Joseph R. Paolino Jr. (born April 26, 1955) is an American politician and diplomat who was the former 33rd mayor of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

and US Ambassador to Malta. He was previously the Director of the RI Department of Economic Development and is a managing partner for Paolino Properties.

Biography

As a student at the

Harvard Extension School Harvard Extension School (HES) is the Continuing education, continuing education School of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1910, it is o ...

, he was graduate student speaker at the commencement ceremonies in 1989. He was elected to the

Providence City Council The Providence City Council is the fifteen-member legislative body of the city of Providence, Rhode Island. The two major responsibilities of the council are enacting ordinances necessary to ensure the welfare and good order of the city and a ...

in 1978 and was re-elected in 1982. He was serving as City Council Chairman when incumbent Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr. was removed from office after pleading no contest to felony charges and given a five-year suspended sentence. With Cianci's removal from office, Paolino became acting mayor at the age of 29 and ran in the special election to succeed Cianci. He won the special election and was re-elected in 1986 and served until January 1991. In 1990, Paolino ran for Governor of Rhode Island, but lost to

Bruce Sundlun Bruce George Sundlun (January 19, 1920 – July 21, 2011) was an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as List of governors of Rhode Island, 71st governor of Rhode Island ...

in the Democratic Primary. In 1994, he was appointed by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

as Ambassador to Malta. He served as ambassador from July 6, 1994 to June 2, 1996. He ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district located in the southern and western part of the U.S. state, U.S State of Rhode Island.The district is currently represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Seth ...

in 1996, but lost the Democratic primary to then

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Robert Weygand Robert A. Weygand (born May 10, 1948) is an American politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1997 until 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party from Rhode Island. Lif ...

. He ran for mayor again in 2002 but lost to David N. Cicilline in the Democratic primaries. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, he suggested that he would run again for mayor as an independent. After withdrawing from politics, Paolino pursued interests in the real estate industry. Along with two other investors, he developed a plan to redevelop the

Newport Grand Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

slot parlor in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

as a full service casino with table games. Rhode Island state law, however requires that any expansion of gaming facilities be approved by referendum both statewide and in the community where the facility is located. More recently, he ha
moved to Newport
to run th
Jobs For Newport
campaign, which advocated for the passage of a referendum question that would have allowed table games at th
Newport Grand slot parlor
in Newport. The referendum passed statewide but was rejected by 57 percent of Newport voters. A second ballot question contained a provisio
barring gaming facilities from changing locations
without voter approval, which was approved both statewide and in Newport. As of October 2019, he was registered to vote in Ward 2 in the City of Providence.

Personal life

His father, Joseph R. Paolino Sr., was a prominent Rhode Island real estate dealer and developer. He married Lianne Andreoni shortly after becoming Mayor of Providence in 1984. They have four children.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Paolino, Joseph R. Jr. 1955 births 20th-century mayors of places in Rhode Island 2020 United States presidential electors Ambassadors of the United States to Malta Harvard Extension School alumni Living people Mayors of Providence, Rhode Island Providence City Council members Rhode Island Democrats Rhode Island lawyers Roger Williams University alumni