Robert A. Watson (born October 14, 1960) is an American attorney and former

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

, representing the 30th District since 1992. His district includes parts of East Greenwich and West Greenwich. He is a former

House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are ele ...

. He was arrested twice for marijuana possession and was arrested for a third offense of vandalizing a bank. He resigned in the summer of 2012.https://turnto10.com , Thursday, May 5th 2016 , First on 10: Former RI lawmaker Robert Watson accused of vandalism at bank , NBC 10 News

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Early life, education, and law career

Watson was born in 1960 in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. Hee attended

Bishop Hendricken High School Bishop Hendricken High School (or Hendricken) is a Catholic, all-male, college preparatory high school located in Warwick, Rhode Island, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. Founded by the Brothers of the Holy Cross in 1959, and named ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

in 1982, and attended the

Columbus School of Law The Columbus School of Law, also known as Catholic Law or CUA Law, is the law school of the Catholic University of America, a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. More than 400 Juris Doctor students attend Catholic Law ...

of the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

, graduating with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree in 1986. Watson is a practicing attorney and member of the Rhode Island and American Bar Associations.

Rhode Island legislature

Elections

;1988–1990 Watson decided to run in Rhode Island's 22nd

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

District, based in East Greenwich and Warwick. In 1990, he ran for re-election but lost to Democrat Michael Lenihan by a narrow margin. ;1992–2000 After redistricting, he decided to run in the

in 1992 to the 43rd district. He defeated Democrat Linda Seiler and Independent David Zartarian. In 1994, he won re-election to a second term defeating Democrat David Zartarian. In 1996, he won re-election to a third term unopposed. In 1998, he won re-election to a fourth term defeating Democrat Gregory DeGroot. In 2000, he won re-election to a fifth term against Reform party nominee Timothy Miller. ;2002–present Upon redistricting and downsizing of the RI House from 100 to 75 members in 2002, Watson ran in the newly redrawn 30th House District, based in East and West Greenwich. He won re-election to a sixth term unopposed. He ran unopposed in 2004 to his seventh term. In 2006, he won re-election to an eighth term with 57% of the vote. In 2008, he won re-election to a ninth term 54%-46%, winning in eight of nine precincts. In 2010, he won re-election a tenth term with 57% of the vote.

Tenure

In February 2011, he made a ''

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...

'' in private meeting saying "I guess that if you are a

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

gay man ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

who likes to gamble and smokes

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

, you probably think we're onto some good ideas here." In 2005, he sponsored legislation that would legalize

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

. Watson has served as Minority Leader since elected by his caucus in November 1998. He ran for

Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

four times. The closest Watson ever got was when Republicans had 12 seats in the State House in 2003.

Committee assignments

During the 2009-2010 legislative session, Watson served on the Health, Education and Welfare Committee and the Joint Committee on Legislative Services. He served as the chairman of the East Greenwich Republican Town Committee from 1990 to 1992. He's also on the Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline.

Personal life

He lives in

East Greenwich, Rhode Island East Greenwich is a town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. It is part of the Providence metropolitan st ...

Legal trouble

Watson was stopped in East Haven, Connecticut at a police checkpoint on Friday, April 22, 2011. He was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia after it was noted that a strong odor of marijuana was emanating from his car. He was also charged with driving under the influence. After further analysis of his urine by the Connecticut Toxicological Lab, Watson's

blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For exampl ...

was determined to be .07, below the legal limit of .08. Traces of marijuana and cocaine were also found. On Jan 22, 2012 Robert Watson was arrested in South Kingston, RI for possession of marijuana and related paraphernalia. He was found to also have 3 open containers of alcohol in his possession. On November 6, 2017 Watson was arrested for attacking a bank and then breaking and entering into a neighbor's home. According to the police report he was naked and bleeding at the time.

References

External links

Legislative homepage Vote Smart Biography State Surge Biography
*http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/01/state-lawmaker-1.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Robert A. 1960 births Living people Rhode Island lawyers University of Denver alumni Columbus School of Law alumni Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives People from Kent County, Rhode Island People from East Greenwich, Rhode Island Rhode Island politicians convicted of crimes Republican Party Rhode Island state senators