminded me the importance of having each other's backs, being willing to speak up for what's right and making sure that we pay it forward for other women and make sure that this kind of discrimination doesn't exist and it is everywhere. So I feel very strongly about that. And I think there's huge opportunity in this state to do better at that. I have been passionate about childcare and education issues. I think those are critical for women and their success because unfortunately women still do bear the burden of most of their childcare issues. And it holds them back economically. Specifically on education, I propose spending $500 million of the 1.1 billion ARPA dollars. You can go to my website and look at every single idea I have, but I wanna highlight two of them. I propose doubling our investment in career and technical education. And I do that because we can give our kids great futures in a way where they may not need to go to college and many of these should be girls. I've also proposed expanding the Rhode Island Promise Program for teachers, nurses, and social workers. So if you did four years of school in state and served for four years, we'd cover your tuition. There's so much we need to do for women in this country and make sure they're set up for great careers and great futures. So it looks like we have just a couple of minutes. So can we give the candidates 30 seconds for closing remarks and we'll start with you, Matt Brown. Yeah, thank you very much. Thanks for doing this. I have spent the last 30 years starting and running nonprofit organizations like City Year that provides tutors and mentors to our public schools. That's the kind of leadership that I'll bring. I've tackled some of the toughest problems that we face. And I will come to the governor's office and tackle those problems. And as I said, work to enact a $19 minimum wage and Medicare for all and a green new deal and ensure that everyone can afford to put a roof over their heads and pass the equality and abortion coverage. 30 seconds, y'all gotta keep it tight, all right? Lewis, we'll go to you. Yeah, thank you, everyone. So again, just to recap, I grew up in Central Falls. I observed a lot, but it's not just that experience that I'll bring to the governor's office. It's an experience, a lens of equity that my medical training provided me and the experience I've had in the healthcare industry and that I also share now in the state's equity council. It's important that we acknowledge that political courage is what's needed most at this time in history as we face a rise of fascism and conservatism that's very radical. So hopefully you'll consider supporting my candidacy. Again, this isn't about the next four years, it's about the next seven generations and that's why I'm running. Ashley. Yeah, in business I've always had to deliver results and I will do the same as governor. Women leaders are empirically proven to be more transformative leaders and the things that are rewarded in campaigns often do not result in individuals that govern very well. And so even when I see some of this stuff where there's a question, I answer it, I'm done in 15 seconds and we move on, that's what you do in leadership because if you answer a question directly, you're ready to move to the next thing and as governor you're gonna have a million things to do. But in campaigning you fill the entire space and you ask for your time. Time, Ashley. Oh, stop where the rules are. There we go. I'm learning at least. I was rooting for you. All right, Helena, 30 seconds. Okay, well listen, I'm running against the status quo and the feeling, please just remind yourselves that what we have is good enough. It is not good enough. We should be doing so much better as a state. We're not doing well and I'd love to change that. I will hold myself accountable the way no politician ever does because I'm not going to be beholden to anyone. I'm not getting all of these big endorsements and I think that's very liberating and powerful. I'll be able to walk into that office every day and serve the people of Rhode Island you and I look forward to it. Time. And Governor Damakie. So I provided leadership where I'm at it most. From worst to best in vaccinations first in the Northeast in an economic recovery. Lowest unemployment rate in the history of the state of Rhode Island is still good paying jobs available focused on the health, the economy, education and equity. And as I said, started earlier, equity is our biggest upside in the state of Rhode Island to raise people's income. And that's exactly what I'm looking for. And now Lee Corbea. Look, I'm running for governor because I want to be part of a state that is more equitable and just. And I want to thank the Women's Fund and the League of Women Voters and all the organizations that have helped me like move this agenda forward over the years. It's really exciting to look at the next four to eight years. We have an amazing opportunity as a state to truly lean into inclusion. And I know how to do that. You've seen me do it both in the nonprofit sector, in the governmental sector. And that is time. 30 seconds is so quick, isn't it? And we want to thank again to the Women's Fund. Thank you for joining us. The Roger Williams University and the League of Women Voters. Okay, everybody, you can go.