Race to the Statehouse: 8 locals try their luck

LINCOLN – Eight individuals that represent Lincoln are trying their luck for a seat in the Statehouse this election season, where newcomers to the political scene and contenders alike hoping their constituents turn out for the polls on Nov. 8 in their favor.

With the Senate District 17, House District 45 and House District 46 spots up for grabs, candidates are sharing what they plan to do to better the Cumberland and Lincoln community and Rhode Island as a whole.

The Senate District 17 spot, vacated by independent-turned-Republican Ed O’Neill, is a seat Democrat Jina Petrarca-Karampetsos and Republican Thomas Paolino hope to clinch.

After winning the Democratic primary, Petrarca-Karampetsos, a Lincoln mother of two who is a partner at Petrarca & Petrarca Law Offices in Providence, faces Paolino.

Paolino, a Lincoln resident who was nominated by Rhode Island Republican Chairman Brandon Bell for the Senate candidacy, did not respond to The Breeze’s calls, but in press releases sent to The Breeze, said “great government” means making social security completely tax-free, limiting development to keep property values up and term limits that “encourage clean and fair government.”

Paolino, said in a release that being a “watch dog” in the Senate will rid the state of corruption, mismanagement and wasteful spending, and also said he’ll be a “business friendly” legislator.

Petrarca-Karampetsos, who has been a partner at the law office she runs with her brother for about 15 years, said she also aims to help small businesses in the state. The Democrat said one of the reasons she decided to run for office for the first time was to see that her young children, and everyone else in the state, are able to find the resources they need to stay in Rhode Island.

To her, she said, that means making sure Rhode Island is a place that provides education every child deserves, a state where retirees don’t need to leave after raising their families and Rhode Island’s government works for its residents.

Petrarka-Karampetsos told The Breeze she’s passionate about helping individuals with mental health and addiction issues as well.

Some residents may recognize her name from her time serving on the Lincoln Zoning Board of Review from 2006 until 2011, and her time as associate Municipal Court judge in 2011, a role she fulfilled until 2013.

She’s been keeping the tone of her campaign positive, she told The Breeze, and reiterates that she’s proud of Rhode Island and its hard-working people, who don’t always get the recognition they deserve.

Over in the House District 46 race, incumbent Rep. Jeremiah O’Grady, a Democrat, will run against Paul DiDomenico, Bradley Collins and John Cullen, who ran for the spot in 2014 but lost.

O’Grady, who was first elected to District 46 in 2011, said the last two years have been his most productive as a General Assembly member, where he led a multi-year effort to modify the state’s education funding formula he said “more equitably funds” public schools and charter school counterparts.

The representative, who is the Director of Operations & Asset Management for ONE Neighborhood Builders, said it’s imperative that families in the state can access homes they can afford. O’Grady said he will continue expanding housing opportunities for residents, and supports housing bonds Question 7.

O’Grady, former president of Town Council where he served from 2007 to 2009, said he also supports Question 2, legislation that if passed, would restore the Ethics Commission’s jurisdiction over stage legislators. He said he voted in favor of legislation enacting lobbying reform, making the reporting of lobbying activity more transparent.

O’Grady also said he has never sought out or been granted a legislative grant, and said he’d work to eliminate the legislative grant program. He also aims to establish an office of Inspector General to “root out waste and fraud.” and will support a line item veto to bring Rhode Island in line with 42 other states.

John Cullen, a lifelong Lincoln resident running for incumbent O’Grady’s spot, was critical of O’Grady’s vote in favor of the truck tolls, and O’Grady’s vote against an independent investigation of 38 Studios.

“We need more independents, independent thoughts,” Cullen said, calling the rolls “anti-business” and “anti-consumer.”

Cullen said he’d work to repeal the truck tolls, and said the General Assembly is “union-dominated,” despite working in the Statehouse where the iconic “independent man” structure is a symbol on top of the building in Providence.

The candidate said he’s in favor of becoming a “right to work state,” and said many businesses avoid coming to Rhode Island because of the corruption in the area.

Cullen also said he plans to repeal the “burden” of the car tax, and said if elected, he plans to be available every two months at either Town Hall or the public library for citizens to talk with him and express their concerns.

“I want to be a hands-on legislator,” he told The Breeze.

Paul DiDomenico, an independent, said his number one interest is job creation. He also said Rhode Island needs to do much more with tourism, and repeal the truck tolls. While he said infrastructure repairs are needed, with a billion-dollar budget, “I think the money is there.”

The Lincoln resident who wants to keep taxes low said special interest unions have too much control, and said while he believes unions have a place in government, “we all have a seat at the table.”

DiDomenico, who works at The Dunes Club as a maitré-d and director of dining services, served on Lincoln’s Budget Board from 2011 to 2014, was an independent candidate for the District 46 spot in 2010 and 2012.

Dr. Bradley Collins, an independent, said he’d work for a “more transparent legislative agenda” with enough time for public comment, making sure bills taxpayers aren’t in favor of aren’t “pushed through at the last hour.”

The candidate said he was against the truck tolls, and if elected, would hold office hours twice a month at the town’s library to be accessible to his constituents.

Dr. Collins, who works as a physician at Miriam Hospital, said he also plans to lower health care costs, give insight on health related bills and will work for Medicaid reform. The Lincoln resident said educational return on investment needs improvements, and wants to streamline administrative cost so more money flows into classrooms for students and teachers.

Rep. Mia Ackerman, a Cumberland resident, is once again running for the House District 45 spot, a role she’s held since she was elected in 2012.

Ackerman told The Breeze she voted and co-sponsored a bill for ethics reform Question 2, and called the legislation a step in the right direction. She said government transparency is important to her, and one of the first bills she worked on successfully passed, mandating fire districts post their meeting minutes on the Secretary of State’s web page.

Ackerman, who owns Ackerman Title Services, said she also co-sponsored a bill that lowered the corporate tax from 9 to 7 percent, and said she’d work to phase out the “regressive” car tax.

The Cumberland resident served on Town Council from 2006 to 2012, and also served on the Juvenile Hearing Board from 2004 to 2006.

Ronald Rossi, a Republican running for the first time, said he wants to repeal the car tax and truck tolls while rebuilding infrastructure, ridding the state of corruption and addresses mental health issues and homelessness in Rhode Island.

Rossi said Rhode Island has a “bad name for business,” and said companies shouldn’t be burdened with more fees. The Cumberland resident said he thinks residents have a “bad view” of the state, and he hopes to change that.

He told The Breeze the state deserves “better representation than we’re getting,” and while he would not provide the name of his employer, said residents should have an honest and open representative working for them.

Rossi is also outspoken about his opinions on a national level, and said he’s 100 percent against abortion, assisted suicide, believes male rapists should be castrated and defended presidential nominee Donald Trump’s recent remarks about women referred to as “locker room talk,” adding that, “That’s how men talk,” but that he’s more reserved than Trump.

Dr. Paul Santoro, another newcomer to politics, has been critical of Ackerman’s voting record since he started his campaign. Santoro, and independent, said he was against the truck tolls, though Ackerman voted “yes,” and was for an independent investigation of 38 Studios, a move Ackerman voted down.

Dr. Santoro, a Cumberland resident, said he plans to ease regulations on small businesses, telling The Breeze he had to sell his primary care practice he operated for three years in town. He also said he aims to give tax breaks to veterans, and wants to be part of the health, education and welfare committee if elected to District 45.

The adjunct professor at Bryant University said he plans to fix issues with medical access and availability in the state.