Spencer E. Dickinson (born November 7, 1943) is an American politician from

South Kingstown South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...

and formerly served as a Democratic member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is ...

and candidate for

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

in the

2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial election The 2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Rhode Island, concurrently with the 2018 United States Senate election in Rhode Island, election of Rhode Island's Classes of United States Se ...

State representative

Dickinson was a member of the

between 1973 and 1980 and again from 2010 to 2014 in RI's 35th district, which encompasses the villages of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

and West Kingston, and parts of Tuckertown, Wakefield and Peace Dale. Dickinson, a veteran of the General Assembly who served from 1973 to 1980
/ref> was motivated to return to the General Assembly in 2010 after 30 years, because he believed the situation in the legislature resembled what existed in 1972 when he first ran, with little transparency or accountability. In addition to improving governance in the legislature, Dickinson's successful 2010 campaign emphasized fiscal responsibility, rebuilding the state's economy (such as by supporting the University of Rhode Island, which he believes can serve as an important incubator for technology based businesses), and an alternative energy strategy focused on wind power which he believes would reduce dependence on foreign oil while creating construction and technology jobs. Dickinson was elected to the

in 1972 where he served four terms before retiring in 1980. During that time he championed environmental causes such as the Bottle Bill and was part of a group of reformers who, among other things, brought recorded voting to the Rhode Island General Assembly after assuming key leadership positions; Dickinson served as Deputy Majority Leader. Dickinson is a career home builder who pioneered solar heating in Rhode Island in the 1970s, building the state's first solar heated home, and is a noted local expert in the field of

alternative energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial election

Dickinson announced his candidacy for Governor of Rhode Island on October 4, 2017. In a statement, he stated that a major issue is the danger from

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and rising sea levels, with a particular threat being a proposed fracked-gas power plant. He said the current governor seems to want to be on both sides of that issue, and added, "If you make me governor, there will be no fracked-gas power plant in Burrillville." Among other issues, he promised: a true resolution of

38 Studios 38 Studios, LLC was an American video game development studio and publisher based in Providence, Rhode Island. The company was founded in Maynard, Massachusetts, in 2006 as Green Monster Games by baseball player Curt Schilling. Schilling's go ...

; a review of pension management and restoring the Cost of Living Adjustment; a serious and detailed approach to bringing health care costs into line by developing a

universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized a ...

plan for Rhode Island, as well as advancing women's rights and fairness in the workplace.

2022 Congressional campaign

Dickinson ran for Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island. He finished last in the primary, with 2.3% of the vote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickinson, Spencer Living people Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Harvard University alumni University of Virginia Darden School of Business alumni 1943 births Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections 20th-century members of the Rhode Island General Assembly 21st-century members of the Rhode Island General Assembly

State representative

2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial election

2022 Congressional campaign

See also

References