The auditorium in the William Hall Library in Cranston was close to standing-room-only on Saturday as residents gathered to hear four Democratic hopefuls for State Senate District 28 make their cases as to why they should represent Edgewood, as well as some of Friendly Community and Washington Park in Providence at the State House.

State Sen. Josh Miller decided not to seek re-election this year. The winner of the Sept. 10 Primary Election will replace Miller, who has held the seat since 2007, as there are no Republicans or independent candidates in the race.

The forum, put on by Clean Water Action RI, the Rhode Island Working Families Party, Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island and Climate Action RI, featured Darrell Brown, Melissa Carden, Bernice Morris and Lammis Vargas. Boston Globe reporter Ed Fitzpatrick was the moderator. The fifth Democratic candidate in the race, John Croke Jr., was unable to attend.

Throughout the course of the hour, several topics were covered, including the climate, education, contraception and housing. Generally, candidates shared similar views and support for issues with one exception.

Candidates were asked if they would support raising taxes on Rhode Islanders making more than $1 million annually. Carden, who currently serves as the executive director of the RI Coalition Against Gun Violence, said that she would need to do some more research before committing to raising taxes on those making over $1 million, citing data out of Massachusetts.

“I would want to do more research on it, because the last thing I would want is for people to leave,” Carden said. “I want to put more thought into it.”

Carden’s response stood in opposition to the responses given by Vargas, Morris and Brown. Brown concurred that rich people may be leaving Massachusetts for Rhode Island but said that he would “call their bluff” about threatening to leave Rhode Island.

Responses to Mayor Ken Hopkins’ proposal to ban homeless encampments on city public property ranged from disapproval to disgust. Morris, who works as a senior director at Crossroads Rhode Island, said that while providing adequate care for the homeless was not an easy issue, Hopkins’ proposal would not help nearly as much as building more affordable housing in Cranston and focusing on improving behavioral healthcare.

“Criminalizing homelessness is a terrible idea,” Morris said. “It’s complicated, but there is never a good situation when you are fining or criminalizing people for being unhoused.”

Vargas, the current chair of the city council’s ordinance committee, said that she believed that Hopkins’ proposal would not be a solution. The committee voted to postpone a decision on the ordinance until November. 

“How is someone [getting] a $50 fine that could continue to add up if there’s also a no-show or anything else going to actually help the problem?” Vargas said. “That ordinance was not going to help the problem; that ordinance was going to really create another problem for individuals.”

When asked about the state’s climate goals, Brown, who is the vice president of the RI Conservation Law Foundation, said that the state needed to continue offshore wind development and work with the Department of Transportation to lower travel-related emissions.

“I don’t mean to be the Grim Reaper, but the state of Rhode Island is woefully behind in meeting its Act on Climate goals,” Brown said. “We are nowhere near where we should be and where we ought to be.”

The four candidates found common ground on some of Fitzpatrick’s yes or no questions. All four opposed holding a constitutional convention. All four were in favor of Senator Lou DiPalma’s bill to expand the Access to Public Records Act. And all four supported a bill from Senator Dawn Euer to ensure access to contraception in Rhode Island if the Affordable Care Act was struck down. 

Each candidate also said that they would support the renomination of Dominick Ruggerio as Senate President should he be reelected. Ruggerio, 75, is currently battling cancer, and has largely been off the campaign trail in his primary against nurse Lenny Cioe.

Zack Mezera, the RI WFP’s political director, said that Carden not committing to raising taxes on the wealthy was disappointing, but he was pleased with how the event went.

“I’m glad we had this chance to get people on the record on key issues,” Mezera said. “Voters can sometimes see us as having all the same platform, but they need to know that there are differences… I think it was exciting for the city of Cranston.”