As we approach the Sept. 9 primary, the race for the Democratic nomination to be the next governor of Rhode Island is coming down to the wire.
The latest poll numbers indicate incumbent Gov. Dan McKee continues to trail challenger Helena Foulkes, a former CVS executive. Nevertheless, McKee says he remains confident that Democratic voters in Rhode Island will support him on primary day.
Ocean State Media political reporter Ian Donnis sat down with McKee as the campaign heads into the pre-primary final stretch.
Interview highlights
On his overestimation of the timeframe required to rebuild the Washington Bridge
Gov. Dan McKee: The first initial bids that went out (last year), they were aggressive in terms of timeframe, but they also made sure that we had somebody to take down the bridge. So we didn't lose anything by being aggressive, trying to get the best pricing and best timing possible for the people in the state of Rhode Island. That closure there is causing people a great deal of disruption in their lives, and we want it to get done as fast as we can, and we are.
We got the demolition contract out of that first go-around on the bids. We had to knock down the bridge before we could build a new bridge. And then we had a world-class contractor in place six months before the bridge was knocked down. So I think that a lot is being made of that schedule by my opponent, and it's misleading in terms of the fact that we got what we needed.
On the lack of state oversight in bridge maintenance
McKee: When I came into office, there was a contract in place to repair a bridge that ultimately we found was not repairable. So we're holding those inspectors accountable. My opponent has been very wishy-washy on whether she would actually hold those inspectors accountable. We're going to recover millions of dollars for the taxpayers. So look, the process was working, and it was not called to my attention until I was asked to shut down the bridge, which I did shut down the bridge.
On job growth in Rhode Island
McKee: Well, the jobs are growing in Rhode Island. First of all, we recovered the jobs that were lost in the pandemic faster than Massachusetts has during that timeframe. We have the second-lowest unemployment rate, under 5%. We're into 57 months with a 5% or less unemployment rate, so we are putting people to work. Think about that. Under 5% for 57 months in a row. We're putting people to work building things in a rapid way, and we have private investment coming into our state that we've never seen before.
