Providence City Councilor Sue AnderBois is running for Lieutenant Governor

“We have some really big opportunities ahead of us. We need leaders who will bring us together, support us, and then fight like hell for Rhode Island."

Providence City Councilmember Sue AnderBois announced her campaign to become Rhode Island’s next lieutenant governor at Wild Colonial Tavern in Providence on Wednesday evening.

“We have some really big opportunities ahead of us,” said Councilmember Andrbois (Ward 3) to her supporters. “We need leaders who will bring us together, support us, and then fight like hell for Rhode Island. These are precarious times, but our democracy and our state are worth fighting for. Please know that I will always have Rhode Island’s back. I hope you will have mine, and I’ll have your vote for Lieutenant Governor.”

Councilmember AnderBois has served on the Providence City Council since 2023. She spoke about her accomplishments, including requiring all municipal buildings to be energy-efficient and powered by clean energy, investing in infrastructure projects in areas such as North Main Street, and ensuring fiscal responsibility for the city.

Before her time on the city council, AnderBois served as Rhode Island’s first director of food policy. In that role, she brought together farmers and fishers, small businesses, and state agencies to cut red tape, strengthen the state’s economy, and reduce hunger.

She laid out her vision in a campaign video:

More information about AnderBois and her campaign can be found on her campaign website, as well as her social media pages on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.

Here’s the video I took at Wild Colonial Tavern:

The transcript has been edited for clarity:

“I am Sue Anderbois, and I’m running to be our state’s next lieutenant governor.

“As I look around this room tonight, and when I talk to folks from around the state, can I tell you what I see? I see brilliance. I see community leaders. I see activists. I see talented artists and accomplished professors. I see parents who are passionate about their kids, early childhood specialists, teachers, and transportation engineers. I see extremely talented folks of all types who are dedicated to this community. I see some of the smartest, most innovative, kindest folks I’ve ever known. I see all of you.

“But then I ask myself, if this is who Rhode Island is, if this is who I see when I look around the state, why are we not consistently leading on education, healthcare, and tackling climate change, or just even having a functioning public transit system? Where is our leadership?

“We’re in a really precarious moment. We in this room know that federally, the Trump Administration is attacking our rights. They’re deporting our neighbors and fighting tooth and nail to keep our families hungry and uninsured. They’re fighting against science. They’re tearing down the east wing of the White House. They’re letting their allies pollute our air and poison our water and food, all while tanking our economy and holding literal Gatsby parties at the White House, while pretending that things have never been better for the rest of us.

“And we know it’s not true. We know things are not going well. In Rhode Island, we already had our own challenges. In Rhode Island, we’re dealing with a lot. We have unconscionable levels of food insecurity. We have unaffordable housing that’s driving out long-term residents, young people, artists, workers, and teachers. We have skyrocketing energy prices, and we’re not holding our utility accountable. We’re seeing things like a quarter-mile bridge taking literal years of political finger-pointing and retribution taking center stage, instead of us all working together to create solutions that make our roads safer and our transit more accessible.

“But friends, the good news is we have the tools, people, and talent to tackle these issues together. What we don’t have is the luxury of waiting around for the folks in state government to figure that out. Too often, they’re waiting for poll numbers to tell them what to do, or they’re trying to identify who they can blame, or they’re commissioning yet another study that they won’t use, instead of recognizing how to act, seeing our collective potential, and then hustling for us 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“We have huge opportunities in this state. I like to say we’re the smallest state, best state. We have the people and so many of the right ingredients. What we need is bold and collaborative leadership. We need leaders who will recognize the challenges we face and not waste time finger-pointing or blaming; leaders who will roll up their sleeves, or who never even wear sleeves because they don’t have time to roll ‘em up, figure out what needs to get done, who needs to be at the table, how to make people feel welcome at the table, or what tables we need to go to ourselves, and then work together collaboratively to get some shit done.

“Friends, this is the kind of work I’ve been doing my whole career. You can see it in the recent improvements we’ve made on North Main Street, where I didn’t commission a new study. I read the ones that already existed, which we had done over the years, and then brought the right people to the table - including RIDOT, RIPTA, Planning, DPW, businesses, our neighborhood residents, safe streets advocates, and our amazing city staff. We’ve been steadily making progress, not only on the near-term fixes, but also on those longer-term systemic infrastructure changes that we know are necessary and are already underway.

“And friends, I don’t want to be cheesy, but you know I am. So here we go:

“We need leadership that not only has a bold vision, but also a real love for the nitty-gritty details of getting things done and for the people who do it. We know that some of the best work comes from love and collaboration, not from fear and intimidation. Some of the hardest-working people I have ever met in my life are city and state workers, and real leaders know how to make them feel valued, find ways to leverage their skills and talents, and celebrate their achievements. That sense of joy and pride is what we need in the State House.

“Friends, this is what I’ve been doing since the moment we arrived here in Rhode Island. My husband Scott can attest to this. We got here, dropped off some boxes in our apartment, and I was like, “Cool. Can you find the pots and pans? I got to go to a meeting.”

“Within hours of arriving, I attended my first meeting of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council. I immediately wanted to find ways to contribute. Scott was like, ‘How do you know anyone? How are you going to a meeting? We just got here an hour ago. Nothing’s unpacked.’

“And then, friends, I got so involved. I went on to become Rhode Island’s first Director of Food Strategy. I had the opportunity to support farmers, fishers, and food businesses all across the state, and work to reduce hunger in all our communities, while also coordinating the work of many state agencies to create and implement our shared vision for a food system. As an advocate for environmental issues, I’ve worked really hard at the local level and with our state partners to help pass smart legislation [with Representative Megan Cotter.] I also worked with Representative June Speakman on solar siting legislation that greatly expands clean energy while also protecting valuable forests. We could do all the things at once, and it was supported not just by environmentalists, but also by organized labor, developers, and business interests. That’s the kind of collaboration you don’t often see.

“As a council person, I’ve continued to tackle big things, like ensuring that all of our municipal buildings will be carbon neutral by 2040, ensuring safety along our main streets, and watchdogging the fiscal health of our city. But friends, to do big things, you also have to do the small things. You must look people in the eye when they ask you a question or offer a comment. You have to apologize when something goes wrong. And you have to welcome folks to the table every day with gratitude and respect. I will bring purpose and vision to the office of Lieutenant Governor, and that can-do spirit of what government can accomplish.

“We have some really big opportunities ahead of us. We need leaders who will bring us together, support us, and then fight like hell for Rhode Island.

“These are precarious times, but our democracy and our state are worth fighting for. This is the Rhode Island we can build together. As we spend more time together, we’ll leave here with a spirit of joy and camaraderie and a belief that big things are possible. Please know that I will always have Rhode Island’s back. I hope you will have mine, and I’ll have your vote for Lieutenant Governor.”