Rebecca Schiff Blasts Rep. Deb Ruggiero for absent leadership, one of worst missed vote records in House

Rebecca Schiff, Republican candidate for the District 74 seat representing Jamestown and Middletown in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, is calling out her Democratic opponent after a transparency report revealed that Rep. Deborah Ruggiero missed 10 percent of the votes taken in the House this year.

“I was struck by my opponent's claims about ‘creating transparency in government.’ She indicated that ‘you should know how your legislator votes.’ I agree – and I’m troubled by the current rep’s record,” Schiff said.

Schiff sees Ruggiero’s missed votes as a byproduct of the arrogance of power that has infected the State House over decades of Democrats’ one-party rule. “When she didn’t miss the votes, Rep. Ruggiero was among the ‘Top 50’ representatives to vote in lockstep with her ‘boss,’ the Speaker, and against the interests of our district. Maybe she didn’t want to defend the disastrous RhodeWorks tolling plan that she helped ram through the General Assembly – against the wishes of her own constituents. Her record shows that when Speaker Matiello speaks, Deb Ruggiero listens,” Schiff said. “My only boss will be the people of District 74.”

Schiff is troubled by the number of votes that Ruggiero has missed since 2012: totaling 147 roll call votes. In fact, only 21 of the state’s 75 representatives missed more votes over the past two years than Ruggiero, according to a recent report from WatchdogRI and the RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity. “Although there can certainly be legitimate reasons for a rep to miss a vote, sometimes it’s easier for them to just ‘take a walk’ – or skip the vote – instead of taking a tough vote. Deb must be getting her exercise because she missed more than her fair share of votes this year.”

Ruggiero got a red mark in the report for missing over 10 percent of the votes taken this year – among the worst missed vote records in the House. “If our representative is not voting, the decisions they are elected to make are being left to others, abandoning their basic duty” Schiff said. “When I’m elected, I will do everything in my power to vote on every bill that comes to the House floor and ensure my constituents are represented every time and on every issue.”

Even when Ruggiero’s votes are recorded, her record is predictably partisan. According to the transparency website, Rhode Island Votes, Ruggiero has been a reliable partisan vote during her time in the House. “Deb voted against the majority of her Party only 59 times out of 1,487 votes taken since 2012,” Schiff said. “And the last time she bucked her Party’s majority was back in 2013.”

A recent WatchdogRI/Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity analysis of House and Senate members’ voting records found that Ruggiero voted with Speaker of the House Nick Matiello 87.7% of the time in 2016 and sided with the speaker on 65.4% of non-unanimous votes. “The roll call shows that Deb’s just not the independent voice she claims to be,” Schiff said. “She's just more grease for the corrupt machine.”

Schiff, a local business owner and educator, contrasted her platform of fighting for open, honest government and a stronger Rhode Island economy with the misplaced partisan priorities of her opponent.

“When I’m elected, I will listen to the people here in Middletown and Jamestown instead of the power brokers in Providence. When I’m elected, I will be here to meet with my Republican, Democratic and Independent constituents, just as I have during the course of this campaign. And when I’m elected, I will actually vote – and my voice and my vote will be against the toxic late night legislation the out-of-control leadership wants to push through. Maybe it’s time for the voters to tell Deb Ruggiero to ‘take a walk’ and elect a new representative who works for our district, instead of someone who’s apparently too busy playing follow the leader to be bothered.”

For more information about Rebecca Schiff, or to contact her, donate or volunteer for her campaign, visit rebeccaschiff.com or visit her Facebook page, facebook.com/RebeccaSchiffRI.