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James Sheehan
James Sheehan (Democratic Party) was a member of the Rhode Island State Senate, representing District 36. He assumed office in 2001. He left office on January 4, 2021.
Sheehan (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Rhode Island State Senate to represent District 36. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Sheehan was a delegate at the Reform Party National Convention.
Biography
Sheehan earned his teacher's certificate from Rhode Island College in 1985, his B.A. from the University of Rhode Island in 1988, and his M.A. from Catholic University in 1992. His professional experience includes working as a teacher for the Warwick School Department.[1]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Sheehan was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education Committee
- Health and Human Services Committee, Secretary
- Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight Committee, Vice Chairperson
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Rhode Island committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Government Oversight, Chair |
| • Health and Human Services |
| • Economic Development, Chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Sheehan served on the following committees:
| Rhode Island committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Government Oversight, Chair |
| • Health and Human Services, Secretary |
| • Education |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Sheehan served on the following committees:
| Rhode Island committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Government Oversight, Chair |
| • Health & Human Services, Secretary |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Sheehan served on the following committees:
| Rhode Island committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Government Oversight |
| • Health and Human Services |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Sheehan served on the following committees:
| Rhode Island committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Corporations |
| • Government Oversight |
| • Health and Human Services |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2020
James Sheehan did not file to run for re-election.
2018
General election
General election for Rhode Island State Senate District 36
Incumbent James Sheehan defeated John Silvaggio in the general election for Rhode Island State Senate District 36 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | James Sheehan (D) | 66.9 | 8,830 |
 | John Silvaggio (R) | 32.7 | 4,313 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 47 | ||
| Total votes: 13,190 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 36
Incumbent James Sheehan defeated Alana DiMario in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 36 on September 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | James Sheehan | 57.6 | 2,143 |
 | Alana DiMario | 42.4 | 1,580 | |
| Total votes: 3,723 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 36
John Silvaggio advanced from the Republican primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 36 on September 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Silvaggio | 100.0 | 1,001 |
| Total votes: 1,001 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2016
Elections for the Rhode Island State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 13, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 29, 2016.
Incumbent James Sheehan ran unopposed in the Rhode Island State Senate District 36 general election.[2][3]
| Rhode Island State Senate, District 36 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  James Sheehan Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections | ||
Incumbent James Sheehan ran unopposed in the Rhode Island State Senate District 36 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Rhode Island State Senate, District 36 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | James Sheehan Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Rhode Island State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 25, 2014. Incumbent James Sheehan was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[6][7][8]
2012
Sheehan won re-election in District 36. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary on September 11, 2012. Mariacristina C. Mckendall was unopposed in the Republican primary. Sheehan defeated Kendall in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012..[9][10][11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Sheehan Incumbent |
60% | 8,595 | |
| Republican | Mariacristina C. Mckendall | 39.8% | 5,697 | |
| Other | Write-in | 0.2% | 35 | |
| Total Votes | 14,327 | |||
2010
Sheehan ran for re-election in District 36. He defeated Winters Hames III in the September 14 Democratic primary and defeated William Connelly (R) in the November 2 general election.[12][13]
| Rhode Island State Senate, District 36 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| James Sheehan (D)
|
6462 | |||
| William Connelly (R) | 4663 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Sheehan was re-elected to the 36th District Seat in the Rhode Island State Senate.[14] Sheehan raised $16,485 for his campaign, while Connelly raised $2,127.[15]
| Rhode Island State Senate, District 36 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| James Sheehan (D)
|
8,632 | |||
| William Connelly (R) | 5,108 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Rhode Island scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 7 to August 30.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2019, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 1 through June 30.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 2 through June 25.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 3 through June 20.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 5 through June 18.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 6 through June 25.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 7 to June 23.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 1 to July 5.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 3 to June 13.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 4 to July 1.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Sheehan and his wife, Meredith, have two children.[1]
Noteworthy events
Grants to nonprofit organizations
In 2012, Rhode Island lawmakers issued $1.9 million in legislative grants to nonprofit organizations. These grants were awarded on a nonpartisan basis by House Speaker Gordon Fox and Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed and were chosen based on the merits of the organizations' applications and requests by individual lawmakers. Though the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that the legislature has the authority to create grants as part of the budget, some critics called these grants wasteful government spending and said the money could be used to influence votes. Lawmakers in support of the grants claimed that they went to community organizations that were struggling to fill fundraising gaps or make up for a lack of resources that may no longer be available at the municipal level. According to an August 2013 report in Go Local Prov News, Sheehan was among the top 25 lawmakers who sponsored the most in grant funding, obtaining $29,300 for community organizations.[17][18]
See also
- Rhode Island State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Rhode Island General Assembly
- Joint Committees
- Rhode Island state legislative districts
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Project Vote Smart, "Biography of Sen. James Sheehan," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed October 5, 2016
- ↑ Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2016 general election results," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed June 30, 2016
- ↑ Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2016 Statewide Primary," accessed October 14, 2016
- ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Candidates for Senator in General Assembly," accessed June 30, 2014
- ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2014 Statewide Primary Results: Senator in General Assembly," accessed September 26, 2014
- ↑ Rhode Island Board of Elections, "Official 2014 general election results," accessed December 4, 2014
- ↑ Candidates in Upcoming Elections, "Rhode Island Secretary of State," accessed July 5, 2012
- ↑ State of Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2012 Statewide Primary Results," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ State of Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2012 Statewide General Election Results," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ State of Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2010 Statewide Primary Results," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ State of Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2010 Statewide General Election Results," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ State of Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2008 Statewide General Election Results," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Rhode Island State Senate spending, 2008," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Warwick Online, "Rep. Morgan scores top on 'subjective' House Freedom Index," May 31, 2016
- ↑ Go Local Prov News, "RI Lawmakers Shell Out $1.9M in Controversial Legislative Grants," August 15, 2013
- ↑ Go Local Prov News, "Top 25 RI Legislators Who Got The Most Grants," August 15, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Rhode Island State Senate District 36 2001–2021 |
Succeeded by Alana DiMario (D) |
