Cynthia Mendes

Cynthia Mendes

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Rhode Island State Senate District 18

Successor: Robert Britto

Predecessor: William Conley Jr.

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Elections and appointments

Last election

September 13, 2022

Personal

Birthplace

New Bedford, Mass.

Profession

Human resources professional

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Cynthia Mendes (Democratic Party) was a member of the Rhode Island State Senate, representing District 18. She assumed office on January 5, 2021. She left office on January 3, 2023.

Mendes (Democratic Party) ran for election for Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island. She lost in the Democratic primary on September 13, 2022.

Mendes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Cynthia Mendes was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Mendes earned an associate degree in social science. Her career experience includes working as a clinical supervisor and treatment coordinator in the dental field, a manager of employee benefits and culture at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island, and a project manager at Renew New England.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2021-2022

Mendes was assigned to the following committees:

• Commerce Committee
• Special Legislation and Veterans' Affairs

Elections

2022

See also: Rhode Island lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island

Incumbent Sabina Matos defeated Aaron Guckian and Ross McCurdy in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sabina Matos (D)	51.2	180,909
		Aaron Guckian (R)	43.1	152,458
		Ross McCurdy (Independent)	5.5	19,507
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	608

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 353,482
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Keith Harrison (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island

Incumbent Sabina Matos defeated Deborah Ruggiero and Cynthia Mendes in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island on September 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sabina Matos	47.1	50,704
		Deborah Ruggiero	33.1	35,620
		Cynthia Mendes	19.8	21,304

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 107,628
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Larry Valencia (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island

Aaron Guckian defeated Paul Pence in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island on September 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aaron Guckian	67.7	13,427
		Paul Pence	32.3	6,396

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,823
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Rhode Island State Senate District 18

Cynthia Mendes won election in the general election for Rhode Island State Senate District 18 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cynthia Mendes (D)	94.8	10,013
		Other/Write-in votes	5.2	545

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,558
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 18

Cynthia Mendes defeated incumbent William Conley Jr. in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 18 on September 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cynthia Mendes	61.6	1,727
		William Conley Jr.	38.4	1,078

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,805
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Cynthia Mendes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mendes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m a single mom, a gun violence survivor, a community advocate, and I’ve worked multiple jobs at a time to support myself and my daughter. I was a dental healthcare professional, a manager of a nonprofit that mentors at-risk youth, and I NEVER imagined myself getting into politics. When I wasn’t working, I was volunteering in my community, like at Mathewson St. Church Friendship Breakfast, serving unhoused Rhode Islanders a dignified meal. My daughter often joined me doing service work and volunteering. I wanted her to learn what I learned from my parents – that you do whatever it takes to care for the most vulnerable. In 2020, members of my community asked me to challenge my State Senator, Rhode Island’s powerful Senate Finance Chair. I laughed at first because people like me don’t normally run for office but I had to think about the world I was leaving for my daughter. Despite being outspent 4-to-1, we won in a landslide. This historic win resulted from organizing our neighbors and focusing on the changes they desperately want to see. Since being elected to the Senate I’ve fought tirelessly for reproductive rights, government transparency, racial justice, universal healthcare, and climate action. I don’t believe any one person can deliver us those things alone. That’s why I’m running alongside Matt Brown for Governor and dozens of state legislative candidates – teachers, nurses, social workers, everyday people who have spent their lives fighting for their communities.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• During my first term in the Senate, I saw firsthand how politicians are pressured into toeing a line and not interrupting the status quo. Leadership in the statehouse was only concerned with what made their corporate donors happy and would bully, chastise, and call me radical if I didn’t follow along. We need to replace the establishment politicians who have been running things for far too long, because they take donations from large corporations and the fossil fuel industry and neglect the needs of regular Rhode Islanders. We’ll elect new leaders who will serve the needs of our people. I reject all corporate PAC, fossil fuel, and gun lobbyist donations. The first step in restoring integrity in government is getting money out of politics.
• No person can fix the problems we face alone. This is a campaign not just to elect a new governor and lieutenant governor – it’s a campaign to elect a whole new government. Matt Brown and I are running alongside dozens of progressive candidates from every corner of Rhode Island who will fight for truly affordable housing, a Medicare for All style healthcare system, a Green New Deal, a $19 minimum wage, and more. When they win, this team of nurses, teachers, social workers, activists – people who have spent their lives fighting for their communities – will replace the conservative politicians who have run our state for decades and build a government that finally works for all of us.
• Rhode Island gave a tax-break to the top 1% that cost the state over $1 billion while working-class people live paycheck to paycheck. Yet, the people in power tell us that sweeping change isn’t possible. Last year, while the state had a budget surplus, Rhode Islanders still slept outside in the cold. That’s why Matt and I – alongside community members – slept outside of the State House for 16 nights to demand that the governor address the homelessness crisis. In response, after failing to act for 10 months, the state created over 400 new shelter spaces for unhoused Rhode Islanders. Our movement won lifesaving change by demanding it. Imagine what our state would be like if the dozens of us who slept outside the State House were governing.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I’m passionate about healthcare, inspired by my background working in dentists’ offices. I’ve seen hard-working moms like me turn down treatment because it was unaffordable! No one should have to choose between medical care they need and keeping a roof over their family’s heads. We need a Medicare for All style system for RI.

I’m a fierce defender of abortion rights because I believe what one does with their body is their choice. Abortion access for all is an equity issue. We need to pass the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act now so that Medicaid recipients and government employees will have abortion covered by their insurance.

I’m a strong advocate for building more affordable housing and more safe shelter spaces for our unhoused community members. I’ve directly served this community before and have personally seen, felt, and experienced the dangerous consequences of housing insecurity. That is why Matt Brown, housing activists, and I slept outside the RI statehouse for 16 nights in December 2021.

Environmental justice is important to me because we need to leave behind a liveable planet for future generations and protect our residents who are victims of the environmental racism and pollution at the Port of Providence.

I believe we should raise the minimum wage to a true living one, $19/hr, because I’ve had to work multiple jobs for years to keep a roof over my and my daughter’s head. Anyone working full-time should be able to support themselves and their families

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The Lt. Governor is the second highest ranking officer in Rhode Island’s executive branch behind the governor and is the first in line to succeed the governor. The Lt. Governor is also the chair of the Small Business Advisory Council and makes appointments to it, chair of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Advisory Council, serves as a member of the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council and the Interagency Council on Homelessness, and has many other additional appointment powers. The Lt. Governor also has the ability to encourage Senate and House leadership to call for critical bills to the floor for a full vote. I will, by being in the executive branch, have a platform that can be leveraged to help working class Rhode Islanders and be a voice for progress on critical issues such as passing a true living minimum wage of $19, advancing climate legislation, reproductive rights, universal healthcare, and more.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is my political hero. Not only do we share the same values but he has fought tirelessly for the working class of America and the marginalized for his entire life. In 2020, I was the highest vote getter as a Bernie delegate during the presidential preference process which was a huge deal to me personally.

My political activation really happened with the Bernie 2016 campaign. I had been volunteering in my community and faced my own personal hardships but never connected those two things to politics until I heard Bernie. I could have volunteered my last hour or given my last dollar away and still never made a dent in the long pipeline of suffering souls. Bernie spoke about the corporate greed in America that leads to insulin being prohibitively expensive and health insurance to cost an arm and a leg. Bernie is not afraid to call out fellow politicians who roll with big corporate special interest groups instead of listening to their constituents and he has called out the influence of money in politics over and over again.

Bernie’s 2016 campaign helped me begin to design my political north star so that in 2020 I could run for state senate while also being inspired by his second presidential campaign.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Public servants should listen, be present, and have immense integrity.

In politics, there is a proclivity towards giving a speech at every opportunity but the most important job of being a public servant is listening to the needs of our communities and boldly acting on them.

Our elected officials should be expected to show up in our communities – not just at rallies and parades but to do the work. During my time as a community activist and a state senator, I’ve protested arm in arm with activists who fought against the polluters in the Port of Providence like the scrap metal yard and the proposed plastics burning facility. I’ve slept outside the steps of the State House with housing advocates to demand that more houseless Rhode Islanders could have safe shelter during a budget surplus. I’ve made lonely speeches on the Senate floor to advocate for doula services, trauma informed schools, the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, Medicare for All, and critical climate legislation and have gone toe-toe with the conservative leadership who blocked these things for years!

Integrity is an incredibly important quality and far too often I would see my colleagues sit silent on critical issues, or worse, they would vote against the best interests of Rhode Islanders because it would benefit them politically to, “go along to get along.” Over and over again my opponents have been willing to take money from corporate lobbyists and the fossil fuel industry and then vote in favor of tax-payer subsidized luxury developments and the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. That’s not right! Our elected officials should be accountable to and working for the people of Rhode Island. Not their corporate friends and not their powerful political donors.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

My life experiences have prepared me to become the next Lt. Governor of Rhode Island. I’ve overcome, or witnessed firsthand and actively lead the way in helping address the struggles that folks in our state go through everyday like housing insecurity, gun violence, and choosing between receiving healthcare or paying for groceries. We need leaders who have lived what Rhode Islanders live across the state everyday and have done their best to try to change things before they got into politics. Those who are doing the work of making Rhode Island better from outside the State House should be the ones inside leading to create the change we need!

What legacy would you like to leave?

I don’t think about my life in terms of leaving a legacy but rather leaving the earth a better place because of my actions. The most pressing issue that we need to solve, if anyone is to have a legacy, is climate change and the rapid destruction of the environment. It will be the policy of our government to bring Rhode Island to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, shut down polluters in the Port of Providence, build thousands of offshore wind turbines, install tens of thousands of rooftop solar panels, and electrify all RIPTA busses while expanding lines and making riding free. If we can do our part in the state to solve the climate crisis, then that is something we can all be proud about once the planet is saved for future generations.

I think Rhode Island should be a place where generosity and empathy are practiced everyday and in every interaction. I think we can foster that culture both from the bottom up and the top down. If we have a government and leaders who speak and act with empathy and they work with movement leaders who are driven and work with compassion, we can reshape our state and all 39 cities and towns to become communities where neighbors know, serve, and laugh with one another.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was as a waitress at the Newport Creamery. I started at 15 years old and worked there for two years (and probably served hundreds of Awful-Awfuls)!

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

BREAK MY SOUL by Beyonce

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

During my first run for the State Senate, I lost two very close family members. My father was in a nursing home in Massachusetts at the start of COVID and passed away from the virus.

In 2019, I lost a dear loved one to gun suicide. Shannen was only 27 at the time, and she died during a time of personal crisis while living in a home with an unsecured gun. She was like a daughter to me. The gun owner was a friend of mine. He strongly believed in his second amendment rights, and before we lost Shannen, he pushed back against my support of common sense gun laws. Shannen paid the price for his lax gun storage attitude with her life. My friend who owned the gun had his life completely shattered by this suicide, too. My friend, his family, our friendship, and our community all suffered and continue to suffer to this day.

Like many Rhode Islanders who suffer loss and grief and still push through to work, I’ve committed to do the same in my public service.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

The most important responsibility of the Lt. Governor is to be prepared to take over the role of Governor should the event ever arise. I’m prepared because I’m running alongside Matt Brown for Governor. We’re not only running together, but will govern together too. I have encouraged and recruited multiple candidates to run for the general assembly – teachers, nurses, social workers, community leaders – so once we are in office we will be able to ensure equal quality education, a $19 minimum wage, and Medicare for All.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

The most important thing a Lt. Governor can do is listen to the residents of Rhode Island and move forward causes that will directly impact their lives for the better. Our state is facing multiple overlapping crises at the moment: a lack of housing, unaffordable healthcare, inflation, a crumbling education system, pollution and the devastating impacts of climate change. We need a people's champion in both the major executive roles of Governor and Lt. Governor. During my time in the Senate I’ve proven that I will use all the power available to me to speak on behalf of the people, mobilize others, and organize around necessary legislation. I’ve demonstrated the ability to demystify the legislative process and make it accessible for everyday people.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Cynthia Mendes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Rhode Island

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.

2022

In 2022, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 4 to June 23.

• ACLU of Rhode Island

Legislators are tracked on their votes related to civil liberties.

• Common Cause Rhode Island

Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization.

• Environmental Council of Rhode Island

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.

• National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 5 to July 1. ACLU of Rhode Island Legislators are tracked on their votes related to civil liberties. Common Cause Rhode Island Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization. Environmental Council of Rhode Island Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

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Candidate

Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by William Conley Jr. (D)	Rhode Island State Senate District 18 2021-2023	Succeeded by Robert Britto (D)

[show]

Current members of the Rhode Island State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Valarie Lawson

Majority Leader:Frank Ciccone

Minority Leader:Jessica de la Cruz

Senators

District 1

Jake Bissaillon (D)

District 2

Ana Quezada (D)

District 3

Sam Zurier (D)

District 4

Stefano Famiglietti (D)

District 5

Sam Bell (D)

District 6

Tiara Mack (D)

District 7

Frank Ciccone (D)

District 8

Lori Urso (D)

District 9

John Burke (D)

District 10

Walter Felag (D)

District 11

Linda Ujifusa (D)

District 12

Louis DiPalma (D)

District 13

Dawn Euer (D)

District 14

Valarie Lawson (D)

District 15

Meghan Kallman (D)

District 16

Jonathon Acosta (D)

District 17

Thomas Paolino (R)

District 18

Robert Britto (D)

District 19

Ryan Pearson (D)

District 20

Brian Thompson (D)

District 21

Gordon Rogers (R)

District 22

David Tikoian (D)

District 23

Jessica de la Cruz (R)

District 24

Melissa Murray (D)

District 25

Andrew Dimitri (D)

District 26

Todd Patalano (D)

District 27

Hanna Gallo (D)

District 28

Lammis Vargas (D)

District 29

Peter Appollonio (D)

District 30

Mark McKenney (D)

District 31

Matthew LaMountain (D)

District 32

Pamela Lauria (D)

District 33

Leonidas Raptakis (D)

District 34

Elaine Morgan (R)

District 35

Bridget Valverde (D)

District 36

Alana DiMario (D)

District 37

V. Sosnowski (D)

District 38

Victoria Gu (D)

Democratic Party (34)

Republican Party (4)