Dear Neighbor
In case we haven’t met yet, my name is Alana DiMario and I am running to be your State Senator in District 36 representing Narragansett and North Kingstown.
I don’t have the typical story of a hopeful member of the General Assembly. My path to this role started back when I was a 16 year old honor student attending a Catholic high school in Massachusetts. One day while lecturing us about his frustrations with our work, one of my teachers made a few sexist, off-color remarks. Sadly, I wasn’t shocked or outraged. By age 16, what woman hasn’t heard these things many times before? But when a teacher overheard me telling the story to a friend, he urged me to report it. I did.
The school administrators demanded I retract my accusation. I refused. The teacher wouldn’t allow me back in class, and the administration threatened to withhold my college recommendations. The actions of the school were unacceptable, so I left. People can make mistakes, but I was not going to participate in or benefit from an institution that tried to use its power to intimidate a child. Even at 16, I understood how wrong it was to use one’s power to deny the reality of someone else’s experience. I stood up for what I knew was right back then, and have ever since.
Since the graduation requirements at the local public high school were so different, I decided to register at Bridgewater State University as a 16 year old. I worked at a restaurant and a local insurance agency to pay tuition. My stepfather was deployed to Bosnia with the National Guard that year, and my mother had her hands full with my two younger sisters. It was a year of unexpected challenges for my family, but I learned that I had the capacity to meet those challenges head on and come out the better for it. In the midst of a global crisis, we can’t predict all the challenges ahead, but we can elect leaders who will engage people and listen, and work collaboratively to find solutions.
It is now 25 years later. I have been married to my husband Eric for 12 years, and we have three amazing children – Leo (11), Sam (9), and Morgan (5). I made Rhode Island my home 20 years ago, and have lived in Narragansett for the last 12. After passing the GED exam, I went on to graduate from Wells College at age 20 with a degree in Psychology.
A few years later I completed a Master’s Degree program in Clinical Psychology back at Bridgewater State. Now, I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with my own private practice in North Kingstown. It’s a career I love, every day I get to help people solve problems.
The election on November 8, 2016 was a call to action for me, as it was for so many of us. Suddenly, the progress we had made on so many fronts was at risk. Civil rights. Marriage equality. Environmental protections. Reproductive freedom. Economic opportunity. I jumped in feet first to support issues, causes, and candidates across the country that were fighting to keep us moving forward.
I decided the place I could make the most difference was right here at home. I focused on what our legislators in Providence could do to protect Rhode Islanders from the attacks of the Trump Administration and his allies in Congress. I heard some clear, thoughtful voices speaking up for change and identifying the things that we here in Rhode Island could do to protect our communities. Yet, I watched those voices get stifled by a political establishment too entrenched in special interests. I watched bill after bill that could make positive differences in people's lives get sent back for more study. I watched legislation that wasn’t supported by experts, but had the political stamp of approval, sail through.
I became involved in the effort to pass the Reproductive Privacy Act to protect women’s health in Rhode Island in the event that Roe vs. Wade was overturned. When Senator Sheehan would not commit his support to womens’ health, I ran against him in the 2018 Democratic Primary, to challenge him to listen to his constituents on this issue. Ultimately, he did. We got the Reproductive Privacy Act passed in 2019, due in part to Senator Sheehan’s support.
I didn’t plan to challenge Senator Sheehan again, but in June he announced he would not seek re-election. This spring, as the filing deadline approached to run for office, I once again asked myself, am I doing all I can to help people in this urgent time? Is there a way for me to use my skills and abilities to create a better world? My decision was clear: I decided it was time for me to step up and be the change I wanted to see in our politics and in our state.
And since then, people have told me over and over that they are looking for a change – across the country and right here in Rhode Island. I am right there with them. We need people representing us who understand the challenges that regular people face everyday. We need elected officials who will listen and include them when creating public policy. We must be able to trust that our elected leaders are working for us. We must make sure that no one is left out or left behind as we get through and recover from the COVID 19 crisis.
We need new voices in the General Assembly. We need more people who will engage their constituents, who will listen, and who will act. Rhode Islanders deserve leaders who will serve in the best interests of the people and not as a rubber stamp for one party leader or another.
The many roles and challenges of my life have given me the experience and perspective to do this job, and do it well. As a restaurant worker, I experienced the challenge of trying to pay my bills on an unpredictable income. I saw how few protections exist against sexual harassment and wage theft in the service industry. I believe that everyone deserves to be safe and respected in their workplace and that protecting the rights of workers benefits all of us. In the Assembly, I’ll support a strong pay equity bill, and the fight for a $15 minimum wage.
Working in group homes for people with developmental disabilities throughout graduate school, I learned about the challenges families face finding and affording services for their children. When I finished school and became an adjunct professor and full-time therapist who didn’t have health insurance coverage or paid sick time myself, I saw the gaps in the healthcare system. I believe that healthcare is a human right, and I will fight for quality, accessible, and affordable healthcare for all.
As a therapist working with underserved communities and as a healthcare provider in private practice, I have had the privilege of helping people who were at their most vulnerable points find skills and resiliency within themselves. I work with families to navigate housing, senior social services, child welfare, and school systems across the state to meet the needs of their children and create sustainable change. I know firsthand why affordable housing, healthy kids, and safe and thriving schools are essential for Rhode Island to flourish, and I’ll continue to help families access these critical services as your State Senator.
And, my training as a mental health therapist has ingrained in me the value of making decisions based on evidence. Accurately assessing a problem and researching best-practice solutions is at the core of the work I do every day. Our policies on everything from environmental regulations to gun safety to treating addiction must be based on research and evidence, and informed by experts in those areas.
Most of all, like so many of us, my husband and I know the challenge of struggling to afford childcare, of balancing work and home responsibilities, and we worry about paying for college for our own children as we still pay off our own student loans. We worry about the safety of our kids in their schools and in the community, and the impact of climate change on their future. We watch our parents worry that their careful preparations for retirement aren’t going to be enough.
I know that we all share many of these same concerns, and share a love for this State that drives our desire to see Rhode Island be a place where we can all thrive throughout our lives.
And so, I am ready to listen to the people of Narragansett and North Kingstown and be your voice at the State House. I am eager to change our “politics as usual” and “know a guy” culture, and be a part of creating a better General Assembly where every member is working hard for the people they serve.
If I earn your vote in the General Election on November 3rd, I promise to keep doing the right things even when they are the hard things. I promise to be accessible and listen to you. And, if elected, I promise to do this job with the spirit of public service and moral clarity that the people of Rhode Island deserve.
I will be reaching out by knocking doors and hosting events from now through the election. I want to talk with you and hear your concerns for our district and our state. Please call me at 401-626-2405, write me at alanadimario@gmail.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at Alana4RI to share your thoughts.
Representing you and the people of District 36 as your State Senator would be my greatest honor. I respectfully ask for your vote on Tuesday, November 3rd.
Sincerely,
Alana DiMario
(401) 626-2405
Alanadimario@gmail.com
P.S. Did you know you can vote early, in person? Starting Wednesday October 14th until Monday November 2nd, voters can cast a full ballot at their local Board of Canvassers located at Town Hall during regular business hours.
