Tag: maura kelly

In order for our community to thrive, we must invest in the working families who are its core. Our leaders in the State House have forgotten that we are strongest when we empower all people – not just the privileged and connected. This is why I am running to represent District 5 (Armory, Olneyville, Federal Hill, Mount Pleasant, and Elmhurst) in the Rhode Island State Senate.I have worked as a community organizer to empower workers, immigrants and small businesses throughout my professional career.

I have experienced the power of organized people in action while advocating for parent voice in public schools, access to English Language classes for immigrants, and fair housing policies that project families targeted by predatory lenders and unscrupulous banks.

I love this city. The creativity, diversity and underdog spirit of the state make it a wonderful place to live and work. Despite these tremendous qualities, it is all too evident to me that the “Providence Renaissance” has left too many members of our community behind. We have not experienced the economic or educational renaissance that we need to create well-paying jobs in the 21^stcentury.

As I campaign across the West Side of Providence, I have met incredible people who are worried about what the future holds and are afraid that their leaders have lost touch with the communities that entrusted them with elected office. I have spoken with recent immigrant families who are struggling to pay the bills, small business owners who feel crushed by the inflated property tax burden, and parents worried that our schools are not providing their children with the same skills and opportunities as those in the wealthier suburbs. At the same time, we all read about the constant barrage of scandals and insider deals at the State House – from 38 Studios to the revolving door between the General Assembly and the judicial system. Too many legislators have forgotten who they were elected to serve.

As a State Senator, I will remind my colleagues that the only path back to prosperity is through investment in the working people of our state. I will fight to make our tax system more progressive, to reward small businesses who put Rhode Islanders back to work and to ensure that our schools are dynamic enough to serve students with diverse language backgrounds, family situations and learning styles. I will support the right to unionize and will represent the unheard voices of working women and their families. I will support making the DREAM Act state law and will oppose misguided policies like e-verify that divide our community. I will also staunchly support marriage equality and a woman’s right to make her own health decisions – two fundamental rights opposed by many at the State House, including my opponent.

From the independent dissidents who founded Providence, to the generations of Irish, Italian, Portuguese, African and Latino immigrants who built Rhode Island, our state has always been at its greatest when it embraced the exceptional strength of all of our community members. We need leaders who remember this lesson. We need leaders who will work to ensure that all Rhode Islanders have the opportunity to thrive; we need new energy, new ideas, and legislators who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. We need accountable, open, honest, and transparent government. Our families deserve better opportunities and we must come together to demand them.

Visit: maurakelly.com, call (401) 654-1304, or visit http://www.facebook.com/maurakellyforRI to join this movement for change!