R.I. attorney general candidates speak at JCC

PROVIDENCE — Three Democrats and one Republican running to become Rhode Island’s next attorney general answered community-generated questions Aug. 5 before an audience of 150 at the Bonnie & Donald Dwares JCC during a forum organized by the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

The three Democratic contenders — Kim Ahern, Keith Hoffmann and Jason Knight — agreed broadly on the issues but emphasized different approaches they would take to the job. Joseph Solomon, Jr., a Democratic candidate, did not attend.

Alan Gordon, the Republican, offered an expected contrast with the other candidates, differing sharply on several issues.

Emily Gaudreau, the Alliance’s director of community advocacy and engagement and the event's moderator, started the evening with a call for civility. “I have asked all the candidates to model civil discourse throughout tonight’s forum,” Gaudreau said. “It is a forum, not a debate, and I ask that they direct their response to me or to the audience rather than to one another.”

The candidates generally followed suit, sometimes referencing each other’s work positively, even across party lines.

Gaudreau asked the candidates a series of nine questions on topics ranging from antisemitism to federal overreach, generated beforehand by community members, and allowed each an opportunity for opening and closing remarks.

Alliance CEO Steven A. Baker said that representing diverse opinions is “something we take very seriously” and added that he hopes to “represent as much as we can ... the many voices in Jewish Rhode Island and the broader community.”