TGIF: Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for April 24, 2026

A soldier using classified information to bet on Maduro’s ouster on Polymarket is peak 2026. Thanks for stopping by. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go.

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Deep-pocketed Helena Foulkes has been a bit conspicuous by her absence from television commercials as Rhode Island’s 2026 campaign season heats up. The knock on Foulkes in 2022 was that she was too late in stepping up her campaign – and she still came within about three points of nipping Gov. Dan McKee in the Democratic primary. Now, three polls out this week suggest Foulkes remains in a good position without yet going on TV. The margin of her lead over McKee varies by different measures, up to 34 points in UNH’s survey, and any one survey could be an outlier. But McKee’s consistently low approval rating – 17% via UNH, 18% via the RI League of Charter Public Schools, and 25.5% via Ken Block – stands out like a red flag. With a little more than four months until the Sept. 9 primary, the next campaign phase promises to be nasty, brutish and short. McKee’s campaign will certainly try to drag down Foulkes’ favorability. But her fundraising advantage could get bigger when first quarter reports are filed next Thursday. And while McKee has aggressively promoted an affordability agenda, the danger for the incumbent is that voters’ views of him may already be largely fixed.

Ocean State Media (graphic created by Heide Borgonovo)

Back in 2023, a polling memo by U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo’s CD1 campaign set the stage for Amo to score a decisive win over 11 other Democratic primary candidates. Did the memo flesh out what was already happening or change how people looked at the race? Regardless, using a campaign-commissioned poll to raise a candidate’s stature is a familiar tactic. Ken Block has certainly built his recognition and credibility since emerging on Rhode Island’s political scene with the Moderate Party in 2008. And a poll commissioned by Block’s independent campaign for governor shows him to be a competitive player in the November election. He fares best – as would anyone – when favorable information about his background is shared with respondents before they make their choices. Block’s desire to make his third run for governor has been palpable for years – and his pitch of himself as the cure for serial state government problems could appeal to many voters. But running as an independent will leave Block without a party apparatus. A lot will depend, of course, on which Democrat emerges from the primary, and even Block’s own poll shows him facing a tougher fight against Foulkes.

Costs and obligations for Rhode Island’s truck toll program have exceeded revenue for the state by about $5 million, as I reported last week. The balance sheet could change dramatically if, as projected, the tolls are turned back on in early 2027; RIDOT estimates the annual haul at $38 million or more. But a lengthy court battle ended the discount program for truckers that former Gov. Gina Raimondo initiated. That leads people like Marc Perlman, CEO of North Kingstown-based Ocean State Job Lot, to call the truck tolls discriminatory and to say they will cause costs to be passed on to consumers. Perlman pointed out an irony he attributes to special-interest politics: the rationale for the tolls was to have the trucks that cause more wear and tear pay for road upkeep, but some of the densest trucks – cement mixers and dump trucks – are exempt from the tolls. (A bill this session would exempt waste management vehicles from tolls operated by the RI Turnpike and Bridge Authority.) Gov. Dan McKee and acting RIDOT Director Robert Rocchio declined multiple interview requests for my story, and a public records request revealed repeated communication between their comms staff on avoiding my requests.

It’s unclear if a bill that would allow Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins to raise the city’s tax levy 7.4% will get a hearing, let alone make it to the governor’s desk. As Eli Sherman reports, no Cranston lawmakers are supporting the legislation, it lacks a Senate sponsor, and the House sponsor is GOP Leader Mike Chippendale (R-Foster), someone known more for castigating state spending than supporting expanded tax capacity. (Whether the measure moves forward depends on whether the Democratic-controlled Cranston City Council approves a resolution in support.) Here’s the gist of what Chippendale had to say, via email, when asked about his sponsorship: “Whenever an unpopular bill like this needs to be introduced, it is supported by the House leadership and shepherded through the process. We saw that last year with Providence seeking a near-identical change. However, Providence is run by Democrats, so the bill was submitted by Democrats and ushered through by the Democratic majority. In this case – it’s a Republican mayor’s administration – so the Democrats are understandably not interested in touching it.”

Chippendale continued: “The proposal was brought forward by Cranston’s municipal leadership. Mayor Hopkins contacted me directly, as the highest-ranking Republican in the General Assembly, to ensure the city’s proposal could be submitted before the legislative deadline. It’s not even guaranteed to be used – this is but one option available for Cranston, and the issue is still under review by the city council. Under normal circumstances, a local representative would introduce the bill. In this case, Representative Paplauskas is reviewing whether doing so himself could raise an ethics issue given his role in the mayor’s administration. At the same time, the mayor approached multiple Democratic representatives from Cranston to submit the bill, but they declined. With the deadline approaching and no local sponsor secured, I submitted the bill to ensure Cranston did not lose the opportunity to have its proposal considered this session. As the minority leader, I’m the only member of my caucus who can order a bill without it being under anyone’s specific name. When it came up from drafting, there was a submission deadline for this bill to be put in, and that left only me.”

After a week off, the General Assembly is set to head into the rapids of the legislative session. There’s unusually high uncertainty about the budget outlook due to President Trump’s budget bill. Things will come into sharper perspective with the Revenue and Estimating Conference starting Monday and continuing through May 8.

Keisha Blain, a professor at Brown University, has a front row seat on what it’s like shining a light on the unsung history of Black women in America at a time when the White House is hostile to diversity, equity and inclusion programs and trying to erase evidence of racial injustice. “Well, it’s not easy, but I do feel a sense of urgency,” Blain, the author of Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights, told me this week on One on One. “I recognize more and more the importance of the work that I do. And, even in writing this book, I could have easily said, ‘Well, I won’t publish it now in this political climate,’ except I do think it’s important to publish these kinds of books, because we need this information.” Blain’s book highlights such figures as Ida B. Wells, an investigative reporter who crusaded against lynching in the late 19th century, and other Black women who made an impact even when they lacked political power and social standing.

East Providence has quietly changed course from its plan to develop a barren stretch of its waterfront as a port facility for the offshore wind industry. “It’s not going to be a wind hub as it was originally intended to be,” Mayor Roberto DaSilva said in a recent interview with me, “but it will be a port that will serve our state and our community and create economic development.” As Ben Berke reports, some other communities that were once bullish on offshore wind, including Staten Island, Salem, Mass., and Bridgeport, Conn., have shifted or paused plans geared toward wind power. Back in EP, the potential industrial uses for the South Quay site remain vague. “What they’re trying to do is try to partner up with somebody who needs space to create industry, to create manufacturing, to create jobs, that needs access to a deep port,” DaSilva, who formally announced his re-election campaign this week, told me. “The other thing we’re looking at is hospitality. We want to be able to have transportation from East Providence to Newport to Pawtucket to other places using the water as a way to bring economic activity.”

Republican Victor Mellor’s CD2 run is sparking debate among fellow GOP members. Narragansett Republicans endorsed Mellor, calling him “the real Republican Rhode Island’s been waiting for.” But Justin Katz, who has written more from a conservative perspective in Rhode Island than anyone in recent memory, believes Mellor “doesn’t know us” and is more about self-promotion than anything else, with negative effects for local Republicans. 2022 GOP candidate for governor Ashley Kalus is not a fan of Mellor, the Woonsocket native and longtime Florida resident. In the pre-Trump era, the RI GOP was often split between moderate and conservative factions (fwiw, the party got more Republican moderates elected to statewide office in the 80s and 90s). Amid all the debate over Mellor, RI House GOP Leader Mike Chippendale (R-Foster) is warning, “We cannot have a circular firing squad here.”

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley moved quickly to veto the rent stabilization bill passed by the City Council, but the issue of housing will likely remain front and center in the battle for mayor between Smiley and state Rep. David Morales. Barring a council override, Morales can cite the veto as evidence that different leadership is needed. Smiley notes that Providence is making progress in adding more housing and calls it the right way to address the housing crisis. In related news, the candidates squared off for their first forum this week. Smiley is kicking off his re-election campaign at 5 pm Monday at Roger Williams Park Casino.

With the deadline approaching early next month for House Speaker Joe Shekarchi to decide whether to apply for a Rhode Island Supreme Court opening, his social media may be a tell of which way he is leaning …. Gina Raimondo gave a TED Talk about how to stop AI from automating our decline …. Gov. Dan McKee is opening his Providence campaign office, 284 West Exchange St., at 10 am Saturday …. Secretary of State Gregg Amore has an online guide about how to run for office this year …. Tim White gave the annual Jim Taricani lecture at URI this week …. The ProJo is looking for a metro reporter …. U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner from CD2 this week addressed 3,000 leaders in the building trades at a national legislative conference in DC …. U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo from CD1 questioned NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman about protecting funding to spark the next generation of scientists and astronauts ….

Isabella Jibillian has a fun video with all you ever wanted to know about climbing College Hill …. Activists protested in Providence this week against ties between Citizens Bank and ICE …. Roger Stone is the keynote speaker for CD2 candidate Vic Mellor’s May 3 rally in Cranston …. Cumberland Mayor Jeff Mutter endorsed Keith Hoffmann for AG.

With a proposed data center in Smithfield drawing concern, Maine could become the first state to impose a pause on construction of such centers. Gov. Janet Mills has yet to decide whether to sign a related bill. “Maine is part of a national backlash to these facilities,” Maine Public reporter Peter McGuire told NPR’s Scott Detrow this week. “You know, at first, they were attractive to local officials because they brought in tax revenue and some jobs. You know, and the tech industry argues they’re using them to power the internet and develop AI. But now people are starting to see their electric bills go up because these centers use so much electricity, along with concerns about their massive water use, some light and noise pollution. And states and communities are now considering new regulations or even banning data centers. And there are a few small towns around the country that have scheduled public votes on it in the fall. And Virginia, which is the epicenter of this industry, is debating ending tax breaks for data centers. And bipartisan opposition just seems to be getting louder and more visible.”

In a perfect universe, the characters from The Gilded Age and Real Housewives of Rhode Island would time-travel to hang out together, crack jokes, wash back clam cakes with coffee milk and Narragansett and solve a vexing real-life mystery, like how to resuscitate the listless Sox, right?