State Senator James Sheehan Will Not Seek Re-election

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI — James Sheehan announced on Friday that he does not plan to seek re-election after 20 years in the state senate. The North Kingstown Democrat said he is leaving the legislature to spend more time with his family.

"I have given 20 years of honest and dedicated public service," said Sheehan in a statement.

Sheehan said his main focus throughout his tenure has been ethical, publicly accountable and transparent governance. As a freshman senator, he said a prime achievement was advocating for the historic Separation of Powers amendment to remove legislators from executive boards and commissions.

Sheehan has sponsored laws to reform the state's eminent domain statues, provide greater accountability and transparency over the state's quasi-public agencies, update and open up the state's Access to Public Records Act, revamp the failed Economic Development Corp. and renamed the RI Commerce Corp.

He tried to enact an Ethics Amendment in the sate constitution and sponsored a new post-election audit to ensure fair and accurate statewide election results. In 2019, Common Cause of Rhode Island presented Sheehan with their Excellence in Public Service Award.

Sheehan lamented that he is very concerned that politics have become divisive since this age of hyper-partisanship in national politics has seeped into state politics.

"No liberal or conservative holds a patent to truth," Sheehan said. "This means we all need to truly listen to each other if we are to find common ground solutions to the issues of our day. Sadly, with many people getting their information from similar-minded social media groups as well as cable news echo chambers, civic discourse has become increasingly polarized and mean-spirited. This must change.

"As President Lincoln rightly reminded us, a house divided against itself cannot stand."

Sheehan said he expects that that there will be multiple candidates who may run for the seat he is vacating, but he declined to name any of the potential hopefuls.