Lawton seeks end to `business as usual' in District 15 bid

GOP hopefuls vying to take on speaker

By Daniel Kittredge
Posted 8/31/16

By DANIEL KITTREDGE As she seeks the Republican nomination for the District 15 seat in the state House of Representatives, Shawna Lawton says she has made connecting with constituents and bringing a new perspective to the General Assembly the

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Lawton seeks end to `business as usual' in District 15 bid

GOP hopefuls vying to take on speaker

Posted

As she seeks the Republican nomination for the District 15 seat in the state House of Representatives, Shawna Lawton says she has made connecting with constituents and bringing a new perspective to the General Assembly the centerpieces of her campaign.

“The playbook isn’t working. We need to throw the playbook out,” she said. “We need people with different perspectives who have not been involved with business as usual … We have decisions being made up there that are not in the best interest of the people of our district.”

Lawton, 43, is a first-time candidate, but has long been active in the community and as an advocate. She helped create the Rhode Island Alliance for Vaccine Choice, a group formed during the debate over mandated HPV vaccination for seventh-grade students.

“I will fight for the parents who couldn’t speak up, who were too afraid to speak up,” she said. “I’m not going to stick my head in the sand.”

Lawton said during advocacy and testimony at the State House related to the vaccine issue, she found many lawmakers to be “condescending” and dismissive of parents’ concerns. While running for office was the “furthest thing from my mind,” she said words of encouragement from state Rep. Patricia Morgan (R-West Warwick) led her to seriously consider becoming a candidate.

“You can complain, or you can figure out what the problem is and offer some solutions,” she said.

On her campaign’s website, Lawton lists education, healthcare, GMO labeling, privacy rights, term limits, and “keeping government overreach in check” as her issues of focus. She describes herself as “fiercely committed” to the state’s non-profits and local businesses, and “considers herself fiscally conservative, an independent thinker and a strong advocate for change in politics as usual.”

Lawton said she is critical of the RhodeMap RI planning initiative and Common Core educational standards as emblematic of government overreach.

“Will we be a country where the federal government raises our kids?” she said.

She also hopes to target the General Assembly’s budget, saying: “There’s some serious, serious waste going on.”

If she captures the GOP nomination on Sept. 13, Lawton will face a significant challenge. Democratic House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, who has represented District 15 for nearly a decade, holds a post many consider the state’s most powerful. He also carries an enormous financial advantage into November’s general election.

Despite the hurdles, Lawton said she believes there is a strong appetite among the district’s voters for a new direction. She said she shares the frustrations many constituents have voiced during her time spent out in the community, with issues such as pension reform, truck tolls, 38 Studios, the legislative grant program, and recent State House scandals mentioned frequently.

“It’s time for a change,” she said.

Lawton said she is particularly troubled that proposals to institute term limits have been blocked from consideration. She feels Mattiello represents an establishment that is unresponsive and out of touch, and while the Assembly is virtually certain to remain in Democratic hands, she hopes to encourage others to become involved and “realize we do have a voice.”

“The more people that step up … we will start to balance the General Assembly,” she said.

Some sparks have flown in the primary race between Lawton and her opponent, Steven Frias. Lawton has drawn criticism from some observers for saying she would not debate Frias.

Lawton has pushed back, saying she believes a debate would weaken the eventual nominee heading into the fall contest against Mattiello and independent candidate Patrick Vallier.

She also framed her focus as being on connecting with individual voters, rather than on debates or traditional campaign tools such as yard signs.

“People show up and vote, and I’m working on speaking with the people,” she said. “That’s what I need to focus on … One of the things I’ve always been very good at is finding resources.”

Lawton said she believes she more fully represents the kind of change constituents are seeking than Frias, who is a Republican National Committee member and been politically active for a number of years.

She also criticized Frias – who, like Lawton, has called for the elimination of the General Assembly’s controversial legislative grants program – for criticizing that program while he served on the board of directors of the Cranston Historical Society, which has received grants.

A recent press release on the subject announces Lawton’s “serious concerns with Frias’s contradictory position and record.” In that release, she states: “This is the classic Rhode Island political behavior that voters in my district, and across the state, are tired of.”

“He’s been in politics a very long time … I don’t know if that’s what we need or what people want right now,” she said of Frias in an earlier interview. “I don’t think I’m better at all. I think I’m different.”

Lawton, a Coventry native, and her husband, a Cranston native, have lived in Cranston for 16 years. They have two children.

Lawton has a sales and marketing background, and currently works as a consultant for a tech company. She previously worked on the marketing team with Whole Foods, which she said helped spur her community involvement through interactions with various non-profit entities.

Lawton

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