Seven priorities.
A plan for each.
Stand with Stanton to build a better tomorrow.PRIORITIES
Affordability & Fiscal Responsibility
Rhode Island spends too much and asks too few questions. You feel it every time a tax bill shows up.
On the Finance Board, I found $2.7 million the school system had been holding in capital budgets from past years. Nobody had asked about it. I did.
- Ask to serve on the House Finance Committee, where the state budget gets written.
- Go line by line through what the state pays outside consultants and studies, and push to cut what isn't delivering.
- Use every dollar saved to lower taxes, not grow new programs.
A Stronger Economy
Too many good jobs are over the line in Connecticut or Massachusetts, and too many small businesses are buried in paperwork.
I've run a small business here since 1999. I know what it takes to make payroll, get a permit and keep a crew working through the winter.
- Work to bring new employers to Rhode Island that pay a living wage, not just minimum wage.
- Cut permitting and licensing red tape for small businesses and the trades.
- Build up vocational and trade education so local kids can train for local jobs.
Preserve What Matters
Our coastline, farms and open spaces are why people love Westerly, and they're under pressure.
From Misquamicut to Watch Hill, the beach is our economy. Erosion, access and overdevelopment are real concerns.
- Farmland preservation funding, beach erosion remediation, local control over coastal development
- Keep planning decisions with Westerly's own Planning Board, not handed down from Providence.
Affordable Healthcare
Care costs too much, and families wait too long to get it.
Community health centers are where many working families, seniors and uninsured neighbors get care.
- Cut bureaucracy and increase competition to bring costs down.
- Protect funding for community health centers.
Lower Energy Costs
Utility bills shouldn't be your biggest line item. For too many Westerly families, they are.
[Chris to add: a real bill, a neighbor's story, or what he sees on job sites]
- Review state mandates and fees added to electric bills; push for more oversight of utility rate increases.
Protect Constitutional Rights
People want government that respects their rights and uses common sense.
I'm a constitutional conservative. I'll vote on the merits of each bill, not on what party leadership wants. People over party.
- Respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and focus on enforcing the laws already on the books.
- Protect free speech for everyone, even people I disagree with.
- Stand up for property rights, so homeowners and small landowners aren't run over by state mandates or new taxes.
- Push for more transparency at the State House: budgets and bills posted in time for the public to actually read them.
Second Home Tax
Rhode Island's new Non-Owner-Occupied Property Tax took effect July 1, 2026. It adds $2.50 for every $500 of assessed value over $1 million on homes that aren't the owner's main residence.
Many of these homes are in Watch Hill and along our shore. Their owners can't vote here, and they already pay full local property taxes. The tax also hits families who inherited a shore home they can't live in year-round.
- Vote to repeal the tax.
Housing and schools
Housing
We need more homes Westerly families can afford. But those decisions should be made by our own Planning Board, not forced on us by one-size-fits-all state mandates.
Education
I'd support expanding school choice, flexible block grants to districts, and a real statewide plan to grow vocational and technical education.
Which of these matters most to you?
Tell me what you’re facing at home. I read every message, and it shapes what I fight for at the State House.
Get in touch.
I read every one.
Tell me what matters to you, ask for a yard sign, or sign up to help. It goes straight to me.
Rather use the mail? Send it to
Chris Stanton
P.O. Box 2926
Westerly, RI 02891