Warwick’s newest State Rep. listening to people

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 1/8/15

Tuesday, Jan. 6, saw the inauguration of 15 new members to the Rhode Island House of Representatives, one of them being Warwick’s own Joseph Solomon Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Warwick).

Growing up in …

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Warwick’s newest State Rep. listening to people

Posted

Tuesday, Jan. 6, saw the inauguration of 15 new members to the Rhode Island House of Representatives, one of them being Warwick’s own Joseph Solomon Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Warwick).

Growing up in Warwick, Solomon attended Hoxsie Elementary School and St. Kevin’s before graduating from Bishop Hendricken High School. He received his B.S. in accounting from Providence College in 2005 and his JD degree from New England Law Boston in 2008. He went on to being a partner of Solomon Law Offices and to work as a legal counsel to the Joint Committee on Legislative Services (JCSL) at the State House.

Representative K. Joseph Shekarchi, a long-time family friend of the Solomons, said in a phone interview Wednesday, “Joe is a very talented young man. He was a policy analyst for one of the committee that I am on and he was very insightful and knowledgeable and he will do outstanding things for Warwick and the state of Rhode Island.”

Coming from a long line of public service. His father is the Ward 4 Council, a post his grandfather Walter Santos held for many years.

Before and after the elections, Solomon walked door to door to get to know his constituents on a personal level and listening to their concerns.

He said, “There is a lot of work that needs to be done. Walking the district, I met a lot of great people of different backgrounds and I heard so many good ideas. When you put in the effort it’s inevitable. I plan on walking again once the weather warms up a bit to continue reaching out to my constituents and hearing their opinions.”

“I am here to represent them,” Solomon said. “They elected me. They instilled their faith and trust in me. I owe it to the people of District 22 to be there for them. I have had people approach me and tell me they appreciate that attitude.”

Before the election, Solomon was steadfast in his plans as a representative to move Rhode Island forward economically.

He said, “I still really want to focus on economic development, creating and keeping jobs. I want to make it easier to do business in Rhode Island. Right now our regulations are burdensome. We need to simplify the process by unifying the permitting process. It’s been talked about before, but now it really needs to be done now and I want to help see that it happens.”

On Tuesday night, newly inaugurated Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea swore Solomon as well as all the House members into office.

Solomon said, “At the inauguration I was elated. It was great to see family, friends and constituents supporting me. It has been a team effort and a lot of hard work led to that moment. I am ready to make the citizens of District 22 proud.”

Shekarchi said, “Seeing him at the inauguration was bittersweet. I have been friends with the Solomon family for a long time and his grandfather was a dear friend of mine. I know he was looking down on his grandson with pride.”

One of the first acts the House of Representatives was to re-elect Nicholas Mattiello as Speaker of the House for his first full two-year term.

Solomon is excited to be in his new position at the State House.

Shekarchi said, “I’m excited to see Joseph in his new position; he really brings experience and passion to the position. Overall we have an amazing, well-respected and strong delegation here in Warwick. We are all committed to this state and will work hard for not only Rhode Island, but also our city of Warwick.”

“The work is just beginning,” Solomon said. “There is a lot of legislation I am interested in writing and others I know I want to support, such as legislation involving economic development and good government. One specifically is Representative Shekarchi’s bill providing tax credits to businesses to help create jobs. It’s only day two for me in office and I don’t want to mention specifics because so much can change.”

Shekarchi’s bill, H-7090, aligns with Solomon’s urge to create more jobs in Rhode Island by making it easier for businesses to do work in the state.

Shekarchi said, “This bill takes an existing program offered to big businesses and offers the same reduction of corporate taxes to medium and small businesses. It’s really a jobs magnet to bring business that want to relocate or expand to Rhode Island. I believe with the help of Representative Solomon and the focus of our new government officials we can move this bill forward this year.”

Solomon believes that with the newly elected officials and Governor Raimondo, the legislature will be doing more work than normal this year.

Solomon said, “I think there is a lot of common ground throughout Rhode Island government about moving our state forward to stop being last in the country for everything. We have a great state and its time we showcase that. We have an amazing waterfront, world-class ports and a real diversity to this state that makes us special. For myself, I want to continue to listen to my constituents and always keep on open mind in supporting and writing legislation.”

Solomon Jr. he can be reached by email at repjoesolomon@gmail.com.

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