Representative Thomas C. Slater

Rep. Thomas C. Slater, 1941-2009

The General Assembly mourns the passing of Rep. Thomas C. Slater, a 15-year member of the House of Representatives and a tireless, passionate advocate for the poor, the sick and powerless.

Representative Slater, a Democrat from District 10 in the inner-city West End neighborhood of Providence , died Monday, Aug. 10, after a long bout with cancer. Even as the disease weakened his body, he remained committed to his constituents and causes and active in the General Assembly, winning an emotional battle this spring for enactment of his legislation to legalize compassion centers for the distribution of medical marijuana to sick Rhode Islanders.

“He never forgot where he came from,” said House Speaker William J. Murphy. “He's a representative in a district that needs an active voice at the State House and Tom became that voice. No issue was too large or too small for him.”

Representative Slater was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994, was a deputy majority leader, and served on the House Finance Committee for the last seven legislative sessions, where he advocated in tough economic times for the protection of the state's less fortunate citizens. He understood their lives, having grown up as one of six children of poor, young parents in a cramped cold-water apartment in South Providence . He never moved far from the neighborhood where he was raised and to his final days remained deeply committed to improving the lives of those who lived in that neighborhood and others like it. He was known not only for advocating for health care, welfare, job training for the poor and reform of the criminal justice system at the state level, but also for doing whatever he could personally to help those in need in his own neighborhood, like driving the elderly to doctor's appointments and the supermarket.

This year he was honored by the NeighborWorks America with the national NeighborWorks Government Service Award for his leadership in expanding the affordable housing supply for low- and moderate-income families and in strengthening communities. The organization had planned to present the award this fall in Washington , D.C. , but when it became clear that Representative Slater was too ill to travel, the organizers brought the ceremony to the State House in June. The event was an emotional tribute to a man who had touched many lives personally, and pushed Rhode Island 's government to make lives better across the state.

Representative Slater was instrumental in the creation of the state's RIte Care program, which provides health care coverage to Rhode Island 's working poor. He sponsored a $50 million affordable housing bond that voters approved in 2006, and successfully fought for funding for lead paint abatement. In addition, he sponsored prisoner re-entry legislation and facilitated the designation of areas with hazardous materials as blighted and substandard so they would qualify for economic development funds. Representative Slater also worked hard for the direct benefit of his district, securing legislative funding for as many as 22 local organizations in a single year.

In recent years, his most prominent battle was for the right of chronically suffering patients in Rhode Island to legally and safely access medical marijuana. When the medical marijuana bill he'd sponsored for years finally passed over the governor's veto in 2006, the General Assembly renamed it the “Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act” for him and the late nephew of its Senate sponsor. Despite his passionate advocacy over the nearly a decade and the cancer that had racked his body for years, it wasn't until this summer that he finally applied to participate in the program he worked so hard to create. His advocacy for it was based not upon his own pain, but on the suffering he witnessed as his father, brother and uncle all succumbed to the same disease.

Representative Slater and his wife, Jody, have been married for 38 years and are the parents of three grown children, Gary , Scott and Ellen, and the grandparents of three. For 45 years, he was a sales manager for Genalco Inc., of Warwick, a hydraulics company. He was a graduate of La Salle Academy and Johnson & Wales University , and served 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, retiring in 1993 as a Sergeant Major. He was a Past Grand Knight and a fourth degree member of the Cranston Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the South Elmwood Crime Watch and the South Elmwood Neighborhood Association and had served on the St. Matthew School Board. Representative Slater was a longtime member of the Providence Democratic City Committee and had served on the Democratic Committees of Providence's 10 th Ward and later the 8 th Ward.

Click here to view a Quicktime slideshow of Representative Slater.

Rep. Slater of Providence remembered as voice for the poor, The Providence Journal, Aug. 11, 2009

Obituary, Providence Journal, Aug. 12, 2009

Guestbook




	Rep. Thomas C. Slater, 1941-2009 The General Assembly mourns the passing of Rep. Thomas C. Slater, a 15-year member of the House of Representatives and a tireless, passionate advocate for the poor, the sick and powerless. Representative Slater, a Democrat from District 10 in the inner-city West End neighborhood of Providence , died Monday, Aug. 10, after a long bout with cancer. Even as the disease weakened his body, he remained committed to his constituents and causes and active in the General Assembly, winning an emotional battle this spring for enactment of his legislation to legalize compassion centers for the distribution of medical marijuana to sick Rhode Islanders. “He never forgot where he came from,” said House Speaker William J. Murphy. “He's a representative in a district that needs an active voice at the State House and Tom became that voice. No issue was too large or too small for him.” Representative Slater was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994, was a deputy majority leader, and served on the House Finance Committee for the last seven legislative sessions, where he advocated in tough economic times for the protection of the state's less fortunate citizens. He understood their lives, having grown up as one of six children of poor, young parents in a cramped cold-water apartment in South Providence . He never moved far from the neighborhood where he was raised and to his final days remained deeply committed to improving the lives of those who lived in that neighborhood and others like it. He was known not only for advocating for health care, welfare, job training for the poor and reform of the criminal justice system at the state level, but also for doing whatever he could personally to help those in need in his own neighborhood, like driving the elderly to doctor's appointments and the supermarket. This year he was honored by the NeighborWorks America with the national NeighborWorks Government Service Award for his leadership in expanding the affordable housing supply for low- and moderate-income families and in strengthening communities. The organization had planned to present the award this fall in Washington , D.C. , but when it became clear that Representative Slater was too ill to travel, the organizers brought the ceremony to the State House in June. The event was an emotional tribute to a man who had touched many lives personally, and pushed Rhode Island 's government to make lives better across the state. Representative Slater was instrumental in the creation of the state's RIte Care program, which provides health care coverage to Rhode Island 's working poor. He sponsored a $50 million affordable housing bond that voters approved in 2006, and successfully fought for funding for lead paint abatement. In addition, he sponsored prisoner re-entry legislation and facilitated the designation of areas with hazardous materials as blighted and substandard so they would qualify for economic development funds. Representative Slater also worked hard for the direct benefit of his district, securing legislative funding for as many as 22 local organizations in a single year. In recent years, his most prominent battle was for the right of chronically suffering patients in Rhode Island to legally and safely access medical marijuana. When the medical marijuana bill he'd sponsored for years finally passed over the governor's veto in 2006, the General Assembly renamed it the “Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act” for him and the late nephew of its Senate sponsor. Despite his passionate advocacy over the nearly a decade and the cancer that had racked his body for years, it wasn't until this summer that he finally applied to participate in the program he worked so hard to create. His advocacy for it was based not upon his own pain, but on the suffering he witnessed as his father, brother and uncle all succumbed to the same disease. Representative Slater and his wife, Jody, have been married for 38 years and are the parents of three grown children, Gary , Scott and Ellen, and the grandparents of three. For 45 years, he was a sales manager for Genalco Inc., of Warwick, a hydraulics company. He was a graduate of La Salle Academy and Johnson & Wales University , and served 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, retiring in 1993 as a Sergeant Major. He was a Past Grand Knight and a fourth degree member of the Cranston Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the South Elmwood Crime Watch and the South Elmwood Neighborhood Association and had served on the St. Matthew School Board. Representative Slater was a longtime member of the Providence Democratic City Committee and had served on the Democratic Committees of Providence's 10 th Ward and later the 8 th Ward. Click here to view a Quicktime slideshow of Representative Slater. Rep. Slater of Providence remembered as voice for the poor, The Providence Journal, Aug. 11, 2009 Obituary, Providence Journal, Aug. 12, 2009 Guestbook