Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Charlestown Democrats are the first municipal committee to endorse Kilmartin for re-election
Charlestown
Democrats endorse AG Peter Kilmartin for a second term
The
Charlestown Democratic Town Committee (CDTC), by a unanimous vote, endorsed
Attorney General Peter Kilmartin in his quest for the state Democratic
nomination in his bid for a second term in office. Charlestown is the first local Democratic committee in the
state to endorse Mr. Kilmartin for re-election.
Mr.
Kilmartin told the committee that he is determined to leave the Attorney
General’s office better off than he found it and pointed to his work during his
first term. In addition to a long list of successful prosecutions as the
state’s principal criminal prosecutor, Mr. Kilmartin has improved the office’s
efforts on consumer protection, dom
estic violence and open government.
Attorney
General Kilmartin grew up in a working class Pawtucket neighborhood and went
into the Pawtucket Police force as a patrolman. Over 24 years, he worked his
way up the ranks to become a police captain. He also went to law school and
earned a law degree.
He
ran for Attorney General in 2010 after serving ten terms in the RI House of
Representatives.
Rep.
Donna Walsh (D-District 36) pointed out that among his many achievements, one
in particular was of special interest to Charlestown. After the tragic May 2010
death of Colin Foote of Charlestown, struck down by a frequent and chronic
dangerous driver, then Rep. Kilmartin was essential in helping Rep. Walsh win
enactment of the Colin Foote Law. That law makes it less likely that persons
like the one who killed Colin Foote will be allowed to stay on the road.
CDTC
Chair Catherine O’Reilly Collette said “Attorney General Kilmartin has
demonstrated his dedication to the people of Rhode Island in his first term. He
has earned our trust and admiration so we are pleased to be the first municipal
Democratic committee to endorse him.”
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Charlestown Democrats exceed goal in Christmas gift drive for children in DCYF care
For the second year, the Charlestown Democratic Town
Committee (CDTC) has teamed up with Operating Engineers Local 57 to collect
Christmas gifts for South County children who would otherwise get nothing for
Christmas.
The children are under the supervision of the RI Department
of Children, Youth and Families, range in age from infants to young people
about to “age out” of the program when they reach age 18.
At the urging of his wife Bev, CDTC Vice-Chair Tim Quillen
got his union involved and then the CDTC. Bev Quillen is a high school teacher
and advisor to her school’s community service club. They aimed to reach those
children who were not served by other holiday programs, such as young girls
under DCYF care who had babies of their own.
Armed with lists with the first names of the children, their
ages and their Christmas wish lists, CDTC members proceeded to collect or buy
what the children needed. In most instances, the children’s wish lists focused
on necessities such as clothes and toiletries; toys were, in many cases, more
like an afterthought.
Tim Quillen reports that town Democrats and Local 57
members, aided by town employees, friends and neighbors, not only fulfilled completely filled the
wishes of every assigned child, but had enough extra to provide even give many
more DCYF children an unexpected
Merry Christmas.
Friday, December 20, 2013
More Than One Million Americans Set to Lose Benefits on December 28
Langevin
and Cicilline Urge Extension of Federal Unemployment Insurance
“In
a state with an unemployment rate at 9 percent, this benefit cut is
unacceptable,” said Langevin. “Our state is starting to show the signs of
economic recovery, but that process has been a slow one, and cutting
unemployment insurance would be a step in the wrong direction. I urge Speaker
Boehner and my colleagues in Congress to bring this issue to a vote so we can
extend this relief on which so many families rely.”
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Langevin disappointed that new budget deal neglects long-term unemployed
WASHINGTON, DC- Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI)
issued the following statement today in response to House passage of H.J.Res.
59, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013:
“This budget compromise represents a small, but important,
step towards returning to a regular budget process. Our nation has
suffered for far too long as the Republican leadership governs by crisis. I’m
pleased we were able to roll back some of the most harmful cuts imposed by
sequestration and temporarily avert a scheduled cut in Medicare physician reimbursements.“
“However, I am deeply disturbed that House Republican
Leaders refused to allow a vote to extend unemployment insurance for 1.3
million Americans, including 4,900 Rhode Islanders, who will be cut off from
federal emergency unemployment compensation in the middle of the
holidays.
"Unemployment insurance provides vital assistance to those
struggling to find jobs during a difficult economic recovery. That is why
I joined 173 of my colleagues in calling on Speaker Boehner to prevent Congress
from leaving for the year without addressing this critical issue.
"Democrats put forward a three-month, fully paid-for, extension of unemployment
insurance, and it is unconscionable that Republicans did not allow a simple
vote to include it in the budget with so many families facing financial
uncertainty.”
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Langevin, Cicilline Call for Stronger Background Checks
Improved Record Sharing
Would Fill Critical Information Gaps in National “Do Not Sell” Database
WASHINGTON, DC - Rhode Island Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-RI) and
David Cicilline (D-RI), who both serve on the House Gun Violence Prevention
Task Force, described a Federal Bureau of Investigation report, released by Mayors Against Illegal
Guns, as a call to action. The report illustrated Rhode Island’s failure to
submit health records of individuals barred from purchasing handguns to the
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Rhode Island ranked
among the lowest-performing states in the country, submitting fewer than 100
mental health records since the inception of the database under the Brady
Handgun Violence Prevention Act twenty years ago.
The Brady Handgun Violence
Prevention Act of 1993 requires an individual to pass a background check
through the NICS database before purchasing a firearm from a federally licensed
dealer, a process that typically takes 90 seconds. Data released last month by
the FBI, reflecting record submissions as of May 2013, shows that the NICS
remains incomplete, with hundreds of thousands of state and federal records
missing. According to the report, the omission of mental health records in the
NICS has created dangerous information deficiencies.