Yes, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi says, Warwick representatives are his friends.

And it would appear he has done well by his friends. Shekarchi has named all Warwick House members a committee chair. That means Warwick legislators head five of the 16 House committees.

In an interview, Shekarchi said his selections were not based on friendships, although he considers them all friends. Rather, he said, his picks were based on the experience, seniority and the ability of each legislator.

He notes that Rep. David Bennett has chaired the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources for six years and he sees no reason to make a change.

Shekarchi said Rep. Joseph Solomon Jr., who he appointed chair of the Corporations Committee, is a “skilled attorney” and having worked at the State House prior to being elected knows staff. Shekarchi called Solomon a “logical choice,” adding “he is a fair, balanced individual who is good at everything.”

With the change in House rules, Shekarchi has added three committees by splitting Health, Education and Welfare, which has been chaired by Warwick Rep. Joseph McNamara for 19 years, into the Education and Health and Human Services committees. McNamara, a retired educator, was given the choice of committees to chair. He picked education.

In a news release announcing the appointment, McNamara said: “The new committee will allow us to focus our attention more narrowly on public education. The issues facing education have become even more complex with distance learning and the pandemic. I look forward to facing those challenges with the talented legislators that we've assembled to serve on this committee.”

Shekarchi also split the Judiciary Committee to create the Municipal Government and Housing Committee and the State Government and Elections Committee. He tapped Rep. Evan Shanley, who had served as vice chair of Judiciary, to head State Government and Elections.

Shekarchi also created an entirely new committee, Innovations, Internet and Technology.

“I want this to be a member-driven chamber,” Shekarchi said of his goal to involve legislators and place them roles where they can best use their expertise.

Shanley is ready for the challenge.

“The primary issue is elections,” he said of the work the Government and Elections Committee faces, ”to find a way to make elections more secure without creating undue barriers.” He is open to ways to make voter rolls more accurate. While the pandemic placed unique strains on the system, he does not favor continuation of allowing those casting their ballot by mail to forego the signatures of two witnesses or a notary public on the oath envelope containing the ballot. He does not see the need of sending mail ballot applications to all voters, but would limit to those most recently voting while continuing to make them available on request.

He favors early voting, which is also a byproduct of the pandemic. He sees early voting as a mechanism to get greater voter turnout.

Shekarchi was asked what he aimed to achieve by expanding the municipal government committee to include housing.

An attorney who works primarily with commercial and housing developments, Shekarchi said he is particularly concerned by the lack of affordable housing.

“Communities are finding it harder and harder, prices [of housing] have gone through the roof,” he said. He believes that in part prices are driven by local controls that have a way of “preventing affordable housing.”

Asked to expand, Shekarchi cited two- and three-acre zoning in some communities that makes affordable housing difficult. Questioned how a reduction in lot size would impact property owners wanting large tracts of land, Shekarchi said there is nothing preventing them from keeping their parcels of land. He did not get into the issues of the impact of reduced lot zoning on traffic, utilities and schools.

And what of current legislation mandating that 10 percent of new developments be reserved for affordable housing? Shekarchi said many municipalities are ignoring the mandate.

Larry Berman, spokesman for Sherarchi, said the committee Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson has been named to chair is one that hopefully will never need to meet.

Vella-Wilkinson is chair of the House Committee on Conduct. Established in 2019, the committee is tasked with policing the ethical conduct of members of the House of Representatives. It reviews complaints against House members, holds hearings and makes recommendations.

“Accountability of our government officials is fundamental to the strength of our republic. And I look forward to assuring the people of Rhode Island that members of the House of Representatives are held to the highest level of ethical behavior,” Vella-Wilkinson said in a statement.