RI Senate Dist. 29 Race: Appollonio vs. DeLuca

WARWICK, RI — Warwick’s Senate Dist. 29 race pits Republican incumbent Anthony P. DeLuca II against Democrat challenger Peter A. Appollonio, Jr. for the two-year term.

DeLuca succeeded long-time Dist. 29 Senator and former Democratic Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey, who had held the office since 2002,  following a redistricting. Prior to that, he had served since 1995 as Senator for Dist. 16, according to Wikipedia and Ballotpedia. Deluca won the seat in 2022, besting Democrat contender Jennifer T. Rourke with 5,257 votes to her 4,772.

This year, Rourke lost the primary race for another crack at the Dist. 29 race  to Appollonio, who  had 1,001 votes to her 640.

Dist. 29 race challenger Peter A. Appollonio, Jr

Appollonio,  lifelong resident of Warwick, served on the West Warwick Police Department for 24 years, retiring as a captain in 2017. During his law enforcement career, he  served during the Station Nightclub Fire, the great river flood and the ongoing opioid epidemic.

“Witnessing the impact of these traumatic cases has greatly influenced my platform around public safety,” Appollonio wrote on his campaign Facebook page.

Appollonio also served as a school resource officer, and, after retiring, he worked as a substitute teacher in Warwick.

In 2003, his daughter Maria was born prematurely at only 25 weeks, weighing less than a pound.

“She survived and came home after a long stay at the hospital. She required constant medical care, so much so that I was forced to leave the R.I. National Guard early after serving for just two years. Maria’s survival came with medical and educational challenges. We battled with the state to provide her with the best services and disputed the district’s removal of her Individualized Education Plan (IEP). We know what it’s like to fight to give your child the best chance of success and a healthy life,” Appollonio stated in his candidacy announcement.

Appollonio has vowed to fight for public safety, economic relief for working families, and improved educational opportunities for all.

Dist. 29 race incumbent Sen. Anthony DeLuca

DeLuca, a lifelong resident of Warwick, was elected to the Senate on Nov. 8, 2022. He’s a member of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Senate Committee on Commerce​. DeLuca was appointed to the Permanent Joint Committee on State Lottery, the Senate Non-Plurality Voting Commission, and the Joint Commission on Female Recidivism.

He served as an East Greenwich firefighter for more than 10 years before working for Med Tech Ambulance for a number of years. He has been a licensed EMT in the State of Rhode Island for almost 20 years and is currently employed with the City of Warwick Water Department, and also a member of Union RI Council 94 AFSCME.

 

He says a  firm belief that government should be part of the solution, and not the problem, spurs him to work for tax relief and reforms, as well as policies that will ease the financial burdens of inflation driven by unchecked government spending on the costs of basic necessities like housing, energy, healthcare, and groceries.

Senator DeLuca was the primary sponsor of legislation (S-2214) to establish an Office of Inspector General, which would possess the authority to conduct investigations, review contracts, perform audits, and issue valuations of governmental agencies and programs to safeguard against potential waste, inefficiency, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.