To the editor:

With only days left before Election Day RI voters have the power to let their voices be heard, voting for federal, state and local offices, as well as ballot measures that affect all taxpayers in RI.

I’m not going to sugar-coat it: today, not much can bind people of different philosophies together – all issues and candidates go either right or left with little in-between.

But perhaps the most vital issue that can bind all Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated votes together? Voting YES on Question 1.

Question 1, “Shall there be a convention to amend or revise the Rhode Island Constitution?” will allow RI to decide whether the state holds a constitutional convention, where elected delegates propose amendments to the state constitution. If approved, each of the state's 75 House of Representative districts would elect a delegate to the convention; they would gather for a period and propose ballot questions for voters to decide as ballot measures.

Vital to this is how polls show a deep unhappiness with peoples’ trust in government. Gallup shows a record-low 28% of U.S. adults satisfied with how democracy is working (38% Democrats and 17% Republicans); Pew shows 49% have an unfavorable view of state governments (up 9 points since 2019); a recent URI poll shows only 22% site RI’s economy as “strong”. People unhappy with government and need their voices to be heard -something Question 1 can potentially solve.

A question posed by law every 10 years, the ballot question passed unanimously in the house – making it bipartisan legislation (a rarity in deep-blue Rhode Island). Some of the potential benefits to RI voting for a constitutional convention include: Installing a nonpartisan position of Inspector General into our state; including a balanced budget amendment into state spending; Imposition of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for Government Accounting; and requiring a super-majority vote for all tax increases.

A ‘yes’ vote will be the first Constitutional Convention in 40 years. Following the 1986 convention, voters approved measures that created an ethics commission and civil rights protections, while rejecting an abortion ban. Some measures – including term limits, legislative pay, and reforming the judicial selection process — were first rejected by the voters, but approved in future years, thus igniting the process for change.

Figured who support Question 1 include Timothy Duffy, the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees, government watchdog Ken Block, and former Director of RIPEC Gary Sasse (the latter two both avowed Trump critics).

Those opposed to it include special interest groups such as the AFL-CIO and Planned Parenthood. Former Jamestown-area legislator and unsuccessful Lieutenant Governor candidate Deborah Ruggerio even wrote East Bay publications to fear-monger against it, citing it will “…bring sweeping changes to women’s reproductive rights…” But states like Michigan and Ohio both faced similar ballot questions – both passing to protect abortion rights indefinitely.

In conclusion, voting yes on Question 1 is the only way to bring power back to you, the voter and taxpayer, and not the gatekeepers like politicians and lobby groups.

William Sousa Grapentine
Bristol

William Grapentine is Vice Chair of the Bristol Republican Town Committee and Delegate on the RIGOP State Central Committee