Endorsed Candidate: Rep. Deb Ruggiero
Candidate for: House District 74 (Jamestown/Middletown)
Endorsing committee: CARI Politics Team – Newport region
Climate Action Rhode Island is delighted to endorse Rep. Deb Ruggiero for re-election in the Sept. 8 Primary and Nov. 3 General Elections for District 74 State Representative.
Deb has been a tireless advocate for a wide array of environmental legislation since first being elected as a State Representative in 2008, including but not limited to: pushing for a global warming solutions act, facilitating the creation of regulations to provide financial incentives for solar panels for homeowners, improving the Resilient Rhody Act, and helping to establish The Climate Change Coastal Adaptation Trust Fund. She was also a sponsor on the Act on Climate 2020 proposed legislation.
She has sponsored or co-sponsored such bills as the Renewable Energy Growth Program (2010) which helps to streamline the process of connecting renewable energy installations to the grid, and allows farmers to install a renewable energy system on no more than 20 percent of their total farmland acreage. Through this legislation she continues to work to enhance the state’s renewable energy policies, create green jobs, and help move the state’s energy sector toward a clean, sustainable, reliable future. She helped create and served on the Small Business Renewable Energy Task Force in 2010.
She has worked tirelessly within the Reform Caucus at the State House to enhance procedures for moving legislation in a more transparent and democratic process. She has signed onto the ECRI Climate Crisis Campaign Statement and the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge.
Deb is also a founding member of the Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus. Together with Terri Cortvriend and Lauren Carson they strive to bring together experts and local community members to discuss issues such as sea level rise and carbon reduction, and potential state actions.
She firmly believes Rhode Island has a role to play in climate change mitigation. In 2014 she received the Clean Energy Champion Award from the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC) for her efforts to expand renewable energy industry opportunities in Rhode Island, and in receiving that award she stated:
My vision of a robust clean energy industry in Rhode Island stands more vibrant today than it did yesterday. I think Rhode Island can easily become a national leader in renewable energy, sending a strong message to the rest of the world that independence from dirty, more traditional energy sources is possible. I’m grateful for this recognition and I hope it provides a symbol of hope to Rhode Islanders that there is an expanding industry right here in this state that is actively working to create jobs, tax revenue and enhance our state’s economy.
We believe Deb Ruggiero will be a strong advocate for important environmental legislation and urge all Middletown and Jamestown residents in Dist. 74 to cast a vote for Deb Ruggiero.