Always a class act

Sen. Cathie Cool Rumsey says thank you and goodbye for now

Cathie on the right, with Sen. Sue Sosnowski and Rep. Donna Walsh
Taken at the October bill-signing of legislation to divert institutional food
waste from landfills to composting, bio-fuel or agricultural feed. Cathie and
Donna (was also lost on Nov. 4) sponsored the legislation. 

By State Senator Cathie Cool Rumsey

I would like to thank all those who came out to vote on Nov. 4. While obviously I would have loved to return to the State House, I am grateful to the people of Senate District 34 for granting me the honor and privilege of representing Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond and West Greenwich in the Rhode Island Senate for the last two years.

I am extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to participate in our legislative process and to have helped effect positive change for our state.

As a freshman senator, I had the distinct pleasure to co-chair the Behavioral Health and Firearms Safety Task Force and the Senate Task Force on the Department of Children, Youth and Families and the Family Care Networks; and to serve as vice chairwoman of the Permanent Legislative Commission on Child Care and as a member of the Joint Municipal Shared Services Study Commission, in addition to my duties on the Health and Human Services Committee and the Environment and Agriculture Committee.  

During my term as your state senator, I sponsored 17 substantive pieces of legislation that became law, including an innovative new law that will divert large amounts of food waste from the landfill for recycling, which will help create green jobs in Rhode Island while preserving our environment.

I also sponsored successful legislation enabling the state to help preserve the rural character of our towns by allowing the Department of Environmental Management to accept custody of the beautiful 1,825-acre Hillsdale property in Richmond, once owned by the late Theakston de Coppet.

I am proud to have recognized the hard work and dedication of our emergency medical technicians by sponsoring their request for an EMT license plate; to have enabled affordable health care; and to have supported legislation to protect the health and safety of our elderly.

The Environment Council of Rhode Island ranked me the No. 1 senator this term for my support of legislation to help the environment.

I sincerely wish the best to all the newly elected officials. We need you to be successful in helping to move our state forward.

As I knocked on thousands of doors during the campaign and had the opportunity to speak with many people in the district, I often remarked to people that it is everyone’s responsibility to participate in our democratic process, to engage with our elected officials to share ideas and recommendations and to ensure they are focusing on the right priorities for our communities.

The General Assembly website makes it very easy for all of us to stay informed about legislation our officials are working on. I encourage everyone to utilize the tools and technology available on the General Assembly website to participate in our democratic process to help our elected officials be successful. Please do your part and be engaged, because successful democracy depends on all of us.

Cathie Cool Rumsey (D) represents Senate Dist. 34 which includes Exeter, the northern half of Charlestown, Hopkinton, Richmond and West Greenwich until her winning opponent on the November 4 election is sworn-in in January.