Joseph Solomon

Joseph Solomon Jr. graduated from Bishop Hendricken High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Providence College in 2005 and a law degree from New England Law Boston in 2008. His career experience includes working as an attorney.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born and raised in Rhode Island, and I’ve spent my career in the legal system protecting Rhode Island families. I’m an attorney with almost two decades of experience. I prosecuted hundreds of cases for the City of Warwick in District Court, and for over a decade I’ve been a court-appointed bail commissioner, which means when court is out of session and somebody gets arrested overnight, I’m the one who shows up and decides whether that person is held or released.

I’ve represented Warwick in the House of Representatives of Rhode Island for eleven years, and I chair the Corporations Committee, which is where utility rates, banking, and insurance legislation land. I wrote the law requiring banks to report suspected financial exploitation of elderly customers, and I wrote the catalytic converter law that prosecutors use now. I believe public office requires integrity, accessibility, and accountability.

I live in Warwick with my wife, Sarah, and our two rescue dogs, Gigi and Freddie. I’m running for Attorney General because Rhode Islanders shouldn’t have to wait while somebody learns this job. I’ve been doing it my entire career.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Public safety comes first. I’ve been a court-appointed bail commissioner for over a decade, so I’m the one the court calls when somebody gets arrested overnight, and you see the same names come back around. As Attorney General I’ll put the office’s resources into prosecuting repeat violent offenders and illegal gun trafficking, and I’ll go after the guns driving the violence, the stolen guns and the ghost guns, instead of pleading those cases down.I’m ready to do this job on day one. Most of the experience in this race comes from inside one building. Mine comes from the courtroom, the bail hearing, and the State House, where I wrote laws prosecutors use now. I’ve made the hard calls and lived with them, so I won’t be learning this job on the fly.I’ll use this office to stand up for consumers and working families. Rhode Island Energy has asked for a winter rate that would put the average bill over $175 a month, the highest we’ve ever seen here. Day one, I’ll reinstate two prosecutors at the Public Utilities Commission whose only job is fighting rate hikes, and historically the utilities fund those positions, not taxpayers.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Protecting seniors from financial exploitation comes first. I wrote the 2021 law requiring banks to report suspected exploitation of elderly customers, and I want to enforce it. Imposters posing as banks, the IRS, or a grandchild in trouble, drain accounts before families find out.

Violent crime is next. As bail commissioner for over a decade, deciding who went home after arrest, I learned which cases the system ends up handling twice. I want repeat violent offenders and gun traffickers prosecuted, with manageable caseloads.

And utility rates. After years chairing the House Corporations Committee, companies promise a great deal at the hearing, then slip once nobody's reading the reports filed after. Somebody has to read the reports.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Show up, and answer the phone. That sounds small and it’s most of the job. When I first ran I promised my constituents four things: that I would represent them and not special interests, that I would listen to all sides and make the decision on the policy and not party politics, that I would get back to them in a reasonable amount of time, and that I would uphold the integrity of the office. Eleven years later that’s still the list, and people in Warwick will tell you whether I’ve kept it.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The Rhode Island Constitution makes the Attorney General the chief law enforcement officer of the state, and because Rhode Island has no county district attorneys, this one office prosecutes every felony committed here. That’s the first responsibility and everything else sits on top of it. In practice it means cases that move instead of sitting, victims and local police chiefs who get their calls returned, and prosecutors on the violent cases who aren’t carrying an impossible number of files.

Consumer protection is the second. The office is a party in every major utility rate case, it enforces the consumer protection and antitrust laws, and for most Rhode Islanders it’s the only lawyer they will ever have against a national company.

Third is going to court when the federal government acts unlawfully and it costs Rhode Islanders money, jobs, or rights. Where Washington is a good partner we work with it. Where it isn’t, we sue, and I’d be more selective about which cases we join than this office has been, because I don’t want that docket competing for lawyers with the violent crime sitting in our own courts.

And none of it works if the office is run badly. Backlogs, victim services, and the working relationships with local departments never generate any coverage, and they’re a lot of what people actually need from that office.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Rhode Island's law enforcement, fire, and corrections unions back this campaign: RI Troopers Association, Fraternal Order of Police, International Brotherhood of Police Officers, RI Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, RI State Fire Fighters, and Deputy Sheriffs Local 2409, AFSCME Council 94. Organized labor stands with us too, including Carpenters Local 330 and IBEW Local 2323. Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi and Newport Mayor Charlie Holder have endorsed me, with nine state senators, including Senate Majority Whip David Tikoian, a North Providence PD veteran, and 24 state reps. Democratic city committees in Providence, Pawtucket, North Providence, and Warwick are with us, and I finished first in a four-way field at the state convention.

Joseph Solomon Jr. did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Joseph Solomon Jr. did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Joseph Solomon Jr. did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.