Giovanni Cicione, a Barrington lawyer, was elected last night as the new chairman of the state Republican Party.

The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez

WARWICK — By a unanimous voice vote, Republicans at their state convention last night elected 36-year-old Barrington lawyer Giovanni Cicione as party chairman, replacing Patricia Morgan.

“I will work to make our party, once again, the party of unity,” Cicione said in a statement handed out to the media. He was scheduled to deliver the remarks last night at the convention, which stretched late into the evening.

The GOP is coming off a poor showing in the last election cycle. Other than the reelection of Governor Carcieri, Republicans lost every statewide race, and also failed to gain seats in the General Assembly.

“I urge you to remember our greatest asset is unity, our greatest weakness is internal division,” Cicione stated. Our party is the party of reform. We were the champions of separation of powers. Pension reform was our idea….We believe government is at its best when it governs least. Local control and open processes work best. Our opponents favor government that intrudes into every aspect of our lives and economy. They impose over-reaching regulations that are then governed by so many layers of bureaucracy, they escape scrutiny and accountability.”

He also pledged to concentrate on recruiting good candidates, especially female candidates. “I will be announcing in the days to come a slate of prominent women in our party who will co-chair this effort that we will call the WE CAN project” — which stands for the Women and Elections Candidate Project.

Cicione is a lawyer with the Providence firm Adler, Pollock & Sheehan. He served as legal counsel to the Republican National Committee in Rhode Island last year and previously worked as a staff attorney for the state Economic Development Corporation. In 1996, at age 25, he ran unsuccessfully for Congress against Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy.

Carcieri recommended Cicione to lead the state GOP; the state party’s nominating committee earlier this month endorsed Carcieri’s recommendation.

Carcieri, in spirited remarks last evening, said he is proud to be a Republican. “As far as I’m concerned, this party is alive and well,” he said.

marsenau@projo.com