‘Everyone wants to go to the convention. It’s an exciting time. There’s a lot of interest all of a sudden.’”

House Speaker J. Joseph Shekarchi Chair, RI Delegation to the Democratic National Convention

RI Democrats energized

after Biden exits race

By RYAN DOHERTY

Rhode Island Democrats are “energized” after President Joe Biden’s decision to bow out of the Presidential election, House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D, District 23) said in a visit to the Warwick Beacon office Monday.
Shekarchi is chair of Rhode Island’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention, which will be held Aug. 19 - 22 in Chicago. Heading into the convention, Democrats have found new footing, with many supporting Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed Biden while applauding his political career, including Shekarchi.
“This is a man who spent his entire life in public service (with) a distinguished career as a U.S. senator, as the vice president (and) as the president,” he said.
“I think history will treat him very kindly,” he added, pointing to low unemployment, a strong NATO alliance and weathering the post-pandemic economy as some of the Shekarchi said President Biden’s announcement “was not surprising” but a “very difficult decision” nonetheless.
As for Harris, “she checks all the boxes for experience and ability to do the job,” he said.

“I think that it comes down to raw electability,” Shekarchi added. “Do you want to elect Donald Trump for another four years, or do you want to elect someone different — someone who’s vibrant, has energy, is a little bit more moderate, and has more ability to bring the country together?”

On Tuesday, Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee after receiving more than 1,976 pledged delegates, according to the Associated Press. Minutes after announcing his decision to not seek reelection, Biden endorsed Harris. Since Sunday, many Democrats have followed in endorsing the current vice president, including all of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation.

Harris also saw a nationwide groundswell of donations, totaling $81 million in the first 24 hours of her campaign. This energy has also made its way to Rhode Island.

“Everyone wants to go to the convention,” Shekarchi said. “It’s an exciting time. There’s a lot of interest all of a sudden.” The Ocean State delegation numbers 44 including delegates, alternates and staff.

Shekarchi said a more engaged voter base will have impacts “up and down the ticket” regardless of who Harris chooses as her running mate. He pointed out her history as a prosecutor, juxtaposing that with former President Donald Trump’s felony convictions.

“Some people who were checked out on the Democratic Party are now going to be engaged,” Shekarchi said.

He has seen a surge in interest from younger voters. Not even 24 hours after Harris’ campaign announcement, Shekarchi said that the Democratic Party has received many phone calls from people asking how they can become involved.

Biden’s Sunday decision came after a month of turmoil for Democrats nationwide, following the June 27 debate between Trump and Biden. Many prominent Democrats called on Biden to end his bid for re-election after what was widely regarded as a disastrous debate performance.

But after Biden stepped down from the campaign this weekend, he received a flood of support from Rhode Island Democrats.

Sen. Jack Reed (D) said in a statement that Sunday’s “decision cements Joe’s legacy as a selfless leader.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D), who publicly expressed that he was “horrified” by Biden’s debate performance, said he felt “relief, joy and enthusiasm” after the President’s decision, according to the Providence Journal.

Rep. Gabe Amo (D), who worked in the White House under the Biden administration, applauded Biden’s legacy. “Throughout President Joe Biden’s 50-year career in public service, especially over those last three and a half years, he has achieved historic progress for the American people,” he said in a statement before endorsing Harris.

Rep. Seth Magaziner (D) posted a statement to X, formerly known as Twitter, writing that “with today’s announcement President Biden is putting the good of the country ahead of his own personal interest – something that Donald Trump would never do.”

He later endorsed Harris for the presidency.

Housing solutions ‘not political,

but governmental’

By ADAM ZANGARI

Rep. K. Joseph Shekarchi has made housing a top priority as speaker of the House and that, he said Monday, is very unlikely to change in the future.

While this year’s business in the General Assembly is done, Shekarchi said that work to be done on the housing crisis still remains. According to Shekarchi, Warwick is leading the way statewide in terms of new building with an estimated 1,000 permits, and total permits are up by 27% in the state over the previous year.

Asked about what’s needed to help alleviate the burden on prospective homeowners, Shekarchi said that one factor was most important.

“Production, production, production. If you want to address the housing problem, you need to add housing stock.”

Currently, the work on the housing crisis in Rhode Island is in a transition period. Rhode Island’s most recent Housing Secretary, Stefan Pryor, left the role last week. The role of housing secretary was created in December of 2021.

Shekarchi said that he was disappointed Pryor is leaving after only a year on the job.

“[The job] is incomplete- I think he had some successes, and I think that there’s still a lot more to do,” Shekarchi said. “I wish he stayed.”

Currently serving in an interim basis, according to WPRI, is former Rhode Island Senate Majority Leader Daniel Connors. Pryor’s permanent replacement has yet to be named.

Shekarchi is meeting with Gov. Dan McKee today to discuss housing. Though he does not have any names in mind for who he would like to see fill the post, Shekarchi said what he would like to see            from Pryor’s replacement.

“I want to see someone with a great vision and strong enough to implement that vision,” Shekarchi said.

One of the biggest challenges with building housing in Rhode Island is lack of space. For the past two years, Rhode Island has ranked last in the country when it comes to building new housing units.

Shekarchi said that with Providence, Cranston, Warwick and Pawtucket mostly built out, suburban and rural communities in the state need to step up to build more housing stock.

Resistance to change, Shekarchi believes, is a potential factor in why some people had been against building new housing, as well as prejudice. Shekarchi recalled a meeting in Charlestown where a member of the Planning Board told him that she wanted to have control over who her neighbors were.

“She goes, ‘I’ve sat on that board for so many years, I want to know how my neighbors are. I want to pick my neighbors,’” Shekarchi said. “So if she doesn’t like the family moving in, she’s going to vote no. She told me that in an open forum. And if she likes them, she’s going to vote yes… If someone meets all the requirements, why would you deny them? Why should you deny them if they meet all of the requirements to build just because you don’t like it?”

Federal funding, Shekarchi said, would be important for building additional housing. Shekarchi said that he would also like to see land use and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reforms at the federal level to allow for more housing to be built faster.

“It needs a national address, or in Rhode Island’s case, it needs a statewide address,” Shekarchi said. “Historically, if it’s left to local decision-makers, it very rarely gets done.”

This weekend, Shekarchi is traveling to Baltimore for the Council of State Governments’ Housing Conference. The annual conference will be held in Rhode Island in 2025.

Events such as that, Shekarchi said, are critical for politicians to work together towards solutions for the housing crisis, saying that it was incredibly important that politicians put their differences aside to do so.

“These are not blue state problems or red state problems- these are everyday problems,” Shekarchi said. “The solutions are not political- they’re governmental. And we need to address them.”