Projo — Political Scene: Beach battle: Debate over access heats up this summer

[The Providence Journal ]

June 28, 2021

By Patrick Andersen — Thursday was election day at the beach.

At the same time lawmakers at the State House were debating a $13.1-billion budget, voters in the Narragansett seaside enclave of Bonnet Shores gathered in a tent to choose who would lead the Bonnet Shores Fire District in the year ahead.

Turnout was solid with 685 ballots cast in a neighborhood of roughly 1,800 residents.

Typically, elections in the dozens of local fire districts across Rhode Island would cause hardly a ripple outside the neighborhood.

But the Bonnet Shores vote came against the backdrop of a voting rights lawsuit with candidates lining up on either side of the court fight.

Beyond that, beach-related politics are at the forefront of the Rhode Island consciousness this summer.

…