I am a US Army veteran. I earned my Ph.D. at Washington State University, and I teach law, environmental policy, and public administration at the University of Rhode Island, where I direct the Master of Public Administration program. My wife Ali Angelone and I are raising our three sons here, Lynden, Lincoln, and Ledger. Bristol is the town they will grow up in, and that is how I think about every vote I take.
WHERE I STAND
AFFORDABILITY
Bristol should be a place where the people who grew up here can afford to stay. I have voted to require affordable units in new developments, including when developers pushed back hard. I voted against a resolution opposing state affordable housing initiatives, and against joining other towns in an effort to undo the progress the state has made. I support the homestead exemption and I take property tax increases seriously, because the tax bill is what most families actually feel.
ENVIRONMENT AND LAND USE
What we build, and what we choose not to build, decides what this town looks like in twenty years. I have supported green infrastructure and the purchase of open space. I opposed building a hotel on wetlands by writing in opposition to the wetlands permit before RIDEM. I support land use regulations strong enough to keep large scale data centers out of Bristol.
TECHNOLOGY AND PRIVACY
AI-assisted surveillance technology gets adopted quietly and is nearly impossible to undo. I voted against installing Rhode Island State Police Flock surveillance cameras in Bristol. When that vote failed, I worked with the ACLU and with residents to write rules governing how the cameras are used, how often they are audited, and who can access the data. Those guardrails did not pass either. I still think my proposed regulations are the right idea, and I will keep pushing for them because control of this powerful technology is critical.
EDUCATION FUNDING
The council does not run our schools, but it decides what they can afford. I have voted to fully fund the school district every year for the past eight years. I served on the school building committee and supported building a new high school, because the alternative was continuing to patch a building our kids had outgrown.
Paid for by Friends of Aaron Ley. Aaron Ley, Treasurer.