What Happens Next for Jamestown & Newport? Councilor Florez Will Be a Candidate

NEWPORT, RI—Since Sen. M. Teresa Paiva Weed announced yesterday she will resign from the state Senate, the Senate has picked North Providence Democrat Domenick J. Ruggerio to replace her.

So, what happens next for Jamestown and for Newport, the communities Paiva Weed has represented. Their future's in a bit of a holding pattern until she actually hands in her resignation, according to Town Clerk Cheryl Fernstrom in Jamestown and Tracy A. Nelson, Newport's Canvassing Clerk.

But Newport City Councilor John Florez says he will run for her seat. He's the first to announce he'll be a candidate. Others are expected to follow, but no other sitting Newport city councilors are throwing their hats in the ring, he said.

However, no candidate can file yet.

"There has been no official resignation submitted in writing by Senator Paiva-Weed; therefore, no action can be taken or even predicted until there is official notification in writing by the Senator," said Cheryl Fernstrom, Jamestown's Town Clerk. "A Special Election will be held to replace her, but nothing can happen until she actually resigns."

And if a lot of candidates step up, there could also be a Primary before the Special Election, she added.

"We do know that if the resignation is submitted and accepted, there is the potential for a primary election, if more than one person files from the same political party," she said. "Ultimately, there will be a special election at some point, and this depends upon official resignation and vacating of the Office of Senator for District 13. We are waiting to hear more before making any plans, though we are reviewing to be ready for the next step."

The key to the whole schedule is the date when her resignation is effective, said Nelson.

"The Senator has not yet tendered her resignation to the Secretary of State’s Office. Once she does, and we know the effective date, the date of the special election will be set by the Secretary of State’s office. All other deadlines will be based on that."

Then the deadlines get a little confusing.

State law "basically says a special election will be held not less than 70, but not more than 90 days from the date of vacancy; unless, however, the newly elected Senator would not be sworn in by the end of the legislative session, in which case the special election could be held past the 90 days (but obviously in time for the new Senator to be sworn in before the 2018 session convenes)," Nelson said.

"With the 70-90 day period currently falling between June 1 and June 21, every day the resignation is pushed out, the closer it gets to the end of the legislative session. Ideally, I would like to see the election take place after the end of the school year because 3 of the 8 polling locations in Newport’s Senate District 13 are schools and I would prefer to have school closed while being used as a polling location."