Mattiello on the Defense in Debate with Frias
Watch the 2018 debate between Speaker Mattiello and Steven Frias here.
WPRI District 15 Debate Highlights
Nicholas Mattiello
- On defense about Frank Montanaro for 5.5 minutes
- Boasts about being a leader on ethics reform, cites “third-party validators” who call him “reform-oriented”
- Ducks on the Reproductive Health Care Act, but acknowledges “there’s a big segment of the population that has interest in that”
- Acknowledges sexual harassment as a societal problem, makes a weird pivot to the low RI unemployment rate and the impact of harassment legislation on business
- Opposes terms limits, claiming “they don’t work in any state that has them”
- Defends legislative grants, though would consider getting rid of them “if everyone wants to cut it”
Steven Frias
- Harps on lack of action for Montanaro college tuition scandal
- Minimizes ethics reforms as ways to downplay cronyism and corruption scandals
- Picks apart Mattiello’s explanation of PawSox deal, describes Mattiello as someone “tripping over themselves, landing in a bed of roses and calling it intentional”
- Opposes the Reproductive Health Care Act, adding that “it does more” than codify abortion rights
- Supports term limits, with a maximum of 8 years
- Opposes legislative grants