In the Democratic Sept. 8 primary, first-time candidate Stuart Wilson is challenging Rep. Joseph McNamara for the District 19 Rhode Island House of Representatives, a seat he has held for 25 years.

McNamara, the chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party and the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee, has been in the House of Representatives since 1995, first in the District 29 seat and then the District 19 seat after 2003 redistricting. Wilson is a first-time candidate for elected office running on a platform focused on worker’s rights, the environment and education.

Whoever wins the primary will face independent candidate Patrick Maloney in November.

Both candidates have a background in education: McNamara is a retired educator who worked in Pawtucket for 37 years, including as the Pawtucket School Department’s Alternative Learning Program director. Wilson was born in Providence to a hospice nurse and metal caster, and has taught schools in Central Falls and Providence. As such, both candidates have strong opinions on improving the state’s education system and keeping students safe during a pandemic.

McNamara’s education legislation includes an establishment of statewide curriculum and standards that was signed into law last year, as well as an anti-bullying statute and a student loan bill of rights law that he co-sponsored.

Regarding reopening schools in the fall, McNamara believes all students should participate in a hybrid learning model, with the exception of kindergarteners and special education students, who McNamara believes need in-person learning for their development.

“The two populations that need in-school educational services are kindergarten students and students with special needs,” McNamara said. “Students don’t need more screen time. In-person learning cannot be done with a screen for that specific age group. I think that [the Warwick School Committee] could have waited to see what the latest data is, and I would have been more comfortable with a decision if they had a plan for kindergarten.”

Wilson was cautious about students and teachers returning to school, fearing a possible resurgence of the virus in the fall, although he agreed that in-person learning is ideal.

“There are plenty of people concerned with being able to go back to work if their kids are home learning, and those are very important concerns,” Wilson said. “We need to be making sure we support them. It’s a very valid statement to say they have to go back to work. But I applaud the schools that are putting kids and teachers’ health first, and by doing that, they are putting everyone’s health first, especially if they open for two weeks and see the numbers go out of control right after so we have to go back to distance.”

Wilson also felt that the General Assembly has not done enough to prepare for reopening plans, leaving too much for the governor’s office to handle.

“Gov. Raimondo has made some hard decisions,” Wilson said. I don’t agree with them all, but she made them try to help Rhode Island, and the legislature has done nothing to help her. They haven’t reallocated funds for the safety measures we need or provide the resources that kids need to distance learn. We have old buildings that are all the more dangerous in a pandemic because we haven’t updated them.”

Economy

The candidates also addressed the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.  McNamara is passionate about helping small businesses recover, especially since he once owned Joe’s Dairy Shop in Cranston and Warwick.

“Many of the small business owners that I have spoken with have purchased business interruption insurance, when they were forced to close due to the pandemic, they applied for relief in this insurance, they were led to believe that under a national emergency, this disruption would be covered,” McNamara said. “There needs to be grants and low-interest loans to help our small businesses recover.”

Wilson’s economic platform includes increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, as well as government investment into business.

“The more money that we give to ordinary people, the more will be spent back in our economy,” Wilson said.  “I’d be looking at hazard pay for people working in this state of emergency, and if we make that retroactive, not only are people going to spend their money here but that will starve off eviction and homelessness, and all of those things cost money. The more we can help individual people going through this, the more we can go forward. We’re in a national crisis, a state budget, this is a time to worry about people, not the budget. I would love to get the budget under control, but my priority is to work safely this year.”

Healthcare

The pandemic has also drawn more public attention to healthcare. Wilson and McNamara both agreed that healthcare should be a right, but had different was of addressing it.

“I don’t believe any citizen in the United States, in Rhode Island, should not have access to adequate healthcare,” McNamara said. “It’s something we have to work on but more importantly what we really have to address are the disparities that exist in our healthcare delivery system. And I believe that can be accomplished through initiatives such as the Central Falls Health Center. We know where these disparities exist, and we need to ensure that every member of the community has access to adequate healthcare. And this pandemic has clearly demonstrated that when you have an underserved population, it's detrimental to the entire state because people work and travel, Rhode Island’s a small state.”

Wilson supports a single-payer option at the national level.

“Joe Biden’s new plan has a pretty robust option, so I would encourage people to look into that,” Wilson said. “What I would do at the state level is fill in the gap. There are gaps between people who have insurance through their company and some have it through Medicaid or Medicare. So we have a mismatched system. We can fill in those gaps that the federal government has left us with. 

McNamara cited his experience as why he thinks he is the most qualified candidate for the position.

“I believe we are at a critical point in our state and nation’s history where my demonstrated leadership and getting things done, specifically for District 19 and Warwick, such as the renovation and restoration of Pawtuxet Village, from getting the cove dredged, to putting in new sidewalks, removing a dam and restoring the natural falls that are in the village, and most importantly, one of the largest projects in the history of the village is going to be the historic rebuilding and restoration of the bridge in the village,” McNamara said. “I am also involved in advocating for the phasing out of the car tax.”

Wilson believes that he can bring a community-driven approach to governance.

“I have funded my campaign through family and friends, and now donations from people excited for change,” Wilson said. “McNamara takes money from PACs, Mattiello, Shekarchi, he has plenty of money coming from special interest groups. He can certainly outspend me, but what sets me apart is that I am going around and meeting people, being a part of this community.”