Election 2026 Debate: Democratic candidates for Rhode Island governor

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: upcoming primary starts in one week, one week from today. The primary is just four weeks away on Wednesday, September 9th. Our goal tonight is to give you more information on the two candidates seeking your vote. All right, let's go. Joining us now is Halina Bonanno-Folks, an executive. She's the former president of CVS Pharmacy, a long career in business. Also, the incumbent Governor Dan McKee, former mayor of Cumberland, lieutenant governor, now nearing the end of his first full elected term. Our format is relatively simple. There are some longer segments where I'll pose a question to each candidate. They'll have one minute to answer, and then the other will have one minute to respond, and then we'll mix it up. We can go back and forth. Remember, this is a debate, not an interview. We'll try to guard against filibustering. We don't want that, but we do want vigorous exchanges that can flesh out the differences between the candidates. I'll ask some lightning round questions toward the end if we had time. Our producers in the back are keeping track of the time. We want to balance it out, but it's up to the candidates to largely keep a mental note. If you feel you're running behind, jump in, and we'll let you know if you're running ahead. We have a bell here. I hope we don't have to use it. We put you by the exit signs in case anybody decides to bail out. Maybe you've had enough. Not sure you can take us up on that, but the doors are right there. And we have no stand-ins, right? This is the big time, the theater tonight. Okay, we did a draw, so let's get right to it. By order of the draw, Governor Dan McKee, you get the first question. Fortuitous because you made news today in appointing Judge Matoush to the Supreme Court. You didn't go with Joe Secarchi. Is Judge Matoush the most qualified, and was Joe Secarchi just too hot a potato for you? [00:01:34] Dan McKee: No, he's the most qualified. We went through process through the Judiciary Committee, Selection Committee, gave us names. We have process in our office for the 17 other judges that I've appointed since I've been in office that we would do internal interviews. And then I did the interviews, and at the end of the day, Judge Matoush was the very best candidate. [00:01:57] Speaker 1: Okay, Helena, folks, your take on Judge Matoush getting the nod, and Joe Secarchi did nod, nor did Lorene Diambra, who was very pro-life. Do you think that's why they didn't go with Lorene Diambra, went with Judge Matoush? What's your take on that? [00:02:09] Helena: Well, first of all, I'm thrilled to be here. This is a great night, and I just want to start the night by saying, I think the folks at home are going to hear a lot tonight from the governor about how great things are, and I want you to know it's not so great out there. We have the 50th worst economy, and the fifth most expensive place to live. I'll let you get to all of that, but on the judge, I want to start with losing the day. As it relates to this question in particular, I hear very good things about Judge Matoush, so I have no comments on him. I do think that the people of Rhode Island expect a more transparent and fair process, so I do have questions going forward, things we can reform to really make sure that Rhode Islanders feel that there's fairness, that there is transparency, and that the judges really reflect the people around. Governor, what can you tell us about whether [00:02:56] Speaker 1: or not this is a moot appointment? The legislature must act within 60 days of your submission of a letter, and we're hearing tonight that they're not coming back until after the November election. What's really going on, Governor? Is that in play, that this is a moot appointment? [00:03:10] Dan McKee: Well, first of all, you know, there's certainly more things that we can do, but to talk about transparency, my opponents really, you know, taking a hot hit on the whole process, which I think is very unfortunate. We'll work with the president of the Senate, along with the speaker, to coordinate a strategy once they come back and they give me a time when they're going to actually be able to come back in session, and then we'll coordinate the letter that we send that will start to trigger the 60-day period. [00:03:37] Speaker 1: Okay. Helene, are you aware of this, this is in political circles, that once the governor submits the name formally in a letter, the legislative leaders have 60 days to act, and if they're not going to act, they'll bring the legislature back until after the November election. Is this a moot appointment, or we ought not to worry about that? Now, this has been, this is the buzz among political circles. What's your take? [00:03:57] Helena: It just happened today, so I really don't know. I hope that it's a very fair and transparent process. I think that the people of Rhode Island expect our leaders to be honest with them and to have a really good process. I have a lot of questions about the whole Judicial Nominating Commission, that process, and things we should really clean up so people feel good about our state. [00:04:18] Dan McKee: Governor, I'll give you the last word. Go ahead, Governor. The last word, transparency is going to be great. I can't wait to start talking about the role of my opponent played in the opioid crisis and the DOJ lawsuit and also the U.S. attorney saying exactly what we've been saying all along, that she knew what was going on, and she turned a blind eye and hurt a lot of people. I'll let you respond. That wasn't the way, that wasn't [00:04:41] Helena: the order of question, but I'll let you respond. Where I really started the evening was we're going to hear that everything's great from the governor, and he is going to spend most of the night with his false attacks on me, quite frankly, because he doesn't have a record to run on. He hasn't done anything for the people of Rhode Island, so he will spend his time talking about that tonight. I want to talk about what the future could look like, what Rhode Islanders should expect from their next governor. [00:05:03] Speaker 1: Well, since it's gone in this direction and you say they're going to be false attacks, let's let him level one and then you could dispel it. Go ahead, Governor. What do you want to say about CVS and the opioids? Get it out of the way. [00:05:12] Dan McKee: Well, first of all, this is not about the company. It's about the company that my opponent keeps. And so let's talk about the opioid issue and how it's impacted the state of Rhode Island and what the DOJ, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Attorney has said about the leadership, the bad leadership that brought us to this point where there's a lawsuit that is filed, where it's clear that the executive in charge, which is my opponent, turned a blind eye, told the pharmacist to continue to fill prescriptions that were going to hurt people. Look, I remember very clearly being with a fisherman that I was helping out the fishermen in Westerly, and I met with them and I said, where's the leader? The leader gave, he said, sent me a letter. He said, my son died last night of an overdose. So, Helena, tonight you have an opportunity to apologize to that fisherman's family and to all the people that you had hurt with your bad leadership. So, are you going, tonight, are you going to make that apology? [00:06:14] Helena: Governor, you talk about bad leadership, you are the epitome of bad leadership, okay? So, I have been happy to talk about this because you made it an issue from the moment I got into this race. When I became the president of CVS, the opioid crisis was raging. 2013 was the height of the crisis. I came in in January of 2014. Under my leadership, we had an almost 40% reduction in opioids dispensed because we did more than anyone in the country. It was a very challenging time. And what you're really doing, Governor, is you are attacking CVS. And believe me, the 7,000 employees of CVS who live in this state do not appreciate what you're doing. The company does not appreciate, but it's not only contained to the CVS employees. The 50 largest companies, business leaders in this state wrote a letter to you asking you to stop criticizing CVS. You are going to drive them out of the state just the way you did Hasbro. So, I think you should stop spending your time on this, and let's really talk about what it takes to be a real leader. We will come back later and discuss CVS. Governor, [00:07:23] Speaker 1: hold off. I have a follow-up there. Hold on, Governor. I've got a whole, we'll get into CVS later, but I want to go to business, Governor. And let me ask you this, both of you. Why can't we get a Costco in Rhode Island? You're on the board, Gina Raimondo's on the board, and you've been the governor for the past three tortured years trying to get one, Cranston, the whole thing, and are not being, and not getting a Costco. Is that indicative of a larger problem Rhode Island has in attracting business? Go ahead. Why can't we get a CVS? Costco, rather, you're on the board. Well, first of all, I [00:07:57] Helena: very much expect there will be a Costco in the near future, but I think it's really indicative of the question of the jobs climate here in this state, and making it easier for companies to come here, start here, do business here. You're going to hear a lot from this governor about what an incredible job he has done on the jobs front. That's not true, and we'll let him talk more about that, but this is a state where it's very, very hard to do business, and the reason that matters is Rhode Islanders are depending on great-paying jobs, and certainly I don't think this governor's doing that. Okay, so we [00:08:31] Speaker 1: can't get a CVS because the jobs climate is right. Does it have to do with unionization, over-regulation, how many self-checkouts you can have? It's a legitimate question, a bread and butter question. I keep saying CVS, I need to say Costco. Yeah, I know what you mean. Why can't we get a Costco? Just give me 20 more seconds on why. You're on the board. No, I, I, we will have one at some [00:08:50] Helena: point. We're not going to get into a location around Costco, but I think it's a very important question. We need to make it easier, and I think that's on the governor's watch, and he should speak to [00:08:58] Speaker 1: that. Governor, for the past three years, it's coming to Cranston. It's not coming. Why can't we get a Costco? Does it have to do with over-regulation and the lousy business climate? I guess [00:09:06] Dan McKee: she just said as much. Why? Well, first of all, we've added 37,000 jobs since I've been governor. That's twice the pace of pre-pandemic. People should know that, and we've brought in companies like Amazon, 3 million square feet, put people to work on good-paying jobs. Governor, the question was Costco. Well, Costco, we're in discussions with Costco. They haven't had the, the, the, the circumstances you have to pull the trigger, but Amazon did. Andrew did down in Quonset, 3,000 new jobs down in Quonset, 3,000 jobs with Fidelity. Look, it's about the company that my opponent keeps, and I'll go back to one of the reasons that, you know, first of all, she was on the Commerce Board for a short period of time, and, and couldn't do anything at a time when the state needed something. So did you get fired, or did you quit? Because I think it was over 38 studios. [00:09:57] Helena: Okay. Governor, let's get it back to the question. You talk about 37,000 jobs. This is a lie he's telling all of you, and I really want to clarify that. If you go back since March of 21 and look at the data, he's right. We've added 37,000 jobs. But most of those jobs were coming out of COVID, which every state in this country did. If you look at the last two years using the same data that the governor uses, we have added zero jobs. And so this is a state where people are struggling. He can talk about all the names he wants, but we have lost companies, we have lost jobs, and Rhode Islanders are depending on it. And that's the kind of thing we should be focused on. [00:10:36] Speaker 1: Okay. When you use the word lie, that's strong, heated language. Governor, go ahead. You're [00:10:39] Dan McKee: entitled to respond. Yeah. First of all, no apology coming from my opponent on one of the most serious issues that the state has in front of them, which is the opioid crisis. And certainly no apology to the fisherman family down in Westerly, which is a very telling. She won't speak to an issue because she knows that she was responsible for a major problem in the state. And the company she keeps, look, tell me, you told the world that at day one that you were going after the issues on opioids, and you were very disgusted with the Sackler family. Tell the people why you have this relationship with the Sackler family, how he was on a board that you chaired, a family foundation board, and he stayed on that board long after you said you were very angry with him. Tell me, tell me, tell the public why that's true. And that's, that's the type of leadership you're going to bring to the state after we brought in companies like Andro with that and the, the maritime defense is, is booming. There was no life science hub in the, in the state until I showed up. This, my opponent does not want to talk about her record. And quite frankly, she can't, you know, push back on mine [00:11:43] Helena: because it is strong. Okay, go ahead, Alina, you're entitled. This is a desperate man. We're talking about a state that is really hurting. And he is now hijacking this conversation to talk about, I don't know what he's talking about. This is the only man on the stage who took money from Sackler. So let's get that straight. And you talk about taking responsibility, Governor, there are a lot of real important problems that you are not taking responsibility for. I'm happy to talk about my role around opioids. I've been very clear about it. I have articulated it. And let's move on to the things that really matter to the people of Rhode Island, because you are not spending the time that you should be in driving this state forward. You're driving companies like Hasbro out. Now you want to drive CVS out. So that's really [00:12:30] Dan McKee: what you're doing with this conversation. It's not about the company, it's about the company she keeps. And again, she kept John Sackler on a board years after she said, she told the public [00:12:38] Speaker 1: that she was so angry the way that he went. For those who may not be as tuned in, the Sacklers were the manufacturers that fueled the opioid crisis. The drug companies bought the pills and sold the pills. Yeah. Helina, he's brought up that you ought to apologize. Are you going to pass on that? It's just a campaign ploy. Do you want to address it? We'll leave it hanging. I don't know the person he's [00:12:58] Helena: talking about. All I can say was a really challenging time. This was very hard. I don't think we should make a political issue over it. I was really thinking a lot about so many families who have suffered. I haven't lost a loved one myself, but I certainly have friends who have. And it's devastating. Okay. So I really do understand that. But you know, he's really trying to divert our conversation and bring up all these other things. And let's focus on the main issues. [00:13:26] Dan McKee: The DOJ and the U.S. Attorney and our own Attorney General disagree. [00:13:28] Helena: Governor, let's move on to other topics. We will come back. I just have to say on that, the Attorney General has endorsed me, Governor. So if the Attorney General is, you know, the person who can endorse me, he certainly has gotten comfortable with my role in the opioid crisis. [00:13:40] Dan McKee: The U.S. Attorney, the Department of Justice, and our Lieutenant Governor, and our Attorney General, both stated that at some point in time, corporations that were peddling the pills are going to pay a price. He's on the record. [00:13:54] Speaker 1: I am going to hold it there, because I want to get back to business. CNBC business ranking, we dropped from 46 to 48. And I should remind you, back in 2019, under then Governor Armando, we were number 50. Helena, folks, if you prevail, will you guarantee that our [00:14:10] Helena: rankings will go up under your watch? I very much plan to get our rankings up. And we are dead last in this country. And so let me talk -- [00:14:21] Speaker 1: We're 48, the contiguous states. Alaska and Hawaii are worse than us. Will you guarantee it, though? That will go up. [00:14:26] Helena: Let me tell you what I will do, okay? Because I think that's what really matters to people. When I think about growing this economy, I think there are really three things that we have to focus on. First, I want to start with the existing companies who are here and say to them, what does it take for you to add more good paying jobs in this state? You can go to a company like CVS that has 7,000 employees, but 300,000 in the country. Many companies here would add jobs if we made it easier for them to do business in the state. I was talking to a guy who owns a company with 350 employees. He's been around for 42 years. He's not -- he hasn't had a call from commerce in 40 years. But when I asked him, where is he growing jobs right now, he said Massachusetts. And I was really surprised by that because it's not for taxes. I said, why would you do it in Massachusetts? He said, because it's so much easier to do business in Massachusetts. So that's point one. Point two is we should make it easier to start a small business in this state. I have had conversations with people who start food truck businesses. They say to me, Helena, I have to go to 14 different state and local agencies to get all the permits and paperwork to start a food truck business. Worcester, Massachusetts has one-stop shop where you can get all of it done in one place. So that's another place we should do it. [00:15:39] Speaker 1: OK, let's get to the governor. Let's get him back in. Governor, you're 48 right now. We've been up and down. We were better under your watch, but we dropped. I'm going to give you time to respond to that. Can you make a pledge or a promise that we'll do better if we give you another four more years? [00:15:54] Dan McKee: We've sat down with all the reading agencies. Look, they have their own formulas. Look, rankings are like polls. You pick the ones you like. And so let's talk about some of the areas that we're really good in. And as far as business goes, we had more business applications recordings in the last year than we ever had in the history of the state. Look, citizens came to us and asked us to do some things. We did them. They're still here. A lot more employees than Hasbro. Yes, Hasbro was moving. And they made the decision long before we got into the conversation. FM Global came to our table and the CEO sat down with us and asked for a few things to do to be competitive. He felt competitive. We took care of it. They just bought corporate headquarters from IGT. And Fidelity, one of the largest companies in the area, significantly more than Hasbro, has created 3,000 jobs. So I'm not going to sit here and take this nonsense that my opponent is throwing out, is that somehow our commerce board is not doing the work. I restructured our entire commerce board to make sure that small businesses and big businesses were valued and put in $20 million to help 4,000 or 5,000 small businesses. The board that was in place said, what's $5,000 to a small business? I'm a small business owner. We are focused on the economy in a very strong way. And we continue to close on deals that are bringing businesses here and also expanding with citizens, FM, Fidelity. Those are just examples of the work. [00:17:21] Speaker 1: To her point, though, it could be made easier to do business in Rhode Island. I think we'd all agree [00:17:27] Dan McKee: upon that. Of course it is. But we're the fourth best to have a child in the country. We are a livability here, best place to go to college in the country in terms of rankings. We can show you top 10 rankings in our K-12. I can show you rankings that we're doing better on the business climate than what the CNBC is doing. Polls are one thing, just like rankings. I deal with what's on the ground and making sure that we get the work done. And I put together a new convention center board as well. Heck, I had a leaking roof, a leaking roof at the dunk during a national televised game. When I, the things that, we kicked the can down the road and leadership was in place that could not get the job done. Now we have a new roof on the amp. We're putting millions and millions of dollars into the downtown Providence. We have a new health lab that was not existing when I showed up. In the middle of a COVID, I'm going through the health lab. It's leaking. We have a brand new health lab with a public-private partnership. Look, the notion that somehow that we're not in far better shape today than we were when I took office is just not true. Go ahead. I'll give you, you can respond right to that. Yes, [00:18:38] Helena: I would love to. So the governor loves to talk about how we're kicking the can down the road, as if he just became governor last year. He's been governor for almost six years. So this constant flow of kicking the can down the road, he just inherited, just doesn't fly. Again, using his own data source. We've not added any jobs in the last two years. I met two people who own a business this week who are in the housing sector. They love Rhode Island. There's so much to love about this state and they want to be successful. They're growing. But they said to me, it's really hard to attract people to come work here. They need more architects. And I said, why would that be? Cost of housing is really high and our schools are really rough. So it makes it very hard to really build a great economy and the growth we need. We will do schools and we will do affordable [00:19:28] Speaker 1: housing. Governor, just let me, I'll move it to another topic. Truck tolls. They were here. They went away. We had the whole torture lawsuit. You're going to bring them back. I imagine in a matter of months. Do you still support bringing truck tolls back? And then I'll ask the same question of you, [00:19:42] Dan McKee: Helena. Go ahead, Governor. Truck tolls. Yes. You know, part of the can that was kicked down the road when I showed up, right, we weren't doing roads. We were doing bridges. And by the way, every blue bridge that they see, you see out there is a new bridge or like new bridge. And there's more blue bridges since I showed up than ever before. But I put $100 million into the account that because there was no money in for road construction. Freed up $450 million of federal dollars. And now you see a new 146. You see a new 295. Hadn't been done in 20 years. So in terms of the infrastructure improvements that we're making, it's because I am the governor and I have did this. Also, a local road grant program, Road Restore. We have done over 1300 private, uh, public municipal roads. Governor, I don't mean to reel you in, but the question was truck tolls. The truck tolls. Truck tolls, Governor. Well, I'm telling you why. We need to make sure that we continue to revenues. Okay. To make sure that we continue to do our roads. And when I showed up, there was no money for asphalting. And there was no Road to Straw program. 1300 local projects working with all 39 cities and towns. Over $140 million of improvements. [00:20:53] Speaker 1: The answer is yes. Salina, folks, truck tolls on your watch. [00:20:56] Helena: Well, again, we're talking about kicking the can down the road. I think what he's describing is all the work he's done. But again, we have the 50th worst bridges and roads in this country. [00:21:05] Speaker 1: So let's narrow it. Truck tolls on your watch, yes or no? [00:21:08] Helena: I am still going to explore an option. Wait a minute. Hold on. Hold on. [00:21:12] Speaker 1: The primary is coming up. You haven't explored truck tolls. It's been an issue for years. Yes or no truck tolls? [00:21:17] Helena: I understand. Let me answer the question, Jean. I don't want Rhode Island companies to have to pay the truck toll. So until we can figure that out, I'm a no. [00:21:24] Speaker 1: Okay. So Rhode Island companies like Job Lot right now, they will pay a truck toll just like an outside company. Yeah. On your watch, you will put the brakes on truck tolls until you can figure out a way that Rhode Island companies will be exempt. [00:21:37] Helena: Yeah. I want to explore other options. [00:21:40] Speaker 1: Wasn't that the pieces of the lawsuit? [00:21:41] Helena: We'll explore other options. Under the governor's watch, we've been on, we've been off. We have to spend another 20 million dollars. It's a big, giant mess. Well, we're spending a billion dollars on bridges and roads and we're 50th in the country. [00:21:53] Dan McKee: What you're hearing is a candidate that is totally unprepared, no governing experience, and she's been running for this office for six years, and she doesn't know whether we should do tolls or not. That's exactly what I want to do, Governor. Don't lie to them again. [00:22:04] Speaker ?: Continue. [00:22:04] Helena: Don't lie to them again. I know exactly what I want to do. [00:22:07] Dan McKee: You've been running for six years. [00:22:08] Helena: You've been governor for six years. And you don't know what we should be doing on roads. You have given us the worst bridges and roads in the country. [00:22:12] Dan McKee: And you don't know what we should be doing on tolls. That's a very sad thing for the people of the country. [00:22:16] Speaker 1: Hold on. Hold on. Now, hold on. All right. Listen, if we got in the weeds, let's straighten it out. Yeah. Polina, the lawsuit was over favoritism for Rhode Island companies. The federal courts said you can't do that. If you want truck tolls, you've got to charge everybody the same. That truck has left the terminal. [00:22:33] Helena: Yeah. [00:22:34] Speaker 1: Now, you're saying that you want to re-examine that. I'm asking a simple question. You've got to pull the plug on truck tolls. It sounds like you want to put the brakes on them until you figure out another way. [00:22:43] Helena: That's what I'm telling you. And what I really want to focus on is, we spent a billion dollars on bridges and roads last year. Under this governor's watch, we have the worst bridges and roads. And let's talk about the Washington Bridge, because that is a poster child. I'll get to that. [00:22:59] Speaker 1: Guys, let me go topic to topic, because we've got a plan here. Governor, I'm just going to... Helena says put the brakes on the truck tolls until she can figure out a way to not charge Rhode Islanders. [00:23:09] Dan McKee: Your take on that, and then we're going to move on. The take is she's been running for governor for six years, and she doesn't know on a critical issue like this in terms of why we need that revenue to make sure that our roads are improved and our bridges are improved. And there's been more construction on our roads and bridges since I've been governor than ever before in the state of Rhode Island. And she does... my opponent doesn't know that issue. And many, many other issues. I'm going to get into energy. Her energy plan is going to cost people more money than my energy plan. Her housing plan is a house of cards. My housing plan is actually in place. [00:23:39] Speaker 1: It's all coming. It's all coming once we cross that bridge. We're going to the bridge now. The bridge, discussion, two parts. Before the emergency, after the emergency, narrowly. Helena, folks, before the emergency, we hired inspectors. The governor says they failed us. We're suing them. He likens it to a doctor who's committed malpractice. We're going after them. Do you buy that narrative that the inspectors and the construction companies who worked for us failed us, and now we're going to sue them? Do you buy that part of the story? This is pre-emergency. [00:24:09] Helena: I think that it's fair to look at the inspectors and see if they did a job. But what I'm mostly critical about is what happened after all of this. The way the governor and Peter Alviti managed this mess has really cost Rhode Islanders time and money. They're stuck in traffic. They've changed their lives. And the governor -- let me just tell people, if I could, Gene, what happened. The governor desperately wanted a bridge built by this election. So he sent out a proposal to get bids. And he had very superior penalties if the bridge wasn't built by this year. He waited six months. And after six months, not one company bid on that process. Okay. So he had to start over. That did cost all of us time and money. And at the same time, one last thing, is in March of 2024, just four months after the bridge incident, he sat up at a news conference, and he said the conservative estimate was that we would have a new bridge built by September of 2026. We are certainly not there. Okay. And I think that is really the mismanagement that you see under this governor. [00:25:16] Speaker 1: You answered the narrative question before the emergency that you -- it sounds like you agree with that narrative, and you went into the post-emergency. You're very critical of him. All right, governor. I know it's your narrative, so I'm not going to waste time on before the emergency. You said the inspectors failed us. You're suing for malpractice. And that's the story. You're sticking to it. Now, post-emergency, governor, she makes a point. The bids went out. Nobody bid. It was a misstep. Go ahead and answer that, and then you could also answer our other charges. [00:25:43] Dan McKee: First of all, I understand that the bridge closure has caused a lot of pain and aggravation to people throughout the state of Rhode Island. It continues to do that if you're stuck in traffic. But look, there was a choice that I had to make. A bridge was being repaired that could not be repaired, ultimately we find out. I kept people safe, unlike my opponent in terms of the way that she handled herself as an executive on the pharmacies. Look, I kept people safe. That was the most important thing to do. And I did it, regardless of the consequences. And then we got right to work in terms of determining. It took 90 days to determine because I hired my own engineers, my own attorneys, to determine whether that bridge could be repaired or not. When it was determined it couldn't be repaired, we immediately started the process, which, by the way, we're a couple years ahead of Maryland. My opponent made a joke at our announcement that we were two years behind Maryland. We're two years ahead of them and months ahead of our schedule on the contracts and in place. Then we have put the legal procedure together, and it is the right thing to do to hold professionals accountable for misdiagnosis that is causing this problem today. Okay. And then third, we have a contract in place. First of all, we couldn't get a contract, a contractor couldn't stop building the bridge until we tore it down. Yeah. The initial bidding process that my opponent just said, we got what we needed, which was somebody to tear the bridge down, the old bridge down. And then we had a contract in place six months before the bridge was torn down with a top contractor in the entire country. And right now, the fabrication of the steel is going on in Wisconsin. It will be on site very shortly. We're putting cement down in the footings. This bridge is on the way to be done. And when it's done, it's going to be safer. And it's going to provide a lot better transportation strategy than what was in place. Go ahead. [00:27:29] Helena: So two things. I still take issue with the fact that you're telling us it's on time and on budget, when in fact, you told us it would be ready by September of this year, your conservative estimate. Again, quote from you in that press conference. The other real disturbing thing in all of this is essentially nothing's changed at the DOT. Okay. I called when I got into the race for Peter Alviti to be fired. The governor did nothing about that. He left this year at some point. But we need real reform at DOT, because what is happening is we outsource the inspections. If you remember in Peter Alviti's testimony, he couldn't remember who the inspector was, and he had no responsibility for it. It had all been outsourced. We need to bring back inside the engineers and re-engineer the whole DOT. I will do a national search, find a real expert who will come in and clean up that department. The people who are working there are desperate for real leadership. We're spending a billion dollars on bridges and roads, and we deserve much better. [00:28:29] Speaker 1: Okay, just a footnote. In the radio debate, you said that nobody who knows anybody at DOT will be hired, so that essentially eliminates anybody in the system. Whoever this person is, is not only coming from the outside, it will be from out of state. Yes. Is that a fair assessment? Yes. All right, let's move on. Governor, millionaire's tax. You got one. You wanted one. Some of the accountants and some of the people are critical of you, chasing people out, chasing them to the floor. That's all right. You got your millionaire's tax, and you've told me where you're putting it toward. Halina Foulkes is calling. She likes the millionaire's tax, too. You want to spend it differently. Now, tell Halina what you told me about where you're spending it and where, if she wants to spend it somewhere else, what would happen? [00:29:08] Dan McKee: We haven't really talked about the Trump administration in this debate. They're causing significant amount of problems, instability on our energy, on our health care. So I had to make sure that, first of all, we kept 20,000 people on health care that were going to lose their health care. We put $25 million into uncompensated care into the hospitals. Those dollars are going to come from the millionaire's tax. I started the social security relief. We're going to eliminate -- the first thing in my budget next year is going to be to eliminate the social security tax. This is very important. So the millionaire's tax was needed to do that. We put the first child tax credit in the history of the state of Rhode Island because the tariffs that the Trump administration is putting in place has cost $600 to $800 per family on average. So the money that we're putting in place on the millionaire's tax is taking care of problems that the Trump administration has sent to us. And you can't use -- this is another problem. Running for six years, and she doesn't even understand a budget, you can't use the money twice. So tell us, are you going to take away the social security relief? You're going to take the child tax relief? Are you going to take the 20,000 people off their health insurance? How are you going to spend the same dollar twice without eliminating -- [00:30:21] Speaker 1: Halina, you've said your millionaire's tax, although it is the millionaire's tax, that you would apply it to affordable housing. Now, he said if you're going to do that, where are you getting money for the list that he just -- you know, Medicare and everything else he just ticked off? [00:30:33] Helena: I know my numbers very well. Thank you, Governor. If you look at how the millionaire's tax was phased in, it's important people understand this. We phased it in 1% this year, 2% next year, and 3% the following year. So in this year, we're getting one-half of 1%, because it starts in January, which amounts to a total of $23 million to this year's budget. That's what's accounted for. And you go forward. There's then $500 million more that will be accumulated that I would like to use to build 20,000 new housing units. It's the most -- I know we'll talk more about it, but it is the most burning crisis for Rhode Islanders, and that's what I want to focus on. I do think there are other ways for us to save money. The governor's own housing plan, $120 million housing bond, sends $70 million to Wall Street to pay interest. We would not have to do that. There's $100 million that we, as a state, are going to have to pay for the snap error rate that is under this governor's watch. This is the food assistance program, and this is caused by Trump. I agree with the governor on this, but what is happening is because our error rate is so high, we will now start to spend $100 million and send that to the federal administration. [00:31:50] Speaker 1: OK, so let me just follow this. Your designation of the millionaire's tax money will go to affordable housing, and the list that he just mentioned, all of those other topics where it's going now, you will come up with money for that, and you've just explained how. [00:32:03] Dan McKee: Go ahead. First of all, we didn't have a housing plan in the state of Rhode Island for 20 years until they showed up. There was no secretary of housing, no housing office out of the governor's office. We have put in place, and we've started or completed 7,000 housing units since I've been in office, and now the plan is in the next year, by the end of 2030, that we'll have another 15,000 in place. We already have a plan. Why would you want to disturb a plan that's working on a house of cards that there's no way that you can actually fund that? The Social Security tax is going to be eliminated under my watch. Count on it. And we're going to use the millionaire's tax to do it. What I just heard from my opponent is we're not going to give that relief to the people who are on Social Security, which I think they need. [00:32:49] Helena: Well, I think the people of Rhode Island will have an important choice to make. The governor is saying he has a plan around housing, and it's working. That is not the experience of most Rhode Islanders. There's not a single city or town in Rhode Island today where a family making $100,000 could afford to buy a home. When my mom and dad bought their first home, my dad was making $10,000 a year, and they bought a house for $20,000. Today in this state, the average family makes $88,000, but a home costs $550,000. It is out of reach for teachers and electricians and plumbers, and we have to be much more ambitious. The governor's own housing bill will only build 600 low-income housing units for $120 million at an average price of $500,000 a piece. [00:33:40] Speaker 1: I'm going to get -- in fairness to the governor -- So it's very important. [00:33:42] Helena: That's a very big difference. [00:33:44] Speaker 1: The difficulty of buying a first home. Couldn't you say that in Massachusetts, our neighbors in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey keep going down. That's a heavy lift for one governor to change the complete economic outlook. [00:33:56] Helena: Yes, but we were last -- again, last year in the country in building new housing on a per capita basis. So you just have to look at the numbers and see it's not working for people. And talk to them out there. I've met so many people my age whose grown children are living back home with them. And they might have college degrees. They just can't afford a home. And this is something we've got to invest in. If there's nothing else that I do when I'm governor, I will make sure that this is the number one priority. [00:34:25] Speaker 1: Governor, you've pushed affordable housing on communities that don't want it. Johnston pushed back, governor. You know that. You're going to continue pushing? [00:34:33] Dan McKee: We have a plan that puts a number of units in every single community. We've talked to every community. We expect that they would actually do that. Look, we have a plan in place. Hold on. [00:34:43] Speaker 1: Johnston didn't do it. [00:34:44] Dan McKee: Well, on that one example, but again -- And there's other county towns. They're going to push back, too. They don't want it. They may do it. But we will definitely make sure that the numbers that we put in place that we achieve -- and by the way, we're doing over 7,000 units since I've been governor -- this notion that you're going to do 600 units. I put $250 million into the budget immediately with the APRA funds. We put 1,700 people in their first homes. I visited a couple in West Warwick. They're thrilled about that. Look, we have a housing plan. My opponent's housing plan is a house of cards. It doesn't work. And she's relying on money that we're already putting towards social security relief, child tax relief. We are going to make sure we have the energy relief. Look, the point is that we never had a plan before. We have a plan, and it's just foolish. It's foolish to scrap a plan that's working for a plan that is pie in the sky, and you have no notion that it actually will work. [00:35:37] Helena: You've been governor for six years, and you keep talking about having a plan. People are hurting, and they want results. [00:35:43] Dan McKee: I'll send you the plan. I don't need the plan. Obviously, you haven't read the plan. [00:35:47] Helena: I've read the plan, and I'm underwhelmed by it. That's what I'm telling you. And so are the people of Rhode Island. This is not a joking matter. This is a governor who, unfortunately, has a level of mediocrity and complacency, which is hurting the people of Rhode Island. And housing is a very important example of that. It really is. I mean, everywhere I go, people are concerned about this. And on top of building 20,000 new housing units, I'm going to use part of the money for rent relief, which is really critical, because we have so many people right on the edge of being kicked out of their homes or their apartments, and build a strong tenants' rights program. So there's much more to do. [00:36:25] Speaker 1: You have an ally in the mayor of Johnson who doesn't want this. Would you force a community like Johnson to take your affordable housing plan? [00:36:33] Helena: My plan is for housing for all, is what I would describe it as. And it will include things like modular homes. Yeah. We could be a leader in the country in modular housing. I can go on the Internet today and buy a modular home for $200,000. And we could -- I want to attract one of the companies that builds those, so we also have good-paying jobs here, and make those available. But you can also look at Central Falls. I mean, the mayor of Central Falls has done a phenomenal job building new housing units, leaning into working with developers. [00:37:07] Speaker 1: But when a town tells you we don't want it, what are you going to say? [00:37:10] Helena: I'm going to start with the places that do want it. That's really how I create change. Yeah. And there are places who are really so desperate for more housing. [00:37:18] Speaker 1: So you're not going to be heavy-handed? You're going to understand? Well, if they don't want it, I'll go next door. I would rather start first with the ones that really want it. You brought up Central Falls. Yeah. Do you know what the price of a triple-decker is in Central Falls? Have you checked lately? $647 in the quarter could be $800,000. Yeah. Those landlords made a lot of money. That's a wealth transfer, wealth creation. Is that the other side of the affordable housing story that's never told? A lot of money was made in Central Falls. [00:37:42] Helena: Well, we have to build -- I think what you're saying is, and a lot of people bring this up, they're worried about, are we going to build housing that people can afford? And I want to target that family that's making $100,000. Because when I think about them, there's not a single city or town where they could buy a home right now. And so when we build 20,000 new units -- and it's important, you know, if you look across the country, the places that have built enough homes and apartments, that's when the price starts to come down. So that's my focus. That's my energy. And Rhode Islanders are really looking forward to it. [00:38:14] Speaker 1: Governor, anybody who bought a triple-decker in Central Falls for $30,000, $40,000, they've seen a creation of wealth. Isn't that good? Didn't the market do good by those landlords? Isn't that the flip side of the story? [00:38:24] Dan McKee: Well, I think that property values don't go so high, and then they could fall down if they go too fast. But let's go back to Central Falls. The housing you're talking about came from my office. That funding came from the housing plan in Central Falls. The high school, the brand new high school in Central Falls, that came from my office through the General Assembly's approval, but we managed all that. So when you start giving examples, thank you very much, because that's a reflection that actually we did in the job. [00:38:53] Helena: Well, then I would ask, why is the mayor of Central Falls endorsing me? That seems to fly in the face of that. [00:38:59] Dan McKee: Well, that's her prerogative. My job is to take care of the people that live in every community, and I'm doing that in communities, whether the leadership can support me or not. But also, let's take a look at also the housing bond, $120 million housing bond. My opponent won't commit to actually voting for that housing bond, which is going to bring the very housing that she's talking about. True or -- is that true or false? [00:39:21] Helena: Right. I voted for the housing bond last time. I really care about housing, and I thought it was a good idea. Then I did my homework, and I look at $120 million housing bond, where $70 million goes to pay Wall Street interest, and we only build 600 units at an average price of $500,000. This is fact. You can look at the RIPEC report. Okay. So it's not working. It's not ambitious enough, and I will instead focus my energy on the plan that I have to build 20,000 new units using the millionaire's tax. [00:39:51] Speaker 1: Right. Time is getting tight. We're moving into sort of a lightning round. There's going to be a lot more topics and shorter answers if both of you would cooperate on that for us. Sales tax. Any inclination to lower our sales tax? Alina, folks. [00:40:03] Helena: No. [00:40:04] Dan McKee: No. Governor McKee? Not right now, but I have low -- I have eliminated the tax on our tangibles for 90% of the businesses. I've eliminated the tax on our vehicles as well. Put a HOPE scholarship in for good -- Is this a lightning round or no? [00:40:17] Speaker 1: Governor, it's -- the answer is no. The answer is no on both of them. Utilities, Governor. You have a plan to lower utilities. Go ahead, quickly. [00:40:23] Dan McKee: Yeah. The plan was a billion dollars of savings. I put an emergency order in this -- some few weeks back, $28 million going forward to eliminate the 15% increase that the -- that we were paying far too high on our -- on our energy bills. My opponent's energy strategy actually is going to add cost to the energy bills. There's no question about that. And there's $180 million. I'm asking everybody out there, call the PUC. I'm asking them to put forward another $180 million of relief for this winter, which would -- which should offset any increases that are coming forward. [00:40:56] Helena: All right. Can I have a little bit more time on that? Go ahead. Yes, go ahead. So I think this is another important distinction. I think the governor's making a false choice between the climate and cost. And in fact, what we know is climate change is real. We need to lean into renewables. But also, renewables are the cheapest form of energy. Okay? Wind and solar are the cheapest form of energy. The governor was very happy to sign the Act on Climate Bill in 2021. He sat there. He was running for office. He was thrilled about it. He forgot to do one thing. He forgot to act. So over his time, we didn't change anything around our dependence on natural gas. So we got to this place now because of his inaction. And now it's an election year. And he's doing more. I'll tell you another thing. Under his watch, he has not done enough to push back on Rhode Island energy. This is a monopoly owned by a company in Pennsylvania. He -- they have walked all over us. This is one very big reason our energy bills are so high. Thank goodness for our attorney general, who did push back a couple years ago, got $200 million. He had to fight the governor's office on this to get access to $200 million for Rhode Islanders for real rate relief. He's going to have to respond to that. Go ahead, [00:42:10] Speaker 1: Governor. You're not tough enough on Rhode Island energy, said your opponent. The Trump policies [00:42:14] Dan McKee: have changed the landscape since 2021. My opponent here does not understand that. I do understand [00:42:20] Helena: that, Governor. I do. Don't say that again. Well, then please explain it better. I just did. [00:42:24] Dan McKee: Your plan is going to cost rate pairs more money. It's going to cost us, the people, the people that I serve, instead of corporate interests that you serve, they're going to pay more money on their rates because of the landscape has been changed. You need 13,000 electric vehicles on the road every year through 2033 to meet the emissions on the carbon emissions. There's only 500 electric vehicles for sale because Trump is detooling the auto industry. We've got to come to realization here. We're not abandoning the strategy of clean energy. We need to move the dates. By the way, New York governor's doing it. Massachusetts governor's doing it. Maryland's governor's doing it. We have the Pennsylvania governor's doing it. All things that I'm proposing that you're saying against. The net metering alone, which is technical, the strategy that my opponent is advocating for would bring us to about 22 cents per kilowatt on all future solar installations. We have to address. [00:43:27] Speaker 1: You said it three times. Her plan is going to cost more. You're entitled to rebut. Yeah, thank you. Just answer that on the head. He says you're going to cost us more. [00:43:35] Helena: Solar energy is about one third the cost of the energy we're all paying today. So we need more solar. We need more. We don't need less. I'll give you. I was in Woonsocket at a diner a couple months ago meeting with a woman who's tried so hard. She owns the restaurant to keep her costs of utility down. And she said to me, Helena, every night when I leave the restaurant, I unplug every single appliance in my shop. And I told her about my plan. I said, look, I would like to be a leader in this. I want to put solar rooftop on the 100 biggest state buildings and take batteries to harness it. And that will allow you access to cheaper energy. OK, that's the kind of thing we need to do. That's it for that discussion. [00:44:17] Speaker 1: I want to move to hospitals and health care. Health care first. We have a shortage of primary care doctors. Money's the issue. Governor, what's been the plan to get more primary docs? [00:44:27] Dan McKee: Well, first of all, no one's put more money into the hospitals and health care than I have. 500 million dollars has gone to the hospital since I've been governor. My opponent served on a re:Invent Medicaid program that actually stripped dollars from the hospitals and stripped dollars from our nursing homes and 85 million less into the Medicaid. Look, we had the largest rate increase in the history of Rhode Island Medicaid under my watch. Over 300 million dollars went into that space. We also saved Roger Williams Hospital and Fatima Hospital. We are working to make sure that our health care remains in the top five in the country. Primary care docs is a problem. And we're addressing it in many ways, including supporting a medical school that's URI. And we started that process in this budget. By the way, 156 million dollars that we got approved. The largest per capita in the country on the rural health of grants that came out of the Trump administration. And some of those dollars are going to be able to help offset some of the issues that we're talking about. [00:45:36] Speaker 1: The governor has recounted his accomplishments. I know your ally, the Attorney General Peter Narona, dismisses that. He says he hasn't done all of that. Do you want to echo? Are you echoing that tonight? [00:45:46] Helena: I don't think the governor is telling people the truth. I want to start with his charge about the commission that I sat on under Governor Raimondo's administration. We actually raised Medicaid rates by 136 million dollars. And the governor was so happy with the work that when he became governor, he signed that into bill. And that pays for really important things. I was at a high rise this week where there was just a lovely man with his caregiver. She is paid by Medicaid. And that came from that kind of work. So it's very important we get that straight. As it relates to the two hospitals, I think it is very important that Roger Williams and Fatima stayed open. I give really all the credit to the Attorney General on that work. But I met a nurse who works at one of those hospitals last night. She said things are rough. Nothing has changed since the new company came in. So I am worried. And then on primary care, if I just could, doctors and nurses in this state make 20 to 30 percent less than they do in Massachusetts and Connecticut. And that's simply because our Medicaid rates are so low. So the governor missed an opportunity in this last budget to raise Medicaid rates by 70 million, get a 126 million dollar match from the federal government. And we, yes, I support a medical school as well. We can't wait 10 years. That is a solution that's 10 years away. Meantime, the system is crumbling. We need much greater action and Medicaid reimbursement is the key to fixing that. [00:47:14] Speaker 1: You've accused him of picking on CVS and in turn picking on the 7,000 employees. Just the other day, several unionized pharmacists who work for CVS said they're overworked and underpaid. They have no problem picking on CVS. I would just square the two. Why is it when he picks on them, he's picking on everybody. Those pharmacists came out and went after their own company. Listen, I haven't worked [00:47:36] Helena: at CVS in eight years. So I'm certainly not going to be the CVS spokesperson here. Okay. And the governor's talking about a very different situation. And he's accusing this company of all sorts of wrongdoing. And that's where I'm defending myself because you can't draw the difference between the company on that one. And he knows darn well what he's doing. So he is, again, using his time to share all these falsehoods so that he doesn't have to focus on the job that he hasn't done. [00:48:05] Speaker 1: She says you're hurting the home team. It's as simple as that. And you want to stop. [00:48:09] Dan McKee: It's not about the company. It's about the company that my opponent keeps. And I went over this issue with the John Sackler. Still didn't get an explanation of why you were so angry with John Sackler, you say, in 2014. Yet he stayed on your board that you chaired a family foundation for years later. [00:48:24] Helena: All right. I'm going to have to answer that one. Okay. Go ahead. [00:48:27] Dan McKee: You took money from the Sackler. That's not answering the question. I did not. That's not answering the question. Yes. Answer the question. Why did you keep that person on the board? And then when they left, you sent an email and the email was sent that they're going to be friends. Let me talk. No, stop it. Let me jump in. Hold on. Hold on. Now, we don't want to confuse people [00:48:45] Speaker 1: anymore. Governor, did you take a donation from the Sackler family? I did. Okay. You established that. [00:48:51] Dan McKee: Then returned it once it was exposed. Okay. There you go. Once it was exposed about what happened. That's my question. As soon as it was exposed that they were involved with the Oxycon and the Purdue, those dollars were donated somewhere else. Okay. Last word on this. Last word. I think that's the last word, honestly. That's the last word. Why? Yeah. Yeah. Because you won't take, you won't apologize to the, [00:49:13] Helena: to the people that you actually heard. No, stop it. Governor, stop it. It, this is crazy. [00:49:18] Dan McKee: No, this is not crazy. This is, this is important to the families and the people who live in the state of Rhode Island. Look, I serve the people in the state. There's a real choice in this campaign. They need to know your record as much as they know my record. Uh, well, I think, I think it's really [00:49:32] Helena: important that the people know my record. I talked about the 40% reduction that I drove and the fact that, uh, we, we, we did more than anyone in this country on this particular issue. So the board he's talking about, the board he's talking about is at the University of Connecticut. [00:49:49] Speaker 1: That's why you're in a lawsuit. Would you like me to answer or not? Let her finish. Go ahead. [00:49:51] Helena: Uh, the board I served on was a board for human rights. It was at the University of Connecticut. Uh, uh, uh, the Sackler person he's referring to was on the board. I don't know how many years. I met him once that happens often in, in public, in, uh, non-profit boards like that. Okay. And, and so the difference. [00:50:09] Dan McKee: He left the board in 2018. [00:50:11] Speaker 1: Okay, guys, we're, we're tight on time. I want to move to ICE. Uh, both of you are running against Donald Trump and in turn ICE. Uh, ICE says we're doing a very difficult job grabbing dangerous people, murderers, drug dealers. It's a tough job to do. We have to deal with the protesters. I, I know that you're, you're going after ICE as it stands now. Helene, take the question. [00:50:29] Helena: Well, Trump is the most destructive president that we've ever had. And people are living in fear. Uh, I, uh, we have children staying home from school. We have restaurants suffering because people aren't coming to the restaurants. We have small businesses suffering because workers can't show up. And I absolutely think the job of the governor is to protect the people of Rhode Island. Uh, I will do everything in my power when I am governor to make sure that the people in this state feel safe. I have a good friend who, uh, has been living in this state for 25 years. And he has three children and a grandchild. And he was grabbed by ICE on the courthouse steps as he was trying to fill out all the paperwork for citizenship. That is not who we are as a country. And, and I will do everything I can to fight that when I went. Governor, ICE has a tough job. They have [00:51:20] Speaker 1: a tough job. And law enforcement makes mistakes, including departments that are under your watch from time to time. Go ahead. Are you being fair to ICE? We'll work with ICE when they have a, [00:51:31] Dan McKee: a, a, a, a subpoena that actually can detain a person. But without it, we're going to protect the fourth and fifth amendments in terms of protection. And we are already working on the issues. Uh, I'm in conversation with Governor Waltz out of Minnesota talking about that problem. We do not want that on our doorsteps. I meet with our public safety along with all the, uh, people in emergency management on a regular basis. They're going to, they're ready to, um, put out cameras if the, a vice comes in and they kind of overstep their bonds. We need to protect the people that live in our state. I happen to believe that, uh, people who live in our state, uh, there should be a path to citizenship that would solve a lot of ISIS problems. They can go after criminals. I've said that over and over again, but they cannot go out after people just because they're profiling. You've went after [00:52:17] Speaker 1: Donald Trump. Donald Trump would say your party, the Democrat Party is being dragged to the left by radical socialists. Even James Carville and other leading members of your party had say they ought to break off. They don't belong here. Governor, do you renounce socialism? Look, do you renounce [00:52:33] Dan McKee: socialism, Governor? So socialism, look, I'm not going to, uh, cubbyhole any, any particular strategy there. I think that there's a lot of frustration with people who have, uh, feel as though the system has been gamed against them. I agree with that. All you have to do, my, my, uh, opponent is a poster child for that. When she worked at Hudson Company, she made 80,000, she was compensated $80,000 a day. You can see the frustration of people who feel as though the system is gamed against them. I am with the working people of the state of Rhode Island, and I'm going to make sure it stays that way. My opponent is, uh, clearly, uh, explain that. $80,000 a day. Okay. Okay. You're a capitalist. [00:53:10] Speaker 1: You're a capitalist. Do you renounce socialism? I'm not a socialist, but I understand where the [00:53:15] Helena: frustration is coming from. But since the governor decided just to attack me on that particular issue, I want to also talk about my, how I started my career. All right. You look very tight on time. You'll have closing. Go ahead. I started my career working a cubicle at CVS, and I was there 25 years. I had almost every job you could have. So when, when the governor tries to accuse me, uh, of being a corporate person, I worked my way up. I had good bosses, bad bosses. I had my four children while I was there. I got cancer while I was there. I really worked so hard, and I have the support of so many [00:53:49] Speaker 1: Democrats in this race. Okay. What's in company? Governor, time on time, I got to give you a minute closings each. Uh, Governor, would you be comfortable with a socialist as mayor of Providence? That could [00:53:57] Dan McKee: happen. I'll work with any, any mayor in any community. I'll let the voters decide which way they go. [00:54:03] Speaker 1: Helena, would you be comfortable with a socialist as mayor of Providence? Yes, absolutely. You would? Yes. Okay. Uh, I think we're going to hold it there because I have to have time for your closing statements. By order of the, uh, draw, which we did, by the way, on live TV on Coastal ABC, uh, Helena Bonanno, folks, you go first for your closing statements. Okay. So address the camera. Go [00:54:23] Helena: ahead. Well, hi, everyone. Dan McKee, uh, keeps telling you everything is great in this state, and clearly it is not. Uh, Rhode Islanders are stuck in place under his leadership. We have the worst economy in the country while we have the fifth most expensive place to live. He hasn't addressed the housing crisis. There's not a single city or town where a family making $100,000 could afford to live. And his approach on the Washington Bridge was a complete disaster and has left all of us in gridlock. Everywhere I go, people say we need change. We need a governor who's going to help us around making sure we build homes. We have jobs and that we can have a healthcare system that works. I'm so excited to have the support of so many incredible Democrats, Democrat leaders in Providence, the down committees in Providence, in Cranston, Warwick, the governor's own town committee in Cumberland endorsed me because people know that there's a need for change. I'm excited to lead. I, I ask all of you for your support. I'd love you to come along with me. Thank you so much. [00:55:31] Speaker 1: Halina, thank you. Thanks for keeping it on time. Governor, same thing. Address your camera. Give [00:55:35] Dan McKee: us your closing statement, please. So this election is a choice. It's a choice between a governor who grew up at a boys club rubbing elbows with every walk of life and bringing that to my office every day for the people of the state of Rhode Island. And a executive, a corporate executive, uninformed, unapologetic for the things that we brought up today, $80,000 a day. And she's out there telling everybody they understand what we go through. I am the governor for the people. And as long as I am the governor, it will be an office for the people. My opponent feels as though she can buy it with money. And that's not going to happen. She's not going to be able to buy this office because the people of the state of Rhode Island heard tonight the difference between myself and my opponent. I am with the people. I am with you. That's why I have all the working labor unions, the teachers, the nurses, on and on and on, because they know I stand for the people of the state of Rhode Island. [00:56:33] Speaker 1: And my opponent stands for big money. Governor, thank you. Thank both of you for keeping us on time. And thanks for participating tonight. That brings us to the end of this, I would call the spirited debate between the Democratic primary candidates for governor of Rhode Island, Helena Foulkes, and the incumbent Dan McKee. Our thanks to both of you for joining us. And our thanks to the viewers tonight. By the way, we had the Republican debate earlier today at four o'clock, and then the Democrats at seven. Now on Labor Day, we will be repeating both the primary debates. The Republicans will go at seven p.m. at prime time. The Democrats will repeat earlier in the interest of fairness. In the meantime, we encourage you to vote and may the best person in the eyes of the voters win. Thanks for joining us. See you on the news. We also want to thank the Providence Performing Arts Center for hosting us tonight. Something different. I hope you enjoy it. Candidates, thank you. [00:57:39] Speaker ?: We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you.