Hunt

Rosina L. Hunt, 45, of 68 Hamlet Ave., is a lawyer with a solo practice in Woonsocket.

She served as the city’s probate court judge from 2003-2005 and associate municipal court judge from 2000-2002. She ran unsuccessfully for a City Council seat in a special election in 1994.

Hunt says that if elected to the state Senate, Cumberland and Woonsocket would have “full representation during the budget process and a strong voice in opposition to new taxes.”

She is against raising taxes since they become a greater burden to residents already facing escalating gas and heating costs and the rising price of food. “Higher taxes will only make a bad situation worse,” she says.

Hunt says that the General Assembly needs to cut back on spending instead of “continuing to pile the burden upon the backs of small business and working class families.”

She would advocate for pension reform and finding new sources for state revenue, including privatization of some governmental agencies. She also said that as senator, she would also push for more equity in the distribution of state funds.

Money from the governor’s budget “finds its way to more affluent communities in the southern part of the state, and northern Rhode Island has not been able to attract its fair share,” she said.

Hunt voiced concern that if candidate and state Rep. Roger Picard is elected to the Senate District 20 seat, it would leave his current House District 51 position vacant.

“A vote for Mr. Picard will effectively disenfranchise an entire House district in an upcoming House session that will enact the next state budget,” she said. “This is particularly disturbing this year when the General Assembly is poised to decide whether or not to adopt sweeping new tax hikes on a citizenry already strained by the economic slump.”

She says that she can provide a different outlook on the problems facing state government from both Picard and candidate Thomas J. Scully, of Cumberland, because she is from the private sector, having never held public office.

Born and raised in Northford, Conn., Hunt is a former co-owner of Hunt and Dion Construction. She is a graduate of Rhode Island College and holds a law degree from New England School of Law in Boston.

Hunt is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Harris Library and a coach of the Cracovia Soccer Club. She has a 4-year-old daughter, Maya.

pmarcelo@projo.com