Raymond Baccari
Anchor Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE, R.I., — Earlier this month, Chair of the Providence Board of Licenses and Congressional Candidate for Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District in last year’s Democratic primary, Dylan Conley, sat down with Anchor Staff writer Raymond Baccari.
Conley spoke about various topics including why he decided to challenge 20 year incumbent Congressman Jim Langevin last November. He said, “It’s something that I’d always thought I would do. I wasn’t really planning on running [in 2020], but 2020 hit everyone a little bit differently. It seemed like something that I had conviction to do, it felt like it was an important moment.”
Additionally, Conley also spoke about what his campaign was able to do in a short time span since he had announced late in the race, and what he would have done differently such as putting more emphasis on the mail-in ballot votes.
Conley addressed key issues such as the charter moratorium bill, school choice, the state takeover of the Providence Public Schools, the state’s budget, analyzing what a Green New Deal in Rhode Island would look like, the legalization of marijuana and his thoughts on the current state of the 2022 Providence Mayoral election.
“What people have been reaching out to me to do is to consider running for Mayor because of my position on the Board of Licenses, I have a deep understanding of what’s going on with the hospitality industry and ideas that could help that industry recover,” he said.
Conley told The Anchor that another position to watch is the General Treasurer position. The General Treasurer will be responsible for handling funds Rhode Island receives from the American Rescue Plan. He said, “It’s something that I am interested in, but it’s not something that I am talking to anyone about. I just think it’s going to be a position of critical importance to Rhode Island in the next couple of years.” Conley continued, “I’m trying to find where I’m going to provide value. The community has to tell me, I’m not going to tell [them] what’s right for me, the community has to tell me what’s right for the community.”