Democratic attorney general nominee Kim Ahern says her first priority if elected would be standing up a new unit inside the office dedicated to reproductive justice and abortion rights, even as she continues to field questions about the stalled rollout of recreational cannabis shops she once oversaw. Ahern sat down with NBC 10's Brian Crandall in East Providence to lay out her plans ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, where she will face Republican Alan Gordon for the seat being vacated by term-limited Attorney General Peter Neronha.
Ahern won a four-way Democratic primary in September, according to Rhode Island PBS, taking 36.3% of the vote according to preliminary, unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections cited by Rhode Island Current. She brings nearly a decade as a prosecutor to the race, having worked more than 1,000 cases, and later served as deputy counsel to former Gov. Gina Raimondo before becoming deputy chief of staff to Gov. Dan McKee, per the same outlet's reporting.
A Push for a Reproductive Justice Unit
Ahern told WJAR that establishing a unit focused on reproductive justice and a woman's right to choose would be her top priority in office. Rhode Island codified abortion rights into state law in 2019, and Ahern has pointed to comments from Donald Trump's U.S. attorney general suggesting rolling back abortion rights in all 50 states — including Rhode Island — would be part of the administration's mission, according to WJAR. Speaking separately to Rhode Island PBS, Ahern said her most important priority overall is to keep Rhode Islanders safe.
Ahern has also said she would be hyper-focused on the status of the state's litigation against 13 contractors tied to the Washington Bridge closure, a case she said would be a top priority for review if she takes office, per Rhode Island PBS. She said her first responsibility as attorney general would be following the law, and that she would evaluate every case individually in pursuit of a just result, according to WJAR.
Backing More Lawsuits Against the Trump Administration
Ahern said she supports continuing the kind of legal challenges Neronha has pursued against the Trump administration, telling WJAR that such lawsuits are warranted when fundamental rights and values are attacked or when federal funding for domestic violence agencies — which rely on federal dollars for most of their funding — is cut. Neronha has filed dozens of lawsuits against the administration during his tenure, according to WJAR's reporting, including one he described to The Public's Radio as arguing that the Department of Government Efficiency is illegal, and another he called the office's most significant case, co-leading litigation over a freeze of already obligated federal funds.
That funding fight is not abstract for Rhode Island's domestic violence network. Seventeen statewide anti-domestic and sexual violence coalitions have asked a Rhode Island federal judge to halt new Trump administration restrictions on Violence Against Women Act grants, according to Rhode Island Current. Ahern has said she would defend Rhode Islanders, nonprofits and their interests against attacks from the president, corporations or individuals, per WJAR.
Cannabis Licensing Delays Still Dog Her Record
Ahern's time atop the Cannabis Control Commission remains a flashpoint in the race. McKee chose her to chair the three-member commission when it was created in 2023, a post she held until she resigned in October 2025 to run for attorney general, according to the Boston Globe. Rhode Island authorized up to 24 new retail dispensary licenses under its 2022 legalization law, but as of the Globe's reporting, the commission had not issued any of them, and applicants have complained about delays and costs piling up during the wait.
A federal judge halted the retail licensing process in 2026 after prospective retailers challenged the state's residency requirement, with Judge Melissa DuBose granting a preliminary injunction that blocked a planned lottery for the licenses, the Globe reported. The judge's ruling implied the commission should have anticipated the legal challenge, and Rhode Island subsequently changed the licensing law in response, per WJAR. Application counts cited in coverage of the process have varied — the Globe reported 97 applicants in an April 2026 report, while Rhode Island Current put the figure at 98 submitted by the commission's Dec. 29, 2025 deadline, with neither account clarifying the source of the discrepancy.
Defending a Lottery System and a Slower Pace
Ahern has defended her approach, saying her priorities were safety, equity and transparency rather than speed, according to WJAR. She supported using a lottery system to distribute the new retail licenses, arguing it prevented licenses from being handed out through personal connections and served as a firewall against special interests, per the same report. Her Democratic primary rival Pamela Hoffmann had criticized Ahern's tenure as regulator, using social media to highlight that no new retail shops had been licensed since recreational marijuana became legal, as reported by Rhode Island Current.
Separately, Ahern told Rhode Island PBS she would support transparency, public accountability and data-retention rules governing Flock automated license plate reader cameras if elected. The Cannabis Control Commission, which Ahern once led, remains the state agency responsible for regulating, licensing and enforcing rules on cannabis in Rhode Island, according to the commission's own description of its mission.
