PROVIDENCE – Those seeking a last-minute spoiler during the third and final gubernatorial debate between incumbent Gov. Daniel J. McKee and Republican candidate Ashley Kalus Thursday inside Rhode Island College’s Sapinsley Hall were left disappointed, though the evening was not without its highlights.
Moderated by WJAR NBC-10 anchor Gene Valicenti, the debate featured many of the greatest hits in a statewide campaign politicking that observers have witnessed to date: mentions of crude text messages, accusations of carpetbagging, corruption and FBI investigations.
Valicenti worked hard early to keep the debate from going off the rails, admonishing the crowd for jeering after candidate responses. He began by asking the candidates if they stood by the recent insults lobbed at one another, saying the two had “raised the bar” on personal attacks.
Both affirmed they stood by their public comments.
And that was just the personal mudslinging. As for substance on practical kitchen table issues such as education, energy prices, housing, and economic recovery, both candidates labored to distinguish their platforms, with McKee defending his record and Kalus proclaiming a need to change the guard.
“This is a pattern of incompetence that hurts Rhode Islanders,” Kalus said. “We need new leadership. I am a successful businesswoman who gets results.”
On education, Kalus again called for McKee to direct the Rhode Island Department of Education to release the latest standardized test scores of K-12 students. After being prodded by Valicenti, McKee admitted he had been “briefed” on the RICAs results, saying that scores in mathematics had improved but those for reading had slightly declined.
Both candidates said they favored subsidies for higher education. McKee highlighted signing R.I. Promise bill into law.
On housing, McKee pointed to the $166 million recently allocated toward affordable housing. “No one has done more, quite frankly, on this issue,” he said.
Kalus repeated her vow that if elected, she would work to create 10,000 additional housing units in her first year in office, a number McKee has said is impossible to achieve.
As for the issue of homelessness, Kalus said that with winter approaching, the current administration had come up far short of what is needed for shelter beds.
“He did not involve the community last year,” she said. “We knew this was going to be a problem. There is no plan and there will not be a plan until after the election.”
McKee repeatedly called Kalus “dishonest” for her attacks.
“I don’t need to be lectured on this issue when I have the background and know what is going on,” he said.
Both candidates said they supported income tax relief. Kalus said she supports a reduction in income taxes for taxpayers making $150,000 or less and eliminating taxes for all earners making less than $50,000.
And with gas and electric rates set to rise, Kalus repeated her assertion that McKee had the power to halt the rate hikes using a 40-year-old state statute meant to deal with gasoline shortages.
“It meets the criteria,” she said. “We can roll back the rates. It is in the law.”
McKee countered, calling the idea “half-baked.”
“It is troubling how ill-informed Ms. Kalus is,” he said. “It opens the state to millions of dollars in litigation. We are putting real money on the table right now.”
Kalus attempted to paint McKee as out of touch with everyday citizens.
“He hands out money and does not ask for results,” she said. “I am [campaigning]all over Rhode Island and talking to people and they are suffering.”
Valicenti broached the issue of truck tolling under the Rhode Works program begun by former Gov. Gina Raimondo, which a federal judge had ruled against on Sept. 21. The state is preparing its appeal.
Asked about his justification for supporting the appeal, McKee said he was “not going to give [a] defense on live TV” and that “time will tell.”
McKee has centered his campaign on a host of legislation he has signed since taking over the executive office, including the state’s economic recovery, public investments in infrastructure and a low unemployment rate.
“Every decision I have made has been in the best interest of the state of Rhode Island,” he said. “These accusations are dishonest, shameful and wrong.”
Kalus continued her attacks on McKee in attempts to label him an old-school political insider embroiled in a criminal investigation involving the education contract awarded to the ILO Group, something McKee has repeatedly denied.
Valicenti asked for clarification if the governor was really under investigation? McKee called the inquiry a “review.”
“The FBI doesn’t come in to review,” countered Kalus. “They come in to investigate.”
McKee remains ahead in the most recent polls, though an overview of the past six weeks shows Kalus making some headway, effectively cutting McKee’s 23-point lead in half.
The general election is Nov. 8, with early voting ending on Nov. 7.
Christopher Allen is a PBN Staff Writer. You may reach him at Allen@PBN.com
