As progressive favorite Elizabeth Robert negotiates a crowded field of Democrats and Republicans to try to win the lieutenant governor's office, four Democrats -- Bob Graziano, Josh Miller, Alex Russolino, and Sylvia Webber -- are vying to inherit her Cranston-based state Senate seat.

Miller, 52, perhaps best known as the owner of the Trinity Brewhouse in Providence, seems to have staked a claim as the liberal favorite in the race, winning endorsements from Clean Water Action, the Progressive Leadership Fund, and the political action committee representing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Rhode Islanders. He has run a somewhat sophisticated campaign, establishing a Web site and raising more than $30,000 for his campaign war chest.

The Providence native, who has lived in Cranston for seven years, describes running for the General Assembly as the logical next step after having served as a member of the state Economic Development Corporation, in a leadership role with the Providence Downtown Merchants Association, and having spoken out about the challenges facing small businesses (disclosure: Trinity Brewhouse is a Phoenix advertiser).

Democratic primary candidates abound in Cranston

CRANSTON -- If the number of candidates is any indication, Senate District 28 is the most desirable General Assembly seat in the city.

Five candidates -- four Democrats and one Republican -- are vying to fill the seat that has been held for nearly a decade by Democrat Elizabeth H. Roberts, who is making a bid for lieutenant governor.

It is one of three General Assembly districts in the city that will see Democratic primaries next month, alongside a battle between Ward 2 Councilwoman Cynthia Fogarty and Michael Napolitano for the Democratic nomination for Mayor and a Democratic primary for Fogarty's council seat.

The four Democrats who will face off in the District 28 race on Sept. 12 are Robert Graziano, Joshua Miller, Alexander G. Russolino and Sylvia Weber. The winner will face Republican Ivan G. Marte in November.

Graziano and Miller are first-time candidates, although Miller has been somewhat in the public eye as an advocate for small businesses and the hospitality field in the greater Providence area.

Clean Water Action Endorses Charlie Fogarty for Governor and Environmentalists for General Assembly and US Senate

Group cites need for state to take action to prevent global warming

Providence Clean Water Action announced their endorsement of Charlie Fogarty in the Rhode Island governors race today.

Rhode Island voters have a real choice in November, said Sheila Dormody, Rhode Island director of Clean Water Action. While Gov. Carcieri has neglected to join the groundbreaking plan to cut global warming pollution from power plants and lower energy costs for Rhode Islanders, Charlie Fogarty has pledged to join the plan and lead Rhode Island to a cleaner energy future.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first regional climate policy in the United States. RGGI will cap carbon dioxide emissions from electric power plants. The program would be designed to save consumers money and maximize energy efficiency. Seven northeast governors (from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont) signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2005 to move forward with the plan. Maryland has passed legislation that will result in that state joining the program as well. Despite participating in the two-year process to develop the agreement, Gov. Carcieri did not bring Rhode Island into the initiative.

In the next four years, Rhode Island will need to address major environmental and economic issues ranging from investments in energy efficiency, protecting our drinking water supply and open spaces, and promoting public transportation, said Dormody. Charlie Fogarty understands that environmental protection is key to maintaining a successful tourism industry, strong economy and high quality of life in Rhode Island. Clean Water Action trusts Charlie Fogarty to protect our right to clean air and water and a healthy environment.

General Assembly Environmental Endorsements Announced

Clean Water Action also announced their endorsements of pro-environment candidates for the 2006 general assembly races.

In the coming legislative session, we will need to strengthen laws to prevent diesel pollution, promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, and to stop toxic threats from electronic waste, said Dormody. We need to elect candidates who will pass strong environmental protection laws. These environmentalists have earned Clean Water Actions endorsement.

State Representative Candidates

2 David Segal (D-East Providence, Providence)

11 Grace Diaz (D-Providence)

18 Art Handy (D-Cranston)

36 Donna Walsh (D-Westerly, Charlestown, S. Kingstown)

22 Peter Ginaitt (D-Warwick)

69 Raymond Gallison Jr. (D-Bristol, Portsmouth)

72 Amy Rice (D-Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth)

State Senate Candidates

3 Rhoda Perry (D-Providence)

5 Alexis Gorriaran (D-Providence) (primary endorsement only)

18 Paul Moura (D- East Providence)

28 Josh Miller (D-Cranston)

US Senate Endorsements Announced

In the U.S. Senate race, Clean Water Action announced their endorsements for Sheldon Whitehouse in the Democratic Primary and Sen. Lincoln Chafee in the Republican Primary.

Each of the U.S. Senate primaries offers a clear choice for environmental voters, said Dormody.

Sheldon Whitehouse has long been a champion for the environment in Rhode Island. As the Attorney General, Whitehouse worked closely with the environmental community and initiated the landmark lawsuit against the paint industry to hold them accountable for the lead paint that has contaminated the majority of Rhode Islands housing stock, said Dormody

Senator Chafee has stood up to the pressure from his party and defeated the Bush administrations Clear Skies bill which would have increased power plant pollution, said Dormody. "Clean Water Action members want a U.S. Senator who will stand up to this administration's threats to our basic environmental protection laws."

Membership Mobilization to Get Out the Vote

The grassroots environmental group will be contacting its 10,000 members in communities across Rhode Island by going door-to-door, making phone calls, and mailing letters to urge them to vote for environmental candidates.

Clean Water Action has been working since 1972 for clean, safe and affordable drinking water, prevention of health threatening pollution, and empowerment of people to make democracy work. Clean Water Action has over 1,000,000 members nation-wide.

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Miller cites high energy cost From The Cranston Herald May 18, 2006

Written by Elizabeth Seal

Joshua Miller knows quite a bit about the pressures facing small business owners.

As owner/operator of Providence's Trinity Brewhouse, Miller has had to struggle with rising energy and health care costs and knows there's only so much businesses can take before they either have to cut their employees adrift, health insurance-wise, or fold completely.

The biggest threat to [people's] businesses right now is the cost of energy, Miller said. And the lack of viable alternatives. I think that's true for a lot of families, too.

Miller, an Edgewood resident, is hoping to do something about those two issues, along with the problem of properly funding education, as the Democratic successor to Sen. Elizabeth Roberts (D-Dist. 28). Miller said he would never consider running against Roberts, whose work he admires, but now that Roberts is abandoning her seat to run for lieutenant governor, he believes he is the best candidate for the position.

Click Here to read the rest of the article

The Providence Phoenix Dec 23 2005

West Bay residents feeling blue about losing the excellent state Senator Elizabeth Roberts, as she pursues a run for lieutenant governor, should be comforted by the presence of an excellent successor lying in the wings. This is Joshua Miller, and, indeed, he is a Casa Diablo regular. (Disclosure: Miller, besides being a longtime Phoenix advertiser, has a relationship with P&J that precedes our involvement with this newspaper. He is our friend and we are totally biased in his favor.)

Josh has been a Vo Dilun small business owner for 31 years, and his civic and charitable efforts are legion. He's got the talent and the tools to get things done, and he's as honest and committed to fairness and justice as anyone we know.

His campaign concerns include inequities in the tax structure, the impact of high energy costs, and how the growing expense of health-care is putting it out of reach for more and more people. Josh has some ideas. He points out, "On energy, for example, we can take a fresh approach to the energy issue that holds the Public Utilities Commission accountable to protect the consumer, not the interests of oil, gas, and electric companies. We must reward those who strive towards energy independence by using alternative sources."
Click Here to Download this article in PDF Format

Declaration of Candidacy Letter From Josh Dec 02 2005

Dear Friend,

After years of involvement with community groups that have worked to improve life throughout our state, I have decided to run for public office, and am about to declare my candidacy for State Senator, Dist. 28, the seat being vacated by Senator Elizabeth Roberts.

I?m excited about this opportunity. I've never held public office, but I am experienced enough to know that I will only be successful with your help - financial and otherwise. And so, before I formally declare, I am asking you to get involved in my campaign.

I'm running for the State Senate because I see great potential in a new coalition between interests that might never before have come together. The issues most important to working Rhode Islanders - those trying to make rising mortgage payments or rent, struggling to heat their homes, and worried about crumbling schools and state infrastructure are meeting up with the problems facing small business owners.

We're learning that we're all in this together. Consider this:

The cost of energy has had a dramatic impact on every household and business. The response at the statehouse has been far less than adequate.
The cost of health care, rising at almost 20% a year, puts the cost out of reach to more consumers, employers and their staff every day.
And we tolerate a tax structure that treats almost every component of our economy unfairly and without a comprehensive approach. This impacts us all: property tax payers who pay more than their fair share, wage-earners who feel that they pay more for less, and the small business owners who watch as permit costs to operate double in recent years.

But I don-t just want to talk about the problems. After 31 years as a small business owner myself - with experience as the President of the Downtown Merchants Association, a member of the board of directors for the RI Economic Development Corporation, RI Small Bus. Advisory Council and the Providence/Warwick CVB, I am ready to take my commitment to work hard to the State House, to help find solutions.

For example, on energy, we can take a fresh approach to the energy issue that holds the Public Utilities Commission accountable to protect the consumer, not the interests of oil, gas and electric companies. We must reward those who strive towards energy independence by using alternative sources.

And most of all - I want to work with you, to bring the values we share up to the State House.

In order to get there, I need your support, and your financial contribution. I am aiming to raise $5000 in December, so that I can begin the year ready to kick my campaign into high gear. I will call you in the next week to follow-up. Or, you may send a contribution in the enclosed envelope.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

Joshua Miller

Cranston State Senate Update From Rifuture.org Nov 27 2005

Sen. Elizabeth Roberts (D-Cranston, Warwick) is running for Lt. Governor and there is a great candidate running to fill her empty Senate seat.

It is rumored that Josh Miller, the owner of Trinity Brewhouse and the Hot Club, has been working the political circuit in anticipation of a run for the State Senate District 28 seat. Miller is the president of the Downtown Merchant's Association and has been an outstanding advocate for small businesses across the state.

For example, last year, he co-wrote an opinion piece in the BeloJo about the need to reform our health care system to make it more affordable for small business owners.

There are two other potential Democratic candidates for this Senate seat. Meredith Curren, the CFO of Pease and Curren, a metal refiner/recycler in Warwick, is rumored to be running. But, as you know, I don't like Democrats who support Republicans like Gov. Carcieri and Mayor Laffey and Curren has given political contributions to both of them as well as to Republican Sen. Linc Chafee. Also, Sylvia Webber, the President of the RI Nurses Association, is rumored to be running. Webber, similar to Curren, has Republican ties since she ran for the State Senate in 1992 as a Republican.

Its good to see a great health care advocate in Elizabeth Roberts to be potentially replaced by another in Josh Miller. Click here to read the Rhode Island's Future Blog

A spirited race to succeed Roberts in Cranston

Democratic primary candidates abound in Cranston

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Group cites need for state to take action to prevent global warming

State Senate Candidates