NEWS

Magaziner kicks off CD2 campaign in Cranston

Gun safety, education and protecting social security among priorities for Congress

Posted 6/30/22

By EMMA BARTLETT

Magaziner kicked off his CD2 field campaign Friday at Mesa Cafe and Grill in Rolfe Square. For the past eight years he has served as the state’s general treasurer and is …

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NEWS

Magaziner kicks off CD2 campaign in Cranston

Gun safety, education and protecting social security among priorities for Congress

Posted

By EMMA BARTLETT

Magaziner kicked off his CD2 field campaign Friday at Mesa Cafe and Grill in Rolfe Square. For the past eight years he has served as the state’s general treasurer and is seeking to represent the district’s residents in Congress.

During that time as general treasurer, Magaziner said he launched a statewide school construction campaign, worked on creating clean energy programs, strengthened the pension system for older folks and made financial literacy a graduation requirement in all high schools.

“As a new father, I find myself thinking a lot about what kind of world I want my son to grow up in,” Magaziner said.

He said he wants his son to grow up in a world that is fair, just, sustainable and full of opportunities.

“Like many of you, I worry that if the Far-Right in Washington takes over Congress again, they will lead us down a path of chaos and division that will make life for our children much more difficult,” Magaziner said.

Magaziner said his story began with his grandparents – who were all children of immigrants. His grandfather, Bob, was the son of Irish immigrants in Worcester, Massachusetts, while his grandfather Louis was the son of Jewish immigrants in New York City.

He said neither grandfather had a lot of money or education and when they came home from fighting in the war, Bob worked as a union steelworker at a company which made airplane parts while Louis was a bookkeeper for a company that canned tomatoes.

“With those jobs – which were not glamorous jobs – they were able to buy houses, put all their kids through college and they were able to build stable, middle class lives,” Magaziner said.

He said stories like that used to be common and are now harder to come by.

“Over the last generation, that economic mobility has broken down. People are working harder and harder and having a hard time keeping up paying their bills – especially lately. People are worried that they’re not going to be able to create as good a life for their kids as what they had for themselves,” Magaziner said.

Magaziner is the youngest individual in the state’s history to hold the office of general treasurer, which he was elected to at 31 years old. He started his career as a third and fourth grade teacher in a low-income school district in Louisiana around the time of the 2008 recession. He saw his students’ parents lose their jobs and decided to go to business school to understand the economic factors impacting the families and lives of the students.

If elected to represent CD2, Magaziner said his priorities would be protecting social security and Medicare, investing in education to make it more affordable, having access to early childhood education and childcare and access to higher education and workforce training. He is also looking to fight for a transition to a clean energy economy, protect the right for women to make their own healthcare decisions and common sense gun safety legislation. He will also fight to expand on the affordable care act and raise wages for workers.

As for gun safety laws, Magaziner said he will stand up to the gun lobby and that common sense gun safety laws need to be passed. He said that as general treasurer, he made Rhode Island the fourth state in the country to end investments in companies that manufacture assault weapons.

Several weeks ago at the State House, Magaziner said fourth graders were having a mock legislative session, and their debate was on whether there should be a rule banning cell phones from schools. He said during the debate, one fourth grade girl raised her hand and said she believed cell phones should be allowed in school because if something were to happen like a shooting she wanted to be able to call her mom.

“This is the weight that children are carrying when they go to school,” Magaziner said.

Magaziner said the CD2 seat is a crucial vote because the first vote that the winner of the seat will cast is for who is going to be in charge of Congress – which Magaziner said he will vote to keep Congress in the Democratic column. In past elections, he said Hillary Clinton received 51 percent of the votes in CD2 and Joe Biden received 55 percent of votes.

One aspect Magaziner said makes him a unique candidate is that he knows the issues in CD2 and has worked with the people in the district. Currently, Magaziner lives roughly one mile outside CD1 but is looking to find a home within the CD2.

On Sunday, Magaziner received the Democratic Party’s endorsement. He will be holding more field campaigns in the coming weeks.

Magaziner, congressional race

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