Political Profile: Alana DiMario, Candidate for RI State Senate District 36

Monday, August 08, 2022

GoLocalProv Political Team

 

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Alana DiMario is a Democrat candidate for State Senate in District 36. Here is what she has to say.

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

Recovery. Everyone I talk to brings up issues related to economic, educational, and social-emotional recovery from what we have all experienced the last few years. For people primarily concerned with the environment, that also looks like recovering the progress in fighting climate change that was lost while we were fighting the pandemic. Recovering our faith in the stability of our democracy and everyone’s ability to participate in it. Reasserting our rights regarding reproductive freedom and marriage equality here in Rhode Island so people can recover a sense of safety regardless of the upheaval on these issues across the nation.

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

To improve Rhode Island’s economy, we need to make sure it works for everyone. Digging into the recent analysis of how “Business Friendly” Rhode Island is compared to other states shows that where Rhode Island is lagging is in making our state worker-friendly. Businesses succeed when their workers can thrive here. If we continue to invest in building housing to bring costs down, improve our public transportation and walkable and bikeable infrastructure to compete with our neighboring states, make sure every child receives a high-quality education in a safe, modern school regardless of their zip code, support competitive wages in line with other New England States and invest in our child care and health care systems to ensure high quality and access, we will be a better place for workers to thrive and companies to do business, and our economy will benefit.

 

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

Housing availability and affordability. This is an issue affecting Rhode Islanders at every stage of life, from young adults who can’t afford to live in the state where they grew up to older adults looking to downsize and retire. Looking at creative solutions to increase housing stock in smart and planful ways with both state and municipal level involvement is a critical issue right now. We have made a good start with a significant investment of the American Rescue Plan Act money on this, but we need to do more.

 

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

In 2020 I asked the voters to put me to work as a unique voice to represent them in the State Senate. As a mental health professional who is also a self-employed working mother of three school-aged children, I brought a different perspective to the General Assembly when I was elected. In the two years since, I have led in the passage of several bills to expand access to mental health care and improve child welfare, become the Co-Chair of the Commission on Child Care and worked successfully for expansion of child care and public preschool programs, and passed bills to protect small businesses and encourage entrepreneurship as we recover from the pandemic. My professional background has given me the ability to sit at a table with people who have different perspectives and desired outcomes and successfully find common ground to benefit our community.

During the first few weeks of my first term, I asked every experienced member of the Senate what their best advice was for a new legislator. Some of those I’ll keep in my back pocket for now, but one that I will share came from a Senator who is retiring this year. He told me to be relentless in advocating for the things that were my priorities to our fellow Senators, and to not stop until I got a firm “no” or the bill passed - to not accept vague answers or nonanswers or expect anyone else will do the work for me. I have taken that to heart, and while building many productive working relationships with my colleagues, I have also become a persistent, relentless advocate for progress on the issues I have taken on. I’m proud of what I have been able to accomplish due to that dedication to my work so far, and I plan to build on those relationships and that success to push forward even further on these key issues next term.

 

5.  Who is your inspiration?

I am inspired by all of the people that you never hear about who work to make their corner of the world a little better, using whatever talents or resources they have. For years I have been inspired by my clients who work so hard every day in ways that are often invisible to others to keep moving forward in the face of so many challenges. Since being elected I have had the privilege to meet advocates in our community who are caregivers for loved ones and also stretch themselves to educate me about legislation that would help people like them and their families. I see Little Free Libraries put up in our community to share books and also sometimes food. In Narragansett there have been house party fundraisers to raise money for aid organizations helping in Ukraine. Our local Buy Nothing Group has pulled together so many resources to help a group of foreign students living here on work visas so they feel more at home while they do essential work in our local businesses. In North Kingstown there are neighborhoods with tables out to give away free extra veggies from home gardens. On Block Island I recently learned about a group that quietly pays for things like summer camp or a new pair of glasses for residents in need. There are so many examples like this all across Rhode Island, and these are the people that inspire me to use the skills I have to listen to what our communities need and amplify that voice in the State Senate to make things a little better for the people who need it most.

Website: https://www.alana4ri.com/

Bio:

Alana DiMario is a champion and advocate of education and child welfare, affordable healthcare, jobs and income equality, and the environment. First elected in 2020 as a state senator, Alana represents Narragansett and North Kingstown in the 36th District. She currently serves as the Vice Chairwoman of the Environment and Agriculture Committee and is a member of the Health and Human Services Committee, and is Co-Chair of the Permanent Joint Legislative Commission on Child Care.

As a Licensed Mental Health Therapist with her own private therapy practice in North Kingstown, Alana works with some of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children and families and knows firsthand why affordable housing, healthy kids, and safe and thriving schools are essential for Rhode Island to flourish.

In her first term, Alana focused on legislation that would help working families and struggling small businesses. She sponsored a bill to prevent health insurance companies from charging copays for COVID-related treatments as well as a bill to extend the outdoor dining permits to help small businesses, restaurants, and bars recover financially. Both bills were signed into law by the Governor.

Protecting our natural resources with meaningful and measurable steps to combat climate change is another top priority for Alana. She was the lead sponsor on a bill to help residents in Rhode Island’s 21 coastal communities anticipate the effects of sea level rise when building or improving on their property so they can plan accordingly. This bill was also signed into law.

Alana was also the lead sponsor on a bill that requires all reported cases of childhood sexual abuse be referred to the Child Advocacy Center, so that child and family can receive needed support in an appropriate setting while also completing the required legal steps to hold abusers accountable. This bill also became law in 2021.

In the 2022 session, Alana was the lead sponsor of several bills that were signed into law on a range of issues from expanding mental health care access to further protecting child victims of sexual abuse as well as bills addressing local issues in her district like raising the landing fees in Galilee to support municipal needs. She was also named the 2022 Mental Health Legislator of the Year.

Alana and her husband, Eric, are the proud parents of three children, and live in Narragansett.

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