House Finance Chair Marvin Abney to Run for Congress

House Finance Chair Marvin Abney to Run for Congress

GoLocal has learned that the Chairman of the Rhode Island House Finance Committee, Marvin Abney, will be announcing a run for the first Congressional district.

Congressman David Cicilline announced that he is stepping down from his seat to take over the position as the head of the Rhode Island Foundation and collect a salary of $650,000 for the group dedicated to supporting those in need.

Abney is widely respected for his evenhandedness in chairing the Finance Committee. He has been known to allow hundreds of witnesses to testify on a single piece of legislation.

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His resume looks very different from many of the candidates.

And, his state campaign account has more than $237,000. While those dollars cannot be spent directly, candidates in the past, like Cicilline, have found ways to return donors' checks and have them issue new donations to a federal account.

If successful, Abney could be an early financial front-runner.

He represents the 73 District in the House (Newport and Middletown).

 

BIO:

Abney is a retired Major of the United States Army after a 20-year Army career, including a tour of duty as a detachment commander at NATO Headquarters with responsibilities in Belgium; The American Embassy, Paris, France; and the Netherlands.

He also retired from the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where he held the position of executive assistant to the commissioner. He taught general business courses at City Colleges of Chicago, European Division.

Born on November  10, 1949, he attended Dunbar High School in Texarkana, Texas, and in 2018 was honored by the Texarkana Independent School District as a Distinguished Alumnus.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in public administration at Stephen F. Austin State University in 1975, a master’s of management degree from Webster University in 1982, a master’s of business administration from the University of Rhode Island in 2000, and a certificate of advanced graduate study in educational leadership from Johnson & Wales University in 2005. He also attended the Command and General Staff College in Munich, Germany in the late 1980s.

Representative Abney has a long history of involvement in community organizations and boards, such as the Board of Governors, Newport Health Care Corporation; Board of Directors, Redwood Library and Athenaeum; the Newport Zoning Board of Review; Salve Regina University’s Internal Review Board; the Martin Luther King Jr . Center; Board of Corporators, BankNewport; and Newport County YWCA.

He lives in Newport with his wife, Cheryl Lynn (Amado). He is the father of Marvin L. Abney II, U.S. Army (P) Capt. Christian A. Abney and Tess A. Abney. He is the grandfather of five: Sierra, Jade, Mia, Dakota, and Bleu. He is a four-time finisher of the New York City Marathon and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.