HELENA BUONANNO FOULKES LAUNCHES CANDIDACY FOR DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION FOR GOVERNOR OF RHODE ISLAND
Announcement speech focuses on how she’ll lead with courage, caring and competence
Providence, RI – Helena Buonanno Foulkes announced that she is seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of Rhode Island, setting up a rematch against Dan McKee, one of America’s most unpopular governors. In her first-ever run for political office in 2022, Foulkes came within 3,000 votes of victory.
Helena began the day with breakfast in Central Falls, joined by Mayor Maria Rivera and Dr. Pablo Rodriguez. She then did a live radio interview with Poder before traveling to the Casino at Roger Williams Park, where she formally launched her campaign to a packed room of enthusiastic supporters.
This afternoon, Helena will hear directly from local business owners in East Providence impacted by the Washington Bridge fiasco. She will then cap the day with a community gathering at a home in East Providence—continuing the conversations she’s been having in living rooms and coffee shops across the state to hear directly from Rhode Islanders about their concerns and ideas. Helena will be holding a community gathering in all 39 cities and towns in the coming months.
Excerpts from her prepared remarks:
The pressure Rhode Islanders are feeling:
“It’s not hard to convince people to love Rhode Island. What’s becoming harder and harder is for it to feel like Rhode Island loves you as much as you love it…Rhode Islanders are getting priced out and squeezed to the limit…”
“In my conversations with Rhode Islanders, they frequently say something along the lines of, “I don’t know if it’s incompetence or corruption, but the state just does not seem to be working for me.”
“Rhode Islanders are getting squeezed, both from the incompetence of our state government and the failure to address a spiraling affordability crisis that includes the costs of housing, groceries and utilities…”
How she’ll govern:
“While I hear so much real frustration that our state leadership is not meeting the moment, I am inspired by my fellow Rhode Islanders’ love of our state, their concern for one another and their relentless hope that we can build a better future.”
“Together with you, I hope to bring back faith in our government, to improve our public education and create good paying jobs…..to move with urgency to tackle our housing crisis and address our doctor shortage….and to fight against the reckless, illegal and irresponsible policies of the Trump administration.”
“As your governor, growing our economy and creating good-paying jobs will always be one of my top priorities. This means both attracting more companies to Rhode Island and fostering workforce development and job training programs—in cooperation with organized labor—to better serve high schoolers who choose career paths over college.”
“What you’ll get from me is a governor who cares that the status quo isn’t working for Rhode Islanders. You’ll get a governor with the competence, guts and a sense of urgency to do better, and the compassion and empathy to make sure everyone is along for the ride.”
“So it is time for Rhode Island to live up to its potential. To make it easier to raise your family and get ahead in this state we all love. To have a governor that is working as hard as you do.”
The Washington Bridge:
“It’s an in-your-face example of what happens when government just doesn’t work for people….if we can’t even fix a critical bridge in the middle of our biggest city, what else do you think our government is failing to do?”
“And the bridge is just a glaring example of this administration’s inability to get things done and done right.”
Where our current leaders are failing:
“Instead, last session, our leaders did what Rhode Island has done for years. Tape together a budget, add some new fees and raise taxes, throw in an accounting gimmick or two, make some insiders and lobbyists happy. Fail to be accountable. Fail to plan.”
“We can no longer rely on short term fixes—we can’t kick the can down the road anymore—it’s just going to make things worse.”
“We’re uniquely vulnerable because unlike other New England states, we failed to plan. Massachusetts has a rainy day fund of $8 billion. Connecticut has $4 billion. Having a cushion helps them withstand the threats from the Trump administration. Our rainy day fund barely exists. So now we’re caught without an umbrella, and it’s going to take leadership willing to make the tough choices to get us through this.”
“We can’t afford the same people trying the same old things; simply put, our current governor does not deserve a third term!”
On Hasbro:
“To the hundreds of Rhode Islanders impacted by yesterday’s news that the iconic local company Hasbro is leaving for Massachusetts: I know this is a moment of extreme stress for you and your family. That’s who we should be focused on right now. I’ll be a governor who fights day after day to protect workers’ jobs. And to bring more jobs here.”
Defending Rhode Islanders from President Trump:
“And if all of this wasn’t enough pressure on Rhode Island families, we have a reckless, irresponsible and belligerent President in the White House….”
“Trump is hellbent on attacking and threatening blue states like Rhode Island, terrorizing our immigrant communities and carrying out massive cuts to food assistance that will blow an even bigger hole in our state budget and make many of our seniors and kids go hungry….”
“So here is my message to Donald Trump: we will not tolerate your reckless agenda. We will not abide by your failed policies. And we will fight against your illegal and irresponsible overreach that is tearing apart our nation, bankrupting our government and destroying our children’s future.
Rhode Island needs to defend itself, and I’m ready to lead that fight.”
Her leadership style at CVS:
“I offer my experience as a window into how I lead. My management philosophy at CVS was that to make the company successful, you listen, you put the customer first….You didn’t prioritize the short term bottom line.”
“That’s why we removed cigarettes from all of our stores. My mom died of lung cancer—so it was really personal to me. It cost us $2 billion a year in revenue. And don’t think for a second that was an easy thing to do or that everyone was instantly on board.”
About Helena Buonanno Foulkes:
Helena Buonanno Foulkes is a lifelong Rhode Islander, wife of 36 years, mother of four and cancer survivor who rose through the ranks of CVS over 25 years to become president of its retail division.
As President of CVS pharmacy, Helena worked to ensure that consumers got the lowest possible prescription drug prices and removed tobacco products from the shelves—even though tobacco brought in $2 billion in revenue—because she believes that protecting people’s health is more important than profits.
Since coming just short in the 2022 race for governor, Helena has been working hard to improve our state, including partnering with the mayor of Central Falls to improve their public schools and combatting homelessness and domestic violence as a board member and volunteer at Rhode Island non-profits. Helena regularly holds community gatherings at people’s homes to hear directly from Rhode Islanders about their concerns.
Helena is a compassionate, experienced and effective leader. Now, she is running for governor to make life better for every Rhode Islander.
For more information, please visit www.HelenaFoulkes.com.
