City worker says he plans to run for State House seat
WOONSOCKET – The general election is nearly a year out, but an East Woonsocket man is already declaring his intentions to run for state representative in District 51.
Jeffrey Belknap, 55, of Cass Ave., said he will run as a Democrat and take on the incumbent, State Rep. Robert D. Phillips, also a Democrat, in a primary if necessary. Phillips has represented District 51 in the House for nearly a decade.
A longtime employee of the Woonsocket Education Department, where he works in the maintenance division, Belknap ran for City Council in 2013 but dropped out before the election, citing a prohibition in the City Charter on municipal employees holding local elective office. Belknap said there is no such prohibition for municipal employees who hold elective positions in state government.
Belknap’s announcement first appeared on his Facebook page. He said he wanted to confirm that he would be a candidate for public office to clear up some of the rumors circulating about his intentions.
“The only reason I put the post out there, some friends of mine had heard I was considering it. They were disappointed in the law that prevents city workers from
holding any city position. For me it’s a very silly law. I worked for the school department for 33 years. Who has a better eye for what’s works in the city and what’s needed ”
Belknap said he isn’t sure the prohibition would hold up under a court test, but that wasn’t a battle he wanted to take on in 2013.
As a state lawmaker, Belknap says that, for him, there would be no issue worth more of his attention than bringing more resources to the front lines of the war on drugs. He said the Woonsocket Police Department, in particular, needs more resources to fight “the drug scourge” in the city.
As a WED veteran, Belknap said he’s seen first-hand the toll of drugs on young people and their families.
“I work in the school system, I see how breaks down families, how it affects people from getting back together, how it destroys people,” Belknap said. “For me it’s the biggest concern that this city, and a lot of other places, have.”
Belknap said he has lived most of his life within a few blocks of his current home on Cass Avenue in East Woonsocket.
Phillips, a former banker turned educator, works as a substitute teacher in the Woonsocket Education Department. A former Autumnfest chairman, Phillips was first elected to the House in November 2010 and was named a deputy majority leader in 2019. He is first vice chairman of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and is the second vice chairman of the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare. He also serves on the House Committee on Small Business and the House Committee on Rules.
Belknap said he doesn’t know how difficult it would be to unseat him. He said he intends to assemble an organization and give it his best shot, however.
“I don’t know how popular he is, to be quite honest with you,” Belknap said. “I’ll do my best... if not I’ll tip my hat to Bob and wish him well. I’m going to offer the people a choice.”