It all comes back to sludge in House District 31

Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a six-part series on state legislative races, chosen based on expected competitiveness between candidates and relevant issues to the district. Of the 113 seats in the Rhode Island General Assembly, all of which are elected every two years, 22 have primaries in September.

A high heat sewage processing plant initially in the works for Quonset Business Park is now paused, but the stench from perceived dishonesty about the project clings to North Kingstown. 

So much so that it launched campaigns by three Democrats all vying for the open seat to represent House District 31. Rep. Julie Casimiro, also a Democrat, is retiring after a decade representing the district spanning the eastern section of North Kingstown and part of Exeter.

“That made me leap out of my chair and say ‘I gotta run,’” said Jim Sheehan of the sludge plant. “Quonset needs to be reformed. I’ve done it before, I can do it again.”

A former state senator, Sheehan’s previous 20-year stint in the legislature was also prompted by a controversial project proposed for Quonset, which he helped defeat while sponsoring the 2004 legislation that created Quonset Development Corporation as a quasi-public state agency overseeing development in the industrial park.

Sheehan, 60, chose not to run for the Senate seat in 2020 because he wanted to spend more time with his family.

But he couldn’t resist the pull of politics after learning about the sludge pyrolysis plant this spring, more than 18 months after the developer received preliminary approval from Quonset’s governing board in a decision that even most town officials say they did not know about.

North Kingstown Town Councilor Matthew McCoy is one of few who did know; as one of two town representatives on Quonset’s board of directors, McCoy was in the room for the executive session presentation that laid out the details of the $225 million project. He was in the minority of board members who voted against the lease agreement, but believed he could not share any information with his fellow councilors or town administrators because the project was discussed in a closed-door session. McCoy resigned from the Quonset board in March, apologizing to the standing room-only crowd of incensed residents who packed the high school auditorium for a town council meeting about the project. But he still felt powerless to make the changes he wanted, an influence he thinks can be gained via a seat on Smith Hill.

“We can write resolutions and write letters, but the real changes need to occur at the General Assembly,” McCoy, 65, said. 

Thomas Menec has no experience in politics, but he too felt frustrated by the lack of communication between Quonset’s governing board and town officials. A North Kingstown police officer who also works as a school resource officer at North Kingstown High School, Menec, 47, says that never having held elected office — except for as president of the police union — is a plus.

“They’ve had their bites at the apple,” Menec said of McCoy and Sheehan. “I bring fresh ideas, I suppose.”

All three candidates named changes to the Quonset bylaws to require more communication with and input from its host community as a priority if elected. Sludge may be the top issue, but it’s not the only topic on the table.

Menec, who also serves as a chief warrant officer for the U.S. Coast Guard, named restoring the cost-of-living increases frozen under then-Treasurer Gina Raimondo’s 2011 pension reforms as a top item on his to-do list. 

“I’m big on promises,” said Menec, who as a member of the North Kingstown Police Department was also hurt by the retirement benefits cuts for state workers and teachers. “If you make a promise, you have to keep them.”

Sheehan, a history teacher at Toll Gate High School in Warwick, wants to focus on affordability, proposing more state funding to help first-time homeowners on their mortgage payments and parents in need of childcare as potential policy solutions. 

McCoy is also focused on “kitchen table issues” like energy costs, healthcare and housing. A U.S. Navy veteran who works part-time as a certified mental health first aid instructor, he’s spent years advocating for veterans protections and funding with state lawmakers and Rhode Island’s congressional delegation.

Though all Democrats, the three candidates showcase the range of ideologies within the party. McCoy identifies as a progressive, a vocal advocate with local gun safety groups. He supported the assault weapons sale ban approved by lawmakers in 2025, and the millionaire’s tax included in the fiscal 2027 budget.

Sheehan, who received endorsements from Casimiro and the District 31 Democratic Committee, considers himself a moderate. He also supported the ban on assault-style weapons, having pushed for similar legislation during his time in the Senate, although it didn’t pass. But Sheehan was hesitant to throw his weight behind a millionaire’s tax without more information.

Menec has spent most of his life as a registered independent voter, in part because of his position as police union president. He changed his affiliation just before filing his candidacy paperwork in June, he said. 

While Menec also said he is a centrist candidate, he opposed the ban on sale of assault-style weapons because “I’m a strong supporter of the Constitution.” And he did not like the millionaire’s tax, either. 

The winner of the Sept. 9 primary is unopposed in the Nov. 3 general election.