2020 Election Profile: Herbert Weiss, RI State Senate District 15

2020 Election Profile: Herbert Weiss, RI State Senate District 15

Meet Herb Weiss who is running for election in Senate District 15 (Pawtucket).

Read what he has to say about why he is running for office.

This is part of an ongoing series by GoLocal featuring each of the candidates for House and Senate.

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1.  What do you think is the biggest political issue this campaign season in Rhode Island? 

Many Rhode Islanders are now struggling just to get by and pay their rent or mortgage, and do not have sufficient access to basic needs such as food, housing, and health.  Small businesses throughout the Ocean State are struggling to keep their doors open.  The Rhode Island General Assembly must be prepared to face a new future that has been re-shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. We must work together as the state slowly reopens to jump start the state’s broken economy and to protect the lives of our residents. 

As a Senator, I will be a strong advocate for our older residents who are particularly endangered by Covid-19, ensuring that all necessary protections are in place. For those that do need to be in nursing homes, I will work to provide the funding necessary for facilities to provide adequate staffing, and also strengthen health and safety protections in those facilities.  We do not to make it more possible, however, for more older residents to have the option to stay in their homes, aging in place. I will champion legislation that does just that. This is not only important for our elders’ quality of life and safer; it is also cost-effective.

 

2.  What do we need to do to improve Rhode Island's economy?

Small businesses are key to generating jobs and improving Rhode Island’s economy and the state’s Commerce RI must allocate more funding in its Rhode Island Rebuild program to assist the state’s smaller developments.

Successfully reviving Rhode Island’s stalled economy is tied to the Rhode Island General Assembly and the Governor working closely together to craft an economic development strategy that is clear, open and transparent for the public to see.  Lawmakers working with the state’s 39 Cities and Towns must continue find ways to streamline the local and state regulatory processes and to consistently enforce them.   We can continue to improve the customer service provided by state employees, making it easier to do business in our state agencies by providing businesses with the needed information on government and business resources available to them. Rhode Island Commerce must continue to hone its workforce education and training programs, enhancing soft and technical skills, to match existing and future workforce needs to ensure an employee’s job success.  Most important, our public education system must prepare our young students to compete in a global economy.  We must embrace “Smart Growth” policies to create more walkable communities with access to public transportation, to include an array of housing options including workforce housing.

 

3.  What is the greatest challenge facing Rhode Island as a state? 

Balancing the state budget in the mist of the COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge facing the Rhode Island General Assembly. According to the Providence Journal, Rhode Island’s supplemental budget pulls together federal coronavirus relief fund, about $120 million of the state’s $200 rainy day fund and unspent funds from state agencies to plug an anticipated $ 235 million budget deficit for the year ending in June 30.  The Rhode Island General Assembly must reconvene soon to address a more than $ 500 million deficit for the next budget year, which starts July 1.

The State’s tight budget is an obstacle for maintaining its aging infrastructure. The Rhode Island’s economy continues to be lethargic.

 

4.  Why are you running for office? What makes you uniquely qualified? 

For over two decades, I have been a public service working hard on the behalf of the residents of Pawtucket. Its time to take my advocacy to the state level. 

I bring the experience, know-how and dedication to get the job done. I've worked for the City of Pawtucket for 21 years in economic development, which included working with small businesses, the arts, and the development of the old mills in the City of Pawtucket. As Pawtucket’s Economic and Cultural Affairs Officer, I spearheaded the initiative to bring artists and small businesses in to the city’s numerous mills and worked to make the Pawtucket Arts Festival the big success it has become. This brought new jobs and vitality to the City.

As a writer, I have been an advocate for older Americans.  For over 25 years, I have called attention to the array of issues facing our older residents here in Rhode Island and throughout the nation, winning the AARP Rhode Island’s 2004 Vision Award.  I have been active in the community by participating in a range of volunteer organizations and activities from helping to provide turkey dinners  to hundreds of needy families in Pawtucket each year to provide them an enjoyable Thanksgiving in their homes to promoting the many events of the historic Slater Mill that brings visitors to our community.

5.  Who is your inspiration? 

Writer Thomas Ashe, on the website, Love & Forgiveness in Governance, says Nelson Mandela’s name is synonymous to forgiveness, noting that this statesman will be remembered “to have lived and died, loving and forgiving.”  Mandela said that “Forgiveness liberates the soul, it removes fear. That’s why it’s such a powerful weapon.”  Ashe stresses, “It is forgiveness towards his nation’s wrongdoers that he used as a weapon against the oppressive apartheid regime, which enabled transformation of relationships, positive change and peace in his beloved country, South Africa.”  As a country, we can learn a lot from Mandela’s actions.

Bio:

Somewhat indirectly Dallas-native Herb Weiss came to Rhode Island from Gaithersburg, Maryland to become editor at a local publishing company in the early 1990s.  On January 4,1999, as a newly hired municipal employee he would be charged with oversight of the city of Pawtucket’s newly established 307-acre Arts and Entertainment District. Over the years, his efforts to promote Pawtucket’s arts-oriented development strategy have been recognized regionally. In particular, his efforts to bring artists to the city’s historic mill buildings have attracted national attention.  He was among those whose efforts were recorded by filmmaker Jason Caminiti in Pawtucket Rising, a 2008 documentary.

Weiss, who received a master’s degree (Studies in Aging) in 1979 from North Texas State University, published his first article in 1980 on aging. During his 40 subsequent years as a journalist and columnist, he authored or co-authored more than 776 articles on aging, health care and medical issues. His columns regularly appear in newspapers throughout Rhode Island and news blogs. He writes a weekly “Age Beat” commentary covering issues that impact America’s baby boomers and seniors, which is published in the Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call.

Weiss is married to Patricia S. Zacks (D’Angelo), owner of the Providence-based business, The Camera Werks. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his two step children Samantha and Ben along with Ben’s partner, Meralise Conley as well as two grandchildren, Lily and Charlie, and a chocolate lab, Molly. He has lived in Oak Hill, Pawtucket since 1995.

 

Campaign Website: https://www.herb4senate.com ;

Facebook: Go to Herb Weiss for State Senate 

Contact: [email protected]