Climate Action Rhode Island enthusiastically endorses Lauren Carson for a fourth term as the State Representative for District 75 (Newport). Representative Carson has built a career fighting for environmental causes. She served as the New Jersey State Director of Clean Water Action (CWA) before moving to RI in 1986. Here in RI she continued to work in several positions at CWA before running for State Representative in 2014 [1,2]. As a RI State Representative, Lauren has prioritized environmental legislation, sponsoring numerous bills each year in office aimed at preserving forestland, reducing waste and pollution, and combating climate change. These include the “Energize Rhode Island: Clean Energy Investment and Carbon Pricing” acts of 2016, 2017, 2018 (H7325, H5369, and H7400 respectively), and the “Act on Climate 2020” (H7399) bill, CARI’s top legislative priority of the 2020 legislative session. Furthermore, Representative Carson has built a reputation of transparency and accessibility by fighting for ethics reform and serving as a responsive and hard-working representative for her district. She has regular community meetings, and participates in community outreach to build citizen engagement, such as the Common Cause “Demystifying Democracy” series. Recently, along with Rep. Terri Cortvriend, she also established the “Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus,” a community group of concerned constituents focused on building grassroots support for real climate action in RI.
Representative Carson has been a longtime and consistent supporter for environmental causes at the RI State house. Our state is counting on her leadership in 2021 and beyond.
[1] https://www.cleanwateraction.org/files/publications/Curr_NE_10.27.14w.pdf