Linda Ujifusa, Matt Chappell vie for Senate District 11 Democratic nomination

James Seveney’s decision to leave the state Senate after serving in his seat for the past eight years shook up the scene in District 11 and opened the door to a slate of candidates for the position.

With the Democratic primary approaching on Sept. 13 and early voting already underway since Aug. 24, Portsmouth Councilwoman Linda Ujifusa and Portsmouth attorney Matt Chapell are vying to inherit not only Seveney’s seat in the Senate, but also the relationship with the state Democratic party that comes with it.

Where is Senate District 11?

Under the recent redistricting across the state, north Tiverton is no longer a part of District 11, so one Republican — Kenneth Mendonca, two Democrats — Chappell and Ujifusa — and two Independent candidates — Andrew Kelly and Mario Teixeira — are running for the seat that would represent constituents in Portsmouth and the southern end of Bristol.

The only contested primary on the September ballot involves Chappell and Ujifusa.

Who is Matt Chappell?

Although Chappell is young and has never held any sort of public office, the 31-year-old is hardly a political outsider, as evidenced by Seveney’s decision to endorse him over the more experienced Ujifusa.

"I am endorsing Matt Chappell for State Senate because he's a pragmatic, forward-thinking individual who can work with people to get the job done — a trait which sets him apart," Seveney wrote in his endorsement statement. "He is full of energy, passionate about the causes he believes in, and grounded in our East Bay community."

Chappell also has received a number of endorsements from organizations that typically follow the lead of the state’s establishment Democratic Party, including from the RI Coalition Against Gun Violence, the National Education Association RI, Planned Parenthood and the Rhode Island AFL-CIO.

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The Chappell family has been in Portsmouth for four generations, and three of those generations, starting with his grandfather back in 1953, have operated the family law firm on Chase Road. His father and uncle now run the firm, which represents many local people and businesses and has also at times served as a prosecutor for the town.

He has worked there since he received his law degree from Roger Williams University and passed the state bar in 2016.

Chappell also feels his time at the firm working on cases brought to him by local people and businesses has prepared him well for the work of a state senator.

“I think one of the most important things in the Senate as a collective is having different experiences; not people who have strictly political experience," Chappell said. "My job every day is to work with people and address their issues and find solutions for their issues. I don’t think that experience is different than what you do in the Senate. You find out what the issues are, and you work with other state leaders to try and find solutions.”

He cited affordable housing as one of the key issues facing the district, saying many of his friends and fellow graduates from the Portsmouth High School Class of 2009 have had to move away and referring to football teammates who bought houses in Swansea, Massachusetts, and Warwick because their hometown was simply too expensive.

He also listed substance abuse treatment and mental health resources, especially for young people, as one of his priorities. He referenced the need for suicide barriers on the bridges as he recalled watching Coast Guard helicopters fly over his house to conduct searches.

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Chappell mentioned one issue he has keyed in on specifically because of his numerous talks with potential voters while out canvassing: Shoreline access.

“Shoreline access is, I’m learning, is a big concern for a lot of people … Terri Cortvriend’s bill had the House support, but unfortunately never made it onto the Senate floor. That’s one that, if elected, I would be honored to help get it on the Senate floor for a vote.”

He knows any bill will have its advocates and its detractors and acknowledged he had constituents who live on the waterfront and may not want to see the current laws reformed.

But "without having access to the shoreline, you might as well live in Kansas with a picture of the ocean," he said. "People want to enjoy it and use it and they need to have access in order to do that.”

Who is Linda Ujifusa?

By the time Ujifusa arrived Portsmouth in 1993, she was starting a new chapter in life, no longer working as a lawyer for the EPA, instead raising three children who went on to graduate from the Portsmouth public school system. She was also steadily getting more and more involved in local politics, eventually getting elected to the Portsmouth Town Council in 2016 and holding a seat ever since.

Ujifusa graduated from Harvard University and received her law degree at NYU, then went on to work for a private law firm in Boston and the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England office of regional counsel.

She married Dr. Mark Ryan, and they decided to raise their family in Portsmouth. Ryan also has held a Town Council seat since 2016.

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Ujifusa cites her and her husband's advocacy for a single-payer healthcare system as an early point in her political career, but also remembers a lackluster Bernie Sanders campaign pizza party in 2015 as a watershed moment in her transition from advocacy work service on local boards such as the Aquidneck Land Trust to politics.

“It was hilarious,” she said. “I went to Newport to this bar for this 'Intro to Bernie' event. A person came from New York to run it — she didn’t know really know Rhode Island, she had no agenda, no sign-up sheet, she couldn’t get the video to work, she didn’t make any introductory remarks … There were about 70 people squished into this bar, and nobody knew what to do … I said to Mark, ‘Oh my God, I could do better than that!’”

She started to organize similar events, knock on doors and host phone banking campaigns. She learned a lot about the nuts and bolts of political campaigns and ended up being chosen as a Rhode Island delegate for Bernie Sanders at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Sanders had caught her attention due to his campaign’s focus on single-payer healthcare.

In addition to her progressive stances on healthcare and climate change, Ujifusa prides herself on her thorough and pragmatic approach to issues like budget management, financial transparency and emergency preparation. She pointed out Portsmouth has instituted zero-base budgeting during her time on the Town Council, requiring all departments start at zero and justify every expenditure.

She also noted Portsmouth is the only community on Aquidneck Island with an emergency management director tasked with preparing and protecting residents and the town from storms and natural disasters.

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Still, affordable universal healthcare is a central pillar for her.

“We pay $1.7 billion approximately to private insurance companies to essentially run our Medicaid program … and no one knows exactly what they’re doing. But if you look at an article I wrote, you can see that the auditor general has been saying over and over for 10 to 15 years that we should look into this more, and we don’t — we just think privatizing things is great,” she said.

She continued, warming up to the issue, “You know, Connecticut — the insurance state — reversed that. They kicked the private insurance companies out of running their Medicaid, they took it back over themselves and they’ve been saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and have a better program.”

While Chappell garnered the endorsements of the incumbent and some key labor and issue advocacy organizations, Ujifusa was endorsed by the Sierra Club, the RI Democratic Women's Caucus and the Portsmouth Democrats.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: District 11 Senate Democratic candidates Linda Ujifusa, Matt Chappell