Thomas Paolino

Thomas J. Paolino
Member of the Rhode Island Senate from the 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2017
Preceded by	Edward J. O'Neill
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Dean College

Thomas J. Paolino is a member of the Rhode Island State Senate representing the 17th District (Lincoln, North Providence, North Smithfield).[1][2][3] Paolino was first elected in 2016 following the retirement of Edward O'Neill.[4]

Rhode Island State Senate and Political Career

Paolino has served three terms in the Rhode Island State Senate and was most recently reelected in November 2022, beating independent and former State Senator and State Representative Jack Lyle, Jr., and progressive Democrat activist Cameron Deutsch by nearly 2,200 votes.[5] In 2021, Paolino ran as the Republican candidate in a special election for Lincoln Town Administrator to fill a vacancy caused by the departure of T. Joseph Almond who resigned to take a job with the McKee administration. Paolino placed a distant second in a six-way race to independent and Lincoln Police Captain Philip Gould.[6] Gould garnered 63% of the vote.[6]

The Rhode Island Board of Elections conducted a review of Senator Paolino’s campaign finance reports from January 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.[7] The review found a number of campaign finance violations, including ten unreported campaign expenditures totaling to $1,369.37 and $10,000.00 in an unreported loan repayment.[8] Additionally, account certifications were not submitted for six required campaign finance reports filed in 2021. Paolino admitted wrongdoing and acknowledged that he violated campaign finance laws, and agreed to pay a $2,500.00 fine from personal funds.[7][8]

Electoral history

2022 Rhode Island elections

2022 Rhode Island State Senate District 17 Primary[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas Paolino (incumbent)	667	100
Total votes			667	100

2022 Rhode Island State Senate District 17 General Election[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas Paolino (incumbent)	5,314	46.8
	Independent	John W. Lyle, Jr.	3,178	28.0
	Democratic	Cameron Joseph Deutsch	2,852	25.1
Total votes			11,355	100

2021 Lincoln Town Administrator special election

2021 Lincoln Town Administrator Special Election[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Philip G. Gould	2,712	63.38
	Republican	Thomas Paolino	808	18.88
	Democratic	John Barr, II	445	10.40
	Independent	John Picozzi	171	4.00
	Independent	John J. Cullen	121	2.83
	Independent	James B. Spooner	19	0.44
Total votes			4,279	100

2020 Rhode Island elections

2020 Rhode Island State Senate District 17 General Election[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas Paolino (incumbent)	9,460	59.1
	Democratic	John Douglas Barr, II	6,512	40.7
Total votes			15,998	100

2018 Rhode Island elections

2018 Rhode Island State Senate District 17 Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas Paolino (incumbent)	944	100
Total votes			944	100

2018 Rhode Island State Senate District 17 General Election[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas Paolino (incumbent)	5,998	50.5
	Democratic	Dennis Lavallee	5,860	49.3
Total votes			11,877	100

2016 Rhode Island Elections

2016 Rhode Island State Senate District 17 General Election[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas Paolino	7,224	50.9
	Democratic	Jina N. Petrarca-Karampetsos	6,942	48.9
Total votes			14,201	100

References

1. "State of Rhode Island General Assembly". State of Rhode Island General Assembly. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
2. "Thomas J. Paolino - Rhode Island General Assembly - Open States". Open States. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
3. "Thomas Paolino - Ballotpedia". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
4. "State Sen. Paolino up for re-election". The Valley Breeze. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
5. "RI.gov: Election Results". www.ri.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
6. "Philip Gould wins Special Election for Lincoln Town Administrator". www.onworldwide.com. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
7. RI.gov. "RIGOV". www.ri.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
8. https://files.constantcontact.com/c38ebac3801/ed561c8c-992f-4d98-a355-910f32d05a20.pdf ^[bare URL PDF]
9. "Election Results". www.ri.gov. Rhode Island. September 30, 2022. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
10. "Rhode Island Board of Elections".
11. "Rhode Island Board of Elections" (PDF).
12. "Rhode Island Board of Elections".
13. "Rhode Island Board of Elections".
14. "Rhode Island Board of Elections".
15. "Rhode Island Board of Elections".