Summary
The Rhode Island onAir Hub supports Rhode Islanders to become more informed about and engaged in local, state, and federal politics while facilitating more civil and positive discussions with their representatives, candidates, and fellow citizens.
- Rhode Island onAir is one of 50 state governance and elections hubs that the US onAir Network is providing to help reinvigorate US democracy. This post has short summaries of current state and federal representatives with links to their complete Hub posts. Students curate post content from government, campaign, social media, and public websites. Key content on the Rhode Island Hub is also replicated on the US onAir nations Hub at: us.onair.cc.
- Rhode Island students will be forming onAir chapters in their colleges and universities to help curate Hub content. As more students participate and more onAir chapters are started, we will expand to include more state and local content as well as increase the number of aircasts – student-led, livestreamed, online discussions with candidates, representatives, and the public.
Find out more about Who Represents Me in Rhode Island
Learn more about the US onAir Network
News
The base content in each post in this Rhode Island onAir Hub has been updated as of 12/20/23. In addition to the eight posts on the home page, in depth posts on each US House member and posts on Rhode Island government and elections have been started. These posts have been shared with the US onAir Hub and will updated in the US onAir automatically when they are updated in this hub.
If your university or nonpartisan organization (such as a government focused research center, citizen engagement program or a League of Women Voters chapter) is interested in assisting the US onAir network to help curate new issue posts or other posts on this Hub and moderate the forums in each post, contact Ben Murphy at Ben.Murphy@onair.cc.
We are also supporting college students to start an onAir chapter on the their campus to coordinate the curation and moderation of posts especially on state and local representatives and government.
About
All hub content in onAir hubs is free to the public. Hub ontent is under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license which permits content sharing and adaptation by nonprofit organizations as long as proper attribution is given to its author(s) and is used for non-commercial purposes. Content and moderation guidelines reinforce our commitment to fact-based, comprehensive content and civil and honest discourse.
To participate in aircast and post discussions, email usdemocracy@onair.cc and include your first name last name, and zipcode. Your real name and any other profile information will not be displayed unless you choose to do so. Your personal information is not shared with any other website or organization.
Hub membership will enable you to:
- Participate in issue and interview aircasts (student-led livestreamed discussions);
- Interact directly with post authors and curators giving them feedback, content suggestions, and asking questions;
- Ask questions, make suggestions, and give endorsement to representatives
Web Links
State Representatives
Rhode Island is located in the Southern region of the USA with Atlanta as its capital. Daniel McKee (D) is Governor.
The Rhode Island legislature has 38 Senate members and 75 House members.
| Office | Name | Party | Assumed office | Next election | Term limited | Maximum term length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Dan McKee | Democratic | March 2, 2021 | 2022 | No | Two consecutive terms | |
| Lieutenant Governor | Sabina Matos | Democratic | April 14, 2021 | 2022 | No | Two consecutive terms | |
| Secretary of State | Nellie Gorbea | Democratic | January 6, 2015 | 2022 | Yes | Two consecutive terms | |
| Attorney General | Peter Neronha | Democratic | January 1, 2019 | 2022 | No | Two consecutive terms | |
| General Treasurer | Seth Magaziner | Democratic | January 6, 2015 | 2022 | Yes | Two consecutive terms | |
Governor Daniel McKee
Current Position: Governor
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Positions: Lt. Governor from 2015 – 2021; Mayor from 2007 – 2015
He served on the Cumberland town council from 1992 to 1998 and as mayor of Cumberland twice, from 2000 to 2004 and from 2006 until 2014.
McKee was an officer of McKee Brothers, a heating, air conditioning, and home heating oil delivery business his grandfather founded. He also ran a health and fitness business for more than 30 years. McKee was also a basketball coach, coaching groups of boys and girls at all levels, culminating in two State AAU Basketball Champions in 1998 and 2000.
Featured Quote:
I’m proud to share that RI is the 1st state to have all colleges and universities require #COVID19 vaccinations for students returning to campus this fall. Thank you to our institutions for taking proactive steps to keep our communities safe. #Vaccinate401@higheredri @RIHEALTH
OnAir Post: Daniel McKee – RI
US Representatives
Senator Jack Reed
Current Position: US Senator since 1997
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Positions: US Representative from 1991 – 1997; State Senator from 1985 – 1991
Other Positions: Chair, Committee on Armed Services
Reed graduated from the United States Military Academy and Harvard University, serving in the U.S. Army as an active officer from 1971 to 1979. Reed earned the Ranger Tab and was a paratrooper. He returned to West Point in 1978 as an associate professor in the Department of Social Sciences.
He worked as an associate at the Washington, D.C. office of law firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. Afterward, he returned to Rhode Island and worked for the Providence law firm Edwards and Angell until 1990
Featured Quote:
The right to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy. We must protect #votingrights & stop partisan gerrymandering. I support the #ForThePeople Act to protect voting access for all Americans, regardless of party or where they’re from.
OnAir Post: Jack Reed – RI
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Current Position: US Senator since 2007
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position: Attorney General from 1999 – 2003
Other Positions: Chair, United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control
A political progressive and climate hawk, Whitehouse became chair of the United States Senate Committee on the Budget in 2023. He has given hundreds of Senate floor speeches about climate change and has made his assertion that politically conservative “dark money” groups are conducting a campaign to seize control of the American government, specifically the Supreme Court of the United States, a hallmark of his Senate tenure.
Whitehouse worked as Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun’s executive counsel beginning in 1991, and was later tapped to serve as director of policy.
Featured Quote:
Gives the lie to their nominal support for a carbon pollution fee, too. What’s the diff between pricing CO2 emissions and pricing methane leakage? Why one and not the other? Truth is, they want none of it, just to pollute for free.
OnAir Post: Sheldon Whitehouse – RI
Gabe Amo RI-01
Current Position: US House of Representatives District 1 since 2023
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Positions: Deputy Director for the Biden White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
District: all of Bristol and Newport counties, along with parts of Providence County, including most of the city of Providence.
Upcoming Election:
Before running for Congress, Amo worked in the Biden administration as the deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. He has also worked in the Obama administration, on several Democratic political campaigns, and in Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo’s administration.
Before running for Congress, Amo has worked on several Democratic political campaigns, and in Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo’s administration.
OnAir Post: Gabe Amo RI-01
Seth Magaziner RI-02
Current Position: US House of Representatives District 2 since 2023
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Positions: Investment professional and General Treasurer of Rhode Island from 2015 until 2023
District: southern and western Rhode Island.
Upcoming Election:
Magaziner worked as a school teacher at Creswell Elementary School in Opelousas, Louisiana, from 2006 to 2008, as a Teach For America member. In 2009, he worked as an associate at Point Judith Capital, a Rhode Island-based venture capital firm. After graduate school, Magaziner worked at Trillium Asset Management as a vice president.
In February 2016, Magaziner was selected as chair of the Financial Literacy Committee for the National Association of State Treasurers.
OnAir Post: Seth Magaziner RI-02
More Information
Wikipedia
The government of the state of Rhode Island is prescribed from a multitude of sources; the main sources are the Rhode Island Constitution, the General Laws, and executive orders. The governmental structure is modeled on the Government of the United States in having three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
Legislature
Pursuant to Articles VI, VII, and VIII of the Rhode Island Constitution, the legislature is vested in the Rhode Island General Assembly. The General Assembly is bicameral, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The House of Representatives has a total of 75 members currently. The Senate has 38 members. The General Assembly meets in the State House.
Executive branch
- Elected Executive Officials of Rhode Island
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The state elects a governor, a lieutenant governor, a secretary of state, a general treasurer, and an attorney general. The governor appoints a Sheriff, who, unlike most other sheriffs, has statewide jurisdiction. The governor appoints many officers to act as commissioners, directors, or other officers.
The executive authority is vested in the governor, typically through various directors and commissioners. The lieutenant governor, though nominally in the executive branch, is a largely ceremonial position. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on separate tickets by the electorate of Rhode Island. The governor’s offices are located in the State House. Rhode Island is one of the few states that lacks a governor’s mansion.
Departments and agencies
Rhode Island government has numerous departments, agencies, and divisions. The major ones are:
- Department of Administration
- Department of Business Regulation
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Education
- Department of Environmental Management
- Department of Labor and Training
- Department of Public Safety
- State Police
- Capitol Police
- Division of Sheriffs
- Department of Revenue
- Division of Motor Vehicles
- Division of Taxation
- Department of Transportation
- Executive Office of Commerce
- Executive Office of Health and Human Services
- Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals
- Department of Children, Youths, and Families
- Department of Health
- Department of Human Services
- Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency
- Rhode Island National Guard
Judicial branch
The judicial branch of the state government consists of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and the lower courts, which consist of the Superior Court, Family Court, District Court, Workers’ Compensation Court and the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.
External links
