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 capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

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

Biography

As a student at the

Harvard Extension School Harvard Extension School (HES) is the extension school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school is one among 12 schools that grant degrees and falls under the Division of Continuing Education in the Harvard Faculty of Ar ...

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 who served as 71st governor of Rhode Island between 1991 and 1995. He was Rhode Island's second Jewish gover ...

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

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

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, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in southern and western Rhode Island. The district is currently represented by Democrat James Langevin, who has represented the district since January 2001. Composition T ...

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. "Bob" 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 from Rhode Island. Life and career Weygand was bo ...

. He ran for mayor again in 2002 but lost to

David N. Cicilline David Nicola Cicilline (; born July 15, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 36th mayor of Providence from 2003 to 2011, the first openly ga ...

in the Democratic primaries. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, 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 Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on th ...

slot parlor in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...

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 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