State Rep. Lauren Carson (D – District 75, Newport) joined What’sUpNewp Thursday at noon for a live conversation to walk through the results of her 2026 constituent survey — and the discussion covered just about everything Newport residents are talking about right now: housing costs, the Newport Hospital Birthing Center, healthcare access, climate resilience, short-term rentals, school district consolidation, energy bills, and more.
What’sUpNewp editor Frank Prosnitz also joined the conversation.
Carson, who has conducted the annual survey every year she’s been in office, said this year brought something new: people were calling her and emailing to ask how they could see the results. “That was sort of a new phenomenon,” she said. “It was clearly more enthusiasm for it.” The survey drew 157 responses — statistically significant by Carson’s standard, which she sets at 100.
Who Responded
Before diving into the issues, Carson offered some context on the survey’s respondents. The majority were over 60 years old, had lived in Newport for 11 or more years, and identified as either Democrat or Independent, with, in Carson’s words, “a sliver of Republicans.” She noted that she didn’t track gender this year, and acknowledged that the older demographic shapes some of the results — particularly on issues like childcare and public education, which ranked lower on the priority list.
“Two years ago, a woman came to my constituent meeting and said these are all older people,” Carson recalled. “And I said, you’re right.” She described an effort she made to reach voters under 30 with a targeted mailing, though she acknowledged she still struggles to bring younger voices into the survey. “I would like to hear from younger folks,” she said. “It is something I should take more seriously.”
Quality of Life: Most Feel Good About Newport
One early bright spot in the data: about 85 percent of respondents rated their quality of life in the district as either “excellent” or “good.” Carson called it encouraging. “People feel pretty good about living in Newport,” she said. “So that’s great.”
Top Issues: Affordability Dominates
The top three issues residents flagged were cost of living and housing, healthcare access and affordability, and utility costs. Carson said that tracks with what she hears statewide, though she noted Newport’s strong environmental consciousness pushes that issue higher here than you might see elsewhere in Rhode Island. “Newport is very strong environmentally. There’s no doubt about that. We have water on three sides and we want to keep it clean.”
Childcare and public education ranked near the bottom — something Carson attributed more to the age of respondents than to the actual importance of those issues.
Healthcare: A Surprise in the Numbers
Carson said one of the more unexpected results came in the primary care section. Only about 16 percent of respondents said they were currently unable to find a primary care doctor. “I thought that number would be higher,” she said. Frank agreed. The larger group reported they either had reliable long-term primary care or had eventually found a doctor with some effort.
“It’s not quite as bad as maybe we thought it was,” Carson said, “although that doesn’t mean it couldn’t get worse.”
Residents ranked local hospital and clinic access as the top healthcare priority, followed by incentives to attract more primary care doctors and expanded senior home care and assisted living capacity — results Carson said made sense given who was taking the survey. “These constituents are really spot on with what’s actually going on in the state.”
On the question of whether the legislature might increase Medicaid reimbursement rates to providers, Carson was candid: “I don’t think we’re there yet.” She pointed to the compressed budget timeline ahead — the House doesn’t return from spring break until around May 1, at which point she said it will be “like a flip of a switch” into full budget mode, with healthcare funding, energy policy, the millionaire’s tax, Medicaid and SNAP replacement dollars, and bond questions all hitting at once.
The Birthing Center: Carson Is Fighting to Keep It Open
The Newport Hospital Birthing Center dominated the healthcare discussion. Survey results showed 54 percent of respondents consider keeping it open “very important — essential for the island,” and another 27 percent called it “important.” That’s more than 80 percent combined. Carson said the results matched what she hears every day.
“I cannot tell you how many people stop me and say, ‘what’s up with the birthing center?'” she said. “Yesterday, two people. I was in an attorney’s office and they asked. Then I went to the gym and they asked.”
Carson described a coalition she has assembled that meets every Monday night, a newsletter going out every one to two weeks, and several pieces of legislation she has introduced focused on the state’s review process before any birthing center can reduce or close services. She was clear that she can’t legally require it to stay open, but said her bills would create “a very aggressive policy” for evaluating closure decisions.
A lobby day is scheduled for April 9 at the State House. And Carson said 200 lawn signs have been printed and will begin going up around town over the next eight to ten weeks.
She also connected the issue directly to Medicaid funding. “Brown Health wants Medicaid money. And to whatever extent they get Medicaid money could have an impact on their ability to keep the birthing center open.” It was a reminder of how intertwined the state budget fight and local healthcare decisions have become.
Federal Cuts: Strong Support for State Backstop
On two questions tied to the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and its expected cuts to federal safety net programs, Carson’s constituents came down clearly in favor of using state dollars to offset the losses. Roughly 75 percent supported — either strongly or somewhat — using Rhode Island funds to maintain SNAP food assistance benefits, and a similar margin backed doing the same for Medicaid.
“People supported that,” Carson said, noting it spoke to how closely constituents are tracking federal policy changes. Her strong support for the millionaire’s tax — a proposed 3 percent surtax on income above $625,000, which Gov. McKee included in his budget — also came through clearly. Nearly 56 percent strongly supported it, with another 19 percent somewhat in favor. “I was surprised there was such overwhelming support for that,” Carson said.
Climate and Flooding: A Lot of Uncertainty at Home
More than half of respondents — 52 percent — said they had experienced flooding, storm damage, or home insurance cost increases. But what struck Carson was the number of homeowners who don’t know whether their homes are even protected. Only about 21 percent said their homes have flood-resistant improvements. Another 31 percent said they were “somewhat” protected, 22 percent were unsure of their flood risk entirely, and roughly 9 percent said their home was vulnerable.
“You would think about that,” Carson said.
She used the moment to revisit a proposal she has been working on for years: a flood audit program modeled on the state’s existing RISE energy audit program. Under her concept, a small surcharge on homeowner policies statewide would build a fund that could then pay for in-person property assessments — someone coming out with a clipboard, evaluating your landscaping, your utilities, your pavement, and telling you how your home would fare in a storm.
“If you’re at the Point in Newport or off Wellington Street, you’d love to have somebody come out and say: if we get a Category 4 hurricane, the water will come up this high, and you need to do A, B, and C to protect your basement,” Carson said. “That’s good information.” She said the bill didn’t advance last year but she intends to try again.
Constituents also signaled strong support for stormwater drainage upgrades, renewable energy incentives, harbor protection and seawall investment, and a resilience fund supported in part by tourism revenue. Carson noted the finding cut against a common narrative. “Everybody blames green energy for high utility bills. But when I asked them specifically, they’re willing to make investments in renewable energy. They see the connection between that and climate change.”
Infrastructure confidence was low: only about 4 percent of respondents said they were very confident in local infrastructure to handle a climate emergency.
Energy Bills: Residents Blame Supply, Not Green Energy
On the question of why energy bills have increased, the top answers were lack of competition or limited energy provider choices, and supply costs set by state or regional providers — not green energy surcharges.
“They’re spot on,” Carson said. She mentioned that home fuel oil prices have risen roughly 50 to 60 cents per gallon since recent U.S. military action against Iran — something she noticed personally, since she heats her home with oil (and also has solar panels). “It’s really supply that’s much more vulnerable to fluctuating costs.”
Carson said energy will be one of the major debates this legislative session, driven by rising supply costs, the expansion of AI and data centers consuming enormous amounts of power, and the rollback of federal renewable energy investments.
Short-Term Rentals: Stalled by the Courts
Property tax stability for long-term residents ranked first among housing policy priorities in the survey, and limits or oversight on short-term rentals ranked second. Carson has been running a study commission on short-term rentals for two to three years — but she was frank about why it hasn’t produced legislation.
A lawsuit in Narragansett over who has authority over short-term rental policy — the state or municipalities — has been sitting in the courts for a year and a half with no movement. A related case is pending in the Rhode Island Supreme Court involving Newport. “The legislature is not inclined to pass laws if there’s something pending in court,” Carson said. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”
She said she plans to reconvene the study commission next week to look at what municipalities have done with their own ordinances and restart the conversation. In the meantime, she introduced a new bill this session with a simple premise: if you live in the property you rent out, it’s residential. If you don’t live there — if you vote in Cranston but own three houses on Lower Thames Street — those are commercial properties and should be zoned accordingly.
“These are businesses,” she said. “If you want to run a business, run a business. Then you’ve got to follow the rules of businesses.” She acknowledged the bill is likely to face significant pushback.
School District Consolidation: 75 Percent Support Studying It
One of the more striking results: 75 percent of respondents said they support studying the potential unification of Newport’s public school district with Middletown’s. Only 7 percent opposed it outright.
Carson explained the process. For a consolidation question to appear on the ballot, Newport and Middletown would each need to pass a resolution with identical referendum language, send it to the legislature, where it would go through the House State Government Committee and then to a full vote. “Anytime there’s a municipal issue with a resolution from the governing body, it really passes without any controversy,” she said.
The two cities have committees studying the question, and Carson said she had been told they were expected to report back to their respective councils around mid-May. She called that a “tight timeline,” given that May is when the state budget drops and the legislative session gets compressed. She made clear that regardless of her personal views, if the city council passes a resolution and asks her to move it forward, she is obligated to do so. “For voters in Newport who don’t want regionalization, their opportunity will come in the ballot box.”
Higher Education: Residents Want Job-Ready Programs
When asked where Rhode Island should focus higher education investments, Career and Technical Education programs ranked far ahead of the rest — community college, teacher recruitment, trades and apprenticeships, and college affordability all followed. Frank noted it may reflect a broader shift in how people view the purpose of higher education. Carson agreed, connecting it to the survey’s older demographic and to the state’s evolving workforce needs.
Bike and Pedestrian Safety: Residents Notice the Problem
Safe pedestrian and bike infrastructure ranked second on the list of areas needing the most improvement in the district. Carson said she was “really pleased to see that” and mentioned bringing it directly to Newport City Manager Barry Freeman. “I said, I should tell you this is what they said. And she responded very positively to that.” She also noted Freeman had been testifying at the State House on bike safety legislation.
The number one community improvement priority, however, was “enforcement of existing laws, not more laws” — a result Carson said resonated with her. “I’m always concerned that we pass laws and they’re not enforced. They’re not laws if they’re not enforced.”
Two Newport-Specific Legislative Priorities
Carson flagged two items she is actively working on for Newport specifically.
The first involves cruise ship fees. Gov. McKee’s budget proposes adding another $5 to $6 per-passenger fee on top of the current $10 fee — which was itself raised two years ago. That money goes into the harbor management fund. Carson said she opposes tapping into what she considers a municipal revenue stream and will work to keep the rate at $20 round trip. She said the Newport City Council may have already passed a resolution opposing the increase.
The second is an effort to expand the state’s green bond to include $5 million for the Fort Adams Trust, which had previously been promised bond money that never materialized. She co-sponsored the bill to make good on that commitment.
Using the Data
Asked how she actually uses the survey results when she votes, Carson said she feels a genuine alignment with what her constituents told her. “If I vote for investment in primary care, I’m following what they want. If I vote for the millionaire’s tax, I feel like I’m in line with what they’re doing.” She said the survey gives her confidence that she’s representing the district well — and added that constituents can always call her or visit laurencarson.com if they want to weigh in directly.
Frank raised a worthwhile question: has anyone ever gone back and compared results year over year to track how opinions have shifted? Carson said she saves every survey and has never done a longitudinal comparison, but acknowledged it would be worth exploring.
For now, Carson said she hopes to share the survey results more broadly. “This is the first year people called me up and asked me what the results were. I was shocked.” She expressed hope that other legislators might replicate the effort with their own constituents.
See the full survey, and the results, here.
