RHODE ISLAND GENERAL ELECTION 2022

Q&A: Johnston candidates for RI District 43 State Representative

Candidate Questionnaire
Posted 10/31/22

Incumbent State Rep. Deborah A. Fellela, a Democrat, represents District 43 (Johnston). She faces Republican Nicola “Nick” Antonio Grasso in the General Election.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in
RHODE ISLAND GENERAL ELECTION 2022

Q&A: Johnston candidates for RI District 43 State Representative

Posted

Incumbent State Rep. Deborah A. Fellela, a Democrat, represents District 43 (Johnston). She faces Republican Nicola “Nick” Antonio Grasso in the General Election.

Deborah A. Fellela

  1. Now that a federal judge has ruled truck tolls unconstitutional as a means of financing bridge and road repairs, what would you do?
    "The DOT still has plenty of money to continue making road and bridge repairs. While we await the appeal of the judge's ruling, I want to emphasize that I would never vote to place tolls on cars or other passenger vehicles."
  2. Do you think the state’s gun laws go far enough and if not, what would you favor?
    "The guns laws go far enough."
  3. Do you plan to introduce or support legislation that would be specifically beneficial to Johnston and what would that be?
    "I will work diligently to ensure that Johnston continues to receive its fair share of school funding. I am proud the legislature has increased state aid to Johnston schools by $1.6 million in the past years, which not only assists our students, but enables local property taxes to remain stable.  I will also support state funding that helps communities receive state assistance to build and renovate schools, such as Johnston is currently receiving through a bill I sponsored, and voters approved."
  4. Do you favor term limits for state legislators?
    "The voters decide on the terms of legislatures. We put our records before the voters every two years."
  5. Is Rhode Island heading in the right direction and why?
    "There is much more work to do, but we are heading in the right direction. We know that the cost of living is on the rise due to issues at the federal and international levels, so we are doing our best to bring tax relief to working families in Rhode Island. This included permanently eliminating the car tax, providing $250 tax rebate checks to working families with children, doing away with the state income tax on Veterans' pensions, and lowering the tax burden on small businesses by reducing the unemployment tax.  We are working hard to make sure that more money stays in the pockets of hardworking Rhode Islanders."
  6. What more can we do to provide for affordable housing?
    "I am proud of the steps we have taken in the legislature within the past two years to make housing more affordable. This included investing $250 million in the current budget for a variety of new housing initiatives.  We also passed several housing bills to streamline development, provide more complete and timely information about housing and assist municipalities in meeting their affordable housing goals.
    There is no magic solution, but we must work with developers along with cities and towns to pass commonsense legislation to address a complex problem."
  1. Do you think the Act on Climate calling for 100 percent renewable energy by 2033 is realistic?
    "Addressing climate change is important, but we must be flexible. I think that is laudable goal, but if it is unrealistic, I would support reasonable amendments that still address this key issue."

"Serving the people of District 43 has been my honor.  Delivering real results and helping people lives is why I have gotten into public service.  I am proud of the work we've accomplished and know there is more to be done.  I am always available to my constituents; my constituent views and concerns are what I value most."

Nick Grasso

  1. Now that a federal judge has ruled truck tolls unconstitutional as a means of financing bridge and road repairs, what would you do?
    "Two distinct areas of concern over the bridge tolls are balance of power and the actual ruling over the tolls. Across our country, we are so divided that both the Executive and Legislative Branches of government seem to constantly work around the Judicial Branch. That respect for that part of our government is gone, and whether one party or not likes a ruling, we must learn that our Judicial system is in place for a reason. While it is RI's right to appeal the decision, we already knew these tolls were unconstitutional, we should be more focused on not wasting taxpayers money to fund this litigation. I will remain against both the truck tolls and any attempts to toll passenger vehicles, unlike my opponent who voted for the truck tolls."
  2. Do you think the state’s gun laws go far enough and if not, what would you favor?
    "When it comes to gun laws, there is a major difference between my opponent and I. My opponent began her career as A rated by NRA and will finish as F. I am A rated and endorsed by the NRA and always will be. My opponent has shown no consistency or problem solving skills on the subject. I am A rated because of my work over there years in protecting the Second Amendment, however, I am one of the most respected persons in the subject because of my ability to work across the aisle. In 2013 Speaker Gordon Fox appointed me to the Mental Health and Gun Safety Task Force Commission. I was one of 20 professionals in RI selected to this commission because of my ability to be a problem solver while protecting our constitutional rights. Our commission passed bi-partisan legislation to close holes in the mental health aspects of being able to attain a firearm. In 2021, we passed legislation in RI that forces the Attorney General to annually report gun arrests and show how many of those gun charges are dropped. To this date, the Attorney General has still not provided RI with this report. We need a better understanding of why RI's gun laws are some of the strictest in the nation and why we are not using these laws to prosecute and punish criminals who violate these laws."
  3. Do you plan to introduce or support legislation that would be specifically beneficial to Johnston and what would that be?
    "Specific to Johnston, I will circle back to the tolls. I will be a defender of Johnston residents to the very end on this matter. Johnston is the home to most gantries in the state. Any attempts to by-pass the court's ruling by tolling all cars will be devastating to daily travel for Johnston residents. Route 6 and 295 could toll a person 5 times in the matter of minutes, it's simply not fair to the Johnston residents to ever have to worry about such an occurrence because their current state representative allowed this scenario to even be a threat."
  4. Do you favor term limits for state legislators?
    "Term limits for legislators. It's no secret that freshmen legislators are not in prime positions to pass groundbreaking legislation. To have an impact, I do believe in allowing legislators to grow into leadership roles. That being said, I do believe that after 5 terms, a legislator becomes a career politician and their service to the people might come second. While the number is completely arbitrary, I think I would vote yes to term limit a legislator after 5 terms, but not anything less than that."
  5. Is Rhode Island heading in the right direction and why?
    "RI is simply not heading in the right direction. Every ranking this state see's is down right awful. We rank at the bottom in Governor approval, education, unemployment, small business climate, places to retire and so on. RI needs a balance, it needs Republican representation to come in and balance the power. Democrats have had over 2 generations of rule in RI and when you rank last in all these categories it's very difficult to say RI is heading in the right direction. We can do much better, and it starts November 8th at the polls."
  6. What more can we do to provide for affordable housing?
    "Affordable housing is a major problem in RI. Instead of treating the symptom, we need to treat the cause of the housing problem. Property values are downright absurd in this state. The dream of owning a home in this state is becoming so out of reach for many. You add in the struggles of the low-income to the newer struggles of the middle class and of course you're going to have an affordable housing issue. Is the answer to keep creating more subsidizing solutions? Maybe in the short term, but RI needs to improve in all the areas I mentioned above to fix the problem long term. We need to focus on lowering the amount of people stuck in the low-income bracket, and make the middle class "American Dream" citizen attainable for EVERYONE. My opponent, this past session voted on budgement amendments against cutting the gas tax, providing energy cost relief this winter, voted no to restoring cola's for retirees, voted no to helping young girls in the state care system, voted no to helping the minority business accelerator program! How are any of these votes contributing to helping people out and making life more affordable in RI?"
  7. Do you think the Act on Climate calling for 100 percent renewable energy by 2033 is realistic?
    "The Act on Climate set to go in effect in 2033 is absolutely not realistic. I hope that all citizens of this state realize how their Reps. and Senators voted on this piece of legislation. My opponent voted for this act and everyone needs to realize that as it stands in 2033 you will not be able to use a wood burning stove. Instead of incentivizing citizens to gradually move to renewable energy and looking at other solutions in studies, RI rushed to legislate something that is not attainable. What happens in 2033? You will see a tax credit for those who comply and penalties for those who cannot afford conversion. It's just that simple and your current legislators are responsible for this. The law needs to be repealed and electing a problem solver like myself will ensure that we convert in a smart and sustainable way, while balancing our energy needs between renewable and all other sources of energy."

"Thank you to the citizens of District 43 for taking the time to read my answers to such important topics in your everyday life. After 16 years, you deserve new leadership, one that would have gone to you, and represented you on many of the votes that were mentioned above. I humbly ask for your consideration on November 8th, and together we make RI a better place to live. Please visit www.Nick4Rep.com and feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns!"

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here