Warwick, RI - On Monday, May 23rd State Senator Jeanine Calkin announced in a letter to constituents that she will be pursuing re-election in the Rhode Island 30th District. Senator Calkin previously served two non-consecutive terms in the State Senate. In 2021, complications caused by a kidney infection saw Senator Calkin undergo life saving surgery resulting in the amputation of her right leg. Despite her recent medical challenges, Senator Calkin remains steadfastly committed to serving her district and fighting for Rhode Island’s working families.
“As Rhode Islanders we are resilient. We take care of each other, we look out for one another, and we fight for each other. As your State Senator, I am no different. That is why I’ve decided to run for re-election,” Senator Calkin wrote to her supporters.
Senator Calkin is a founding member of the Rhode Island Political Cooperative, whose slate of candidates are joining the State Senator in her calls for a minimum wage $19 an hour for Rhode Island’s workers, establishing a Medicare-for-All style universal state healthcare system, reducing the cost of prescription drugs, and enacting a Green New Deal for Rhode Island that would achieve net zero emissions by 2040 and build 10,000 green, affordable homes for working families across the state.
Fighting climate change will be a major priority for Senator Calkin in the coming term. “In a state in which large portions of land are predicted to be underwater within the next 10 years, we cannot afford to wait to take action,” Calkin wrote to her supporters on the importance of curbing Rhode Island’s greenhouse gas emissions.
This week’s announcement letter went on to focus on her legislative record and commitments for the coming term, including S2353. In keeping with her commitment to combating corporate influence, Senator Calkin’s legislation will require all campaign contributions made by a registered lobbyist be explicitly marked as so in public disclosure documents available to everyday Rhode Islanders. Elsewhere, Calkin highlighted her commitment to public health, evidenced in a trio of bills (S2046, S2047, and S2049) requiring the testing for and removal of carcinogenic PFAS chemicals in Rhode Island’s public water systems, and the future prevention of products with PFAS from being sold or produced in Rhode Island.
In 2020, Senator Calkin was joined by a number of other candidates for State Senate and State Assembly in a pledge to refuse campaign contributions from corporate PACs, corporate lobbyists, and the fossil fuel industry. In her letter, the State Senator renewed her commitment to reject corporate campaign contributions and maintain her independence from corporate influence of any kind. As has been the case in both her previous races, Senator Calkin’s re-election bid will run entirely on grassroots support.