James Seveney is a politician from Rhode Island. He is a state senator representing the Bristol, Portsmouth, and Tiverton area, which is the 11th district. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life

Seveney was born in Rhode Island. He attended

Rhode Island College Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Providence, Rhode Island. The college was established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, making it the second oldest institution of higher education in Rhode Island after Brown Uni ...

for his bachelor's degree and

Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

for his master's degree. Seveney's father, Gardner "Scuppy" Seveney, served in the Rhode Island Senate from 1978 to 1986. Seveney was a naval officer for 21 years. He specialized in aerospace engineering and defense systems acquisition. Following his naval career, Seveney worked as a defense consultant.

Political career

Seveney served on the Portsmouth School Committee from 2000 to 2004. In 2004 he ran for Portsmouth Town Council, serving as both the council president and vice-president. He won serving until 2016, where he announced his campaign for

Rhode Island State Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

. He has been serving in the state legislature since 2016. In the legislature, Seveney has been active on substance abuse-related issues, especially involving educating young people. In 2019, Seveney proposed a $300 fine for those pulled over for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

and refuse to take a Breathalyzer test. Seveney has also advocated for more funding toward mental health and suicide prevention, especially with veteran populations.

Personal life

Seveney has been married to his wife Val for over 40 years. The two met while both were students at Rhode Island College. They have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seveney, James 1954 births Living people Rhode Island College alumni Naval Postgraduate School alumni People from Portsmouth, Rhode Island Defense Acquisition University alumni Salve Regina University alumni Democratic Party Rhode Island state senators 21st-century American legislators