Walsh ranked among the highest
by Common Cause
 |
| Donna at work in her office as vice-chair of the House Environment Committee |
STATE HOUSE News Bureau –
Rep. Donna Walsh (D-Dist. 36, Charlestown , New
Shoreham, Westerly , South
Kingstown ) scored one of the highest marks in the General Assembly
on the 2012
Common Cause Legislative Scorecard, released this week.
Representative Walsh received a final score of 81
on the grassroots organization’s 10th biennial tally, putting her in
a tie for the second-highest mark among the 113 members of the House and the
Senate. The score is based on a two-year voting record of legislators on a
number of government reform issues valued by Common Cause.
“I’m
proud to stand with Common Cause on many government reform issues. Honest
government is very important to citizens, and I’m committed to efforts that
shed more light on the system,” said Representative Walsh, who for years has
been sponsoring legislation to require an open selection process of magistrates
based on merit.
Common
Cause tracked 48 votes during the 2011 and 2012 sessions, among them campaigns
and elections, judicial reform, ethics, open government and separation of
powers. The final score for each legislator is arrived at by assigning a number
of points (1, 2 or 3) for various issues and bills, weighted based on their
level of importance to Common Cause.
The organization listed Representative Walsh as voting in
favor of its position on 39 of those votes. She received 100 percent marks in
three areas: ethics, open government and separation of powers.
Representative Walsh has served in the House since 2006 and
previously served in the Senate from 1996 to 2002. She is vice chairwoman of
the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee, secretary of the Small
Business Committee and a member of the House Corporations Committee.