RI Latino community leaders speak against a Constitutional Convention; Urge rejection of Question 1

"We are gravely concerned that those who would be elected in a small turnout special election will not reflect the wishes or diversity of the LGBTQ+, minority, and other... impacted communities."

Dr. Pablo Rodriguez

A press release from the Campaign to Reject Question 1:

Leading voices in Rhode Island’s Latino community today held a press conference urging Rhode Islanders to defeat a Constitutional Convention, which will be Question 1 on the ballot in this November’s general election.

See the video here:

“A Constitutional Convention is a significant threat to the civil rights of Rhode Island’s immigrant and minority communities,” stated Pablo Rodriguez, former Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island, Medical Director, and current host of Nuestra Salud, Rhode Island’s first Spanish language health podcast. “Across the country, wealthy special interests have dumped unlimited money into State ballot referenda trying to take away the rights of many different groups of people. Rights we as Rhode Islanders have fought hard for could all come under attack if we approve a Constitutional Convention – affirmative action, non-discrimination laws, voting rights, the right to bail, access to driver’s licenses, emergency health care services, public education, and more. These laws have been passed to improve Rhode Island’s economy, promote equality, and enhance public safety – and they’ll all be placed at risk if we approve a Constitutional Convention. Nothing will be off the table.”

James Diossa, Rhode Island General Treasurer, stated, “In the 1985 election to choose convention delegates, fewer than 18% of eligible voters went to the polls. As a result of the combination of low voter turnout and the large number of candidates in some of the districts, some delegates may have been elected by fewer than 5% of the eligible voters in their District. The resulting Constitutional Convention ended up being controlled by the political establishment of the time, despite the argument that such a process would circumvent politics and empower everyday citizens. When we take the lessons learned from that convention and apply them to this moment in time – a time of low voter turnout, excessive influence of money in politics, and extremely divisive rhetoric – the prospect of holding a convention that would faithfully represent a majority of Rhode Islanders’ opinions seems unlikely.

“If a convention were held today, we would likely see challenges to advancements that we’ve made in guaranteeing civil rights for the LGBTQ community, immigrants, workers, and minorities, challenges that could be empowered by a relatively small number of voters and fueled by millions of dollars in special interest funds,” Diossa continued, “We’ve already seen the impact of special interest money in our federal and presidential races, with billionaires spending hundreds of millions of dollars to influence outcomes and voter turnout. There’s no need to do an end run around our established system of representative government.”

“Across the country, issues like reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, worker rights, senior citizen rights, and immigrant rights have become fodder for expensive statewide campaigns mounted by well-funded, out-of-state special interests,” stated Awilda Reinoso Lopez, Policy Associate at the Latino Policy Institute. “We are gravely concerned that those who would be elected in a small turnout special election will not reflect the wishes or diversity of the LGBTQ+, minority, and other potentially impacted communities. A Constitutional Convention would allow for big money to come in and distort the issues right here in Rhode Island.

“While our opponents claim a constitutional convention could improve our governmental structure, we believe this is a red herring that will certainly serve as a vehicle for socially divisive amendments,” Rodriguez concluded, “Passing a constitutional convention will lead to disastrous results for Rhode Islanders.”

The Constitutional Convention question is posed to Rhode Island voters every ten years. Voters have rejected a Constitutional Convention the last three times it was on the ballot. The last time a Convention was approved and convened was 38 years ago, in 1986. For more information about this campaign, visit www.RejectQuestion1.com.