A native of the Dominican Republic, Sabina Matos became the first Black person to hold statewide office in 2021 after being appointed Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor by Gov. Dan McKee. She easily won re-election the following year, but faces a very competitive race against Republican John Loughlin in 2026.
Matos, a former president of the Providence City Council, sat down with Ocean State Media political reporter Ian Donnis to discuss her accomplishments and her vision for the next four years.
Interview highlights
On why she wants to be re-elected Lieutenant Governor
Sabina Matos: I'm running for re-election because I have demonstrated that the office of lieutenant governor can be used in an effective way to defend the consumers and the people of the state of Rhode Island. I enjoy the work that I'm doing. I'm making sure that I represent every community throughout the state of Rhode Island, and that I hear the issues that are affecting every community throughout the state of Rhode Island. I'm taking action, responding to the needs.
On the difference she can make if re-elected
Matos: Continue the work. I started doing this work responding to the needs of the consumers of the community. Just listening to what was needed in Woonsocket, I learned about their need for supermarkets. They've been trying to add another supermarket for quite some time. And once I brought an investor that wanted to open a supermarket, we discovered that they couldn't use the building that used to have a grocery store in the past because the big corporations, once they leave a community that they don't feel is good enough for them, they block the building and don't allow another grocery store to go in there… So we were able to pass legislation this year. It was signed by the governor, and there's still work to be done. Now, the second part of that legislation is going to ensure that we are able to remove the restrictive covenants that are already in place here in the state of Rhode Island.
On receiving campaign support from the Democratic Lieutenant Governor's Association
Matos: The only thing that I'm responsible for is the fundraising that I do directly, and I did not fundraise for any of those commercials that were placed. My campaign has been working really hard. I'm the candidate that had the (least) amount of money. My opponents actually had more resources that came from different corporations and different supporters, but I had the (least) amount of money. So I can tell you, the fundraising that I did, it came from people.
On her decision to support State Transportation director Peter Alviti after the failure of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge
Matos: I was asked if the governor should have fired him when the bridge was closed, and my answer is: not in the middle of a crisis. There were so many things that we still needed to know and find out, and there were so many projects that the state has going on fixing the bridges in our state. So my answer is not in the middle of a crisis, but eventually, yes, I think he needed to leave eventually.
On the concept of rent stabilization in Providence
Matos: I don't support rent stabilization statewide. I'm still observing and looking at it. I'm not convinced that it (will) work. I believe that what works is building more housing.
