First candidate emerges to fill District 1 seat

PROVIDENCE — Senate President Dominick Ruggerio's chief of staff, Jake Bissaillon, is the first candidate out of the gate for the Senate seat left open by the death earlier this month of Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin who held the seat − previously held by her father − for more than three decades.

And one day after the rumors of his candidacy began to circulate, Bissaillon, 36, captured his first endorsement − from Ruggerio.

Asked if Bissaillon's bid for a Senate seat signalled his own mid-term departure plans, Ruggerio − the longest serving member of the Senate who has been out of commission for more than a week with a back problem − said: "I wouldn't do that."

Ruggerio's top lieutenant − former Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey − did not run for reelection. Goodwin died after a four-year battle against cancer. On Tuesday, Bissaillon drove to his house with soup to tell him he would stay through the election but then he too would be leaving if he won Senate District 1.

"I intend to stay and continue doing what I am doing," Ruggerio told The Journal. "I am kind of thrilled that Jake is interested in running. It is a good opportunity for him. It's an open seat. He's done a great job for me. And I am totally supportive of him."

Before the potential field has taken shape, he said: "I will endorse him. Today."

Senate District 1 extends from Smith Hill − including the State House − to the neighborhoods of Elmhurst, the North End and some of Wanskuck.

At least one other candidate is seriously considering a run for the seat: Niyoka Powell, the 2nd vice chair of the RI Republican Party, who ran against Goodwin, as an independent, in the last election and lost 80.9% to 18.6%.

Talking about the ever-evolving population, Bissaillon said: "They were not underserved" with Goodwin as their Senator. "But a lot of those individuals − whether it's students trying to make their way, whether it's first generation immigrants, whether it's working class families − are underprivileged and in need of a lot of assistance."

A political science major at Providence College, he said he got his first taste of campaigning there, working with Students for Obama, "trying to recruit other PC kids to go up to New Hampshire on Saturdays, which is the hardest thing in the world, still the hardest thing I've ever done in politics."

He later did a stint at a Providence public relations firm, "writing palm cards," and subsequently volunteered for two candidates for city mayor − including former City Council President Michael Solomon − and through those connections ended up as the chief of staff to the Providence City Council.

From there, he landed a gig as chief of staff to then-Senate Majority Leader McCaffrey after the 2017 shake-up that followed then-Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed's mid-term resignation, and Ruggerio's ascension to the top job. He − and his title − subsequently went over to Ruggerio's office.

As a candidate, Bissaillon said he will not take contributions from State House lobbyists.

Asked litmus test questions, he placed hmself on the "pro-choice" side of the abortion debate and very much in favor of what he calls "common sense gun control."

"Smith Hill has a history of gun violence. You see it time and time again. I can remember Maryellen" − who lived upstairs from the Boyle funeral home − "would come in and say: 'another shooting right outside the funeral home.' I mean, oh geez. It's an issue in the city."

Asked during an interview Wednesday how he will bridge the gap between his current $183K salary and the $17,627 paid Rhode Island's part-time lawmakers, Bissaillon, a lawyer, said: "To be honest, I'm not sure yet.

"This is a bittersweet opportunity that I feel comes at the right time in my personal [life] and professional career. Serving the residents of District 1 would be a fitting next step in my career in public service."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ruggerio's chief of staff is first candidate out of gate for open Senate seat