Projo Politics Blog

The new year brought a spate of new appointments to Rhode Island House legislative committees.

Speaker Murphy has named Jan P. Malik, D-Barrington, chairman of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. That chairmanship was vacated when Peter T. Ginaitt, D-Warwick, resigned from the House in the fall.

Replacing Malik on the Finance Committee is J. Russell Jackson, D-Newport, whom Murphy named last week.

“Now starting his fourth year in our chamber, Representative Jackson has proven to be one of our hardest-working members who is very dedicated to his constituents of Newport and Middletown. I am confident he will do an outstanding job as the newest member of the Finance Committee,” Murphy told Political Scene.

“At this point,” the speaker said, he will not fill the Finance Committee seat that had been occupied by the late Rep. Paul W. Crowley, D-Newport, who died in September. He did not give a reason.

Also on Murphy’s list of appointments: Amy G. Rice, D-Portsmouth, was named secretary of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, John Patrick Shanley, D-South Kingstown, took the chairmanship of the Finance Committee’s subcommittee on transportation, and Eileen S. Naughton, D-Warwick, was named chairwoman of the subcommittee on Health, Environment and Advocates.

Elaine A. Coderre, D-Pawtucket, meanwhile got a promotion of a different kind. Coderre has inherited Crowley’s unofficial title as the “Dean of the Democrats.”

Among the many oddball traditions on Smith Hill is the one that gives the Democrat with the most seniority the prime seat in the chamber, right next to the Finance Committee chairman in the front row.

Crowley, elected in 1981, held the coveted seat for many years until his death.

The honor now belongs to Coderre, who was elected in 1984. It should be noted that Peter Wasylyk, D-Providence, was elected the same year, thus tying Coderre for the honor of the longest-serving Democrat. But since Coderre, 60, is 10 years older than Wasylyk, she earned the honor.

For the record, Republican Bruce Long is actually the longest-serving member of the House, having been elected in 1980.

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