Giarrusso To Seek Fourth Term

From RI State Reps: State Representative Anthony Giarrusso said today he has filed papers with the East Greenwich Board of Canvassers and will run for re-election to his house seat in November.

“I am excited to again offer myself up to the voters of East Greenwich and West Greenwich as their District 30 Representative in the House of Representatives. This is not an easy job, by any means, and I am pleased to have had the impact I have had. Most importantly, I have been blown away by the number of voters who have called or written and encouraged me to run again, and I have pledged not to let them down,” said Giarrusso.

First elected in 2012, Giarrusso has since been the highest vote-getter in East Greenwich elections ever since.

Widely respected on Smith Hill, by Republicans and Democrats alike, Giarrusso during his first term won approval of a cost-saving measure giving cities and towns greater latitude in tax mailings and gained acceptance of a measure authorizing a series of tax exemptions for East Greenwich residents. At the request of the East Greenwich Town Council, he introduced and successfully managed legislation permitting the town to acquire the East Greenwich Fire District. Central components of his proposal for the re-organization of the state's economic development activities were incorporated in legislation passed by the General Assembly and which went into effect in 2015. Finally, he was the author of legislation to require full background checks of school bus drivers or monitors whether or not they were employees of the school district or a municipality.

In the 2017-2018 session, Giarrusso co-sponsored legislation with the Speaker of the House that criminalizes the possession of materials readily convertible into a bomb or explosive device, and the “Neil Fachon “Right To Try” legislation which establishes the conditions for the use of experimental treatments for terminally ill patients. He was the prime sponsor of legislation enacted to ensure certification of chemical dependency professionals for treatment.

Giarrusso is a member of the House Committees on Finance and its subcommittees on Education, Health & Human Services, and a member of the House Committee on Corporations and the General Assembly's Permanent Joint Committee on Economic Development. In 2017, he was appointed to The Commission to Study Sexual Harassment In the Workplace, and was one of three House members appointed to 19-member Study Commission on the Legalization of Marijuana.

Giarrusso is president of AG&G Inc., a jewelry manufacturing firm in Johnston that employs more than 100. He lives in East Greenwich with his wife, Janet, and is the father of four children, Anthony Jr., Andrea, Leonardo and James.

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