NEW: DeSimone to Face Challenge from Providence Teacher Ranglin-Vassell
GoLocalProv Political Team
NEW: DeSimone to Face Challenge from Providence Teacher Ranglin-Vassell
“Our community needs someone who will fight for us. For too long, we’ve had politicians who are only helping themselves and their well-connected friends. I have spent my entire life working, teaching, and fighting for families like mine. Families who’ve worked hard for everything they’ve got and just want a fair shot. Our neighborhood needs an advocate who won’t give up. As a mother, a Providence public school teacher, and a community activist, I have done everything I can to give my children, my students, and my neighbors a chance at success. I'm running to bring that same passion and determination to the State House, for all of us," said Ranglin-Vassell.
DeSimone, who was first elected in 1992 and has been Majority Leader since 2014, recently paid over $18,000 in overdue taxes after a legal notice was posted at his home.
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Ranglin-Vassell is currently a special education teacher at Providence Career and Technical Academy.
“I grew up very poor in Jamaica, in a neighborhood similar to some of our struggling neighborhoods here in Providence. I remember having only one pair of shoes and no backpack - when it rained, I would put my school books under my clothes to keep them dry. My father never learned to read or write, but he started a church and a preschool right in our front yard and taught me the power of education. That is why I became a teacher, and why I have dedicated my life to empowering young people and community members to be the best they can be. My children all went through Providence public schools, so I know public education can be successful. But I also know our schools continue to struggle, and our state continues to underfund our young people. As state representative, I will not rest until we have a fair school funding formula that ensures our youth have the resources they need to succeed."
Ranglin continued on, talking about the challenges ahead, “I know that entering this race is a challenge to the status quo, but sometimes the establishment needs a challenge. I always try to do what I think is right, whether it is easy or not. And titles aside, the truth is our current representative is not fighting for his constituents. I have lived here in our district, on Waite Street, for over 20 years, and I have never met our representative. I do not have a single friend or neighbor who can say he has ever returned their phone calls or emails. I’m sure he is great for the well-connected, for the people who know-a-guy. But he has never been there for families like mine that are working hard and just trying to get by. We need a legislator who is committed to representing all of our community, and that’s why I am in this race.”
Ranglin-Vassell has a bachelor of science degree in community health education from Rhode Island College and a master's in special education from Providence College. She is a "Woman of Acievement" award-winner from the YWCA for her work in education, a congregant at Ebenezer Baptist Church and a member of the Rhode Island Black Business Association.