With the candidate filing deadline coming at the end of this month, state Sen. Josh Miller told Pride celebrants in downtown Providence over the weekend that he does not plan to seek re-election.
The Public’s Radio confirmed the conversations with two sources.
Miller, 70, who offered a progressive profile since first being elected in 2006, represents Cranston and part of Providence and is chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. He did not answer his phone or respond to a voicemail left by The Public’s Radio.
Miller offered this statement to The Public’s Radio via text message: “I will neither confirm nor deny conversations with fellow elected officials before, during or after the Pride Parade, a day that I also worked over 15 hours at Trinity Brewhouse, on the morning of Father’s Day. I will formally announce my decision within the next few days.”
Miller initially ran to fill an seat vacated by Elizabeth Roberts when she ran a winning for lieutenant governor. His legislative profile touts his record on healthcare issues. Miller has also been a reliable vote for imposing new restrictions on guns and decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana.
Melissa Carden, executive director of Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, is considered a prospective candidate for Miller’s seat. She did not respond to a message seeking comment.
In addition to being a longtime senator, Miller has been a mainstay on Providence’s restaurant scene, helping to operate Trinity Brewhouse, the Hot Club and the bygone Local 121.
The decision by Miller underscores a period of change in the Rhode Island Senate, with exits by a handful of longtime senators and a likely leadership transition looming on the horizon.
Sens. Roger Picard (D-Woonsocket) and Frank Lombardi (D-Cranston), both conservative Democrats, previously announced decisions not to seek re-election, and one seat was left vacant by the death this year of Sen. Frank Lombardo (D-Johnston), also a conservative Democrat.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, 75, missed weeks of the just-finished legislative session due to health issues and he is fighting cancer. Ruggerio, who first joined the General Assembly as a member of the House of Representatives in 1981, has repeatedly said he plans to seek re-election and seek another term as Senate president, and his long record of public support makes him a favorite.
If that comes to pass, the view on Smith Hill is that Ruggerio would hand off the presidency, setting the stage for a younger generation of senators to play a bigger role in the chamber.
The eventual change in leadership at the top could have a significant effect on policy.
To cite two examples, Ruggerio is considered the leading obstacle to forward motion on legislative attempts to restrict payday lending and to ban new sales of semi-automatic military-style rifles. While the president has supported a series of new gun restrictions, sometimes voting in his ex officio capacity to make the difference, he has said he believes military-style rifles should be handled as a federal issue.
Senate Majority Leader Ryan Pearson (D-Cumberland) was long considered the heir-apparent, but he frosted Ruggerio by coming to his home earlier this year with a proposal to accelerate the succession plan.
Younger senators looking to move up in the ruling Democratic leadership structure could include Senate Whip Val Lawson of East Providence; Senate Finance Chairman Lou DiPalma of Middletown; Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Dawn Euer of Newport; Sen. Hanna Gallo of Cranston; Sen. Jake Bissaillon of Providence, a former chief of staff for Ruggerio; and Sen. Matthew LaMountain of Warwick, who filled in for Ruggerio in presiding over the chamber when the president was absent this year.
This story has been expanded with additional details.