Republican Candidate Alan Gordon Eyes Major Reforms in Rhode Island Attorney General Race

​Alan Gordon, a Republican candidate for Rhode Island Attorney General, is positioning himself as an outsider ready to shake up one of the state's most powerful legal offices. In a recent interview with the Rhode Island Wave, Gordon laid out an ambitious platform centered on legal reform, energy innovation, and what he describes as a pattern of corruption in the current administration.
Gordon, who grew up in Pennsylvania before relocating to Rhode Island in 2014, holds a law degree from the University of Buckingham in England—a top-five-ranked institution at the time—and passed all 12 England and Wales bar exams on his first attempt. Though his legal practice has been largely limited to private ecclesiastical law, he argues that his courtroom experience fighting charges brought by the sitting attorney general more than qualifies him for the role.
"If defeating the sitting attorney general in court without a lawyer qualifies one for the office, then I qualify," Gordon said.
That legal battle, he explains, stems from his 2018 independent run against current Attorney General Peter Nerona. Gordon alleges that he and his campaign manager, Anne Armstrong, were subjected to politically motivated raids and charges—including a fentanyl kingpin statute he claims expressly excludes cannabis—none of which resulted in convictions. He confirmed that the final aspect of that case was dismissed, expunged, and sealed against Armstrong the very morning of the interview.
Gordon says witnessing what he calls corruption in the attorney general's office firsthand is precisely what drove him to run. "I saw corruption in that office that I realized had to be going on in other people's cases—people who aren't so well-spoken or well-trained and aren't so able to stick up for themselves," he said. "Running means I'm going to stand up for those people."
Streamlining the Legal Process
One of Gordon's most substantive policy proposals involves redirecting how Rhode Island handles constitutional challenges to federal laws and executive orders. He criticizes the current attorney general for spending significant time and state resources filing lawsuits in district courts that inevitably wind their way to the Supreme Court anyway.
Gordon argues that under Article 3, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, states can bring cases directly to the Supreme Court—bypassing the district court and appellate process entirely. "We're going to save the taxpayers years of legal uncertainty and millions of dollars, and devote those legal resources where they should be: fighting crime," he said.
He also proposed a novel approach to representing the full spectrum of Rhode Island residents in federal cases, suggesting collaboration with law schools or civil liberties organizations like the ACLU to present both sides of contentious legal arguments to the court.
Energy and Innovation
Beyond legal reform, Gordon raised several unconventional energy proposals. He has pledged to take a tough stance on the Public Utilities Commission amid growing frustration over skyrocketing electricity and distribution costs in the state.
More unusually, Gordon claims that the Rhode Island State House dome was designed by the same architect as Nikola Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower and may have the capacity to generate geomagnetic power. He says he plans to assemble a team of electrical engineers to investigate the structure and, if viable, attempt to harness it as a power source.
Gordon also referenced a bioengineered algae technology he says was patented by college students and later acquired by private energy interests. He intends to pursue the patent's release to the public—potentially through eminent domain—so Rhode Islanders could produce their own home heating fuel.
Additionally, he discussed the possibility of reverse-engineering a so-called "Havana Syndrome" device, reportedly acquired by the Pentagon, into a medical healing tool—a project he says Armstrong and her team are prepared to lead.
The Race Ahead
Gordon faces no Republican primary opponent and will go up against Democratic candidate Keith Hoffman in November. He noted that Hoffman recently received a campaign contribution from former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, a detail Gordon views as evidence that his candidacy is being taken seriously by the other side.
For Rhode Islanders curious about his platform, Gordon's campaign website is AlanGordonRI.com.