Senate District 11 candidates share priorities if elected

Three hopefuls running for seat being vacated by Sen. James Seveney

Posted 10/24/22

PORTSMOUTH/BRISTOL — Now that independent candidate Andrew Kelly has dropped out of the race, there are three remaining hopefuls running for the R.I. Senate District 11 seat (Portsmouth …

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Senate District 11 candidates share priorities if elected

Three hopefuls running for seat being vacated by Sen. James Seveney

Posted

PORTSMOUTH/BRISTOL — Now that independent candidate Andrew Kelly has dropped out of the race, there are three remaining hopefuls running for the R.I. Senate District 11 seat (Portsmouth and Bristol) that’s being vacated by retiring Sen. James Seveney (D).

They are Kenneth J. Mendonça (R), a former state representative and a program manager in the local defense industry for 29 years; Mario J. Teixeira (I), who’s retired; and Linda L. Ujifusa (D), a retired attorney and vice president of the Portsmouth Town Council. 

We asked each of them which issue(s) they would give the biggest priority over the next two years if elected to the Senate, and limited their response to 300 words. Here’s what they said:

Kenneth J. Mendonça

People in the district are very concerned about the looming higher costs to heat homes this winter, the doubling of electric bills, high grocery bills, higher costs to have a roof over their heads and high inflation costs on everyday items. 

There are a few steps that can be taken at the state level to reduce the financial squeeze being put on people in the district. I will work to readjust the home heating assistance formula for those on fixed incomes to address the escalating home heating costs. 

I will also introduce legislation that would reduce the sales tax. A reduction would provide some economic relief for the grocery bill. The funding offset can be backfilled by applying some of the $750 million of unspent federal funds. 

People are very concerned about the skyrocketing cost of rents and where their children are going to live. Legislators need to ensure the enforcement of the 10 percent affordable housing for new construction law that is on the books. I will also meet with the construction trades to understand the barriers they encounter in the permitting and building process. I will work with them to introduce legislation that makes it easier to build much needed housing. 

At a town council meeting, when I served as a state representative, a small business owner stated that he had to get 23 or so licenses and permits every year. The licenses and permits add to the costs of goods and services we buy and are exacerbated by the record high inflation costs on everyday items. I will meet with business owners and identify unnecessary regulations and introduce legislation to eliminate those regulations to drive costs down. 

Each one of these measures are small increments of solutions that when aggregated will provide some needed economic relief. 

Mario J. Teixeira

Over the next two years, I will prioritize addressing the issue of housing affordability. This issue affects all residents of our community. 

The two main factors contributing to this issue are the lack of available housing and the high cost of existing housing. The state must increase funding that can be distributed to cities and towns to address these issues.

From 2014 to 2020, the State of Rhode Island lost out on an estimated $1 billion in federal funding for affordable housing, as determined by a report released earlier this year. I will work with other senators to make sure that we receive and distribute all available federal funding for affordable housing moving forward.

In addition to pursuing this federal funding, I plan to propose that a percentage of the state’s sales tax be reallocated to fund affordable housing. The current sales tax rate of 7 percent was implemented in 1990, meant to be a temporary response to financial concerns from the Rhode Island banking crisis. Over 30 years later, this tax rate is still in effect, with the revenues raised by this tax going directly into the General Fund. 

This tax rate was put into place by the General Assembly, and it is the responsibility of the General Assembly to make sure these funds are used to benefit the citizens of the state. Re-allocation to affordable housing incentive programs would be of direct benefit to the citizens of Rhode Island.

Linda L. Ujifusa

People are telling me their biggest issue is maintaining their quality of life, which is primarily threatened by rising costs for housing, energy and healthcare. Even those who are economically secure are concerned as they watch others struggle to afford what was previously well within reach of the middle class.  

Although economic problems cannot be entirely cured by the state legislature, they can be reduced. The state should reverse the disastrous 2006 tax cuts for the wealthiest Rhode Islanders. Instead of creating the intended “trickle-down” benefit, this policy simply reduced state income, reduced state aid to municipalities, and resulted in increased property taxes.

We should stop giving large corporations cash or tax breaks without proof we’re reaping benefits that justify the costs. Instead, we should invest in public infrastructure, creating an educated workforce, safe renewable local energy, promoting local small businesses and legislation that does more than benefit narrow special interests and the wealthy.

As shoreline communities, Portsmouth and Bristol also face serious issues related to climate change and sea level rise. We need to make sure the state continues to build on the Act On Climate legislation and fund mitigation and resiliency work to protect our citizens. We must also stop environmentally damaging actions, including building more fossil fuel infrastructure and burning plastics as “recycling.”

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