Thomas C. Slater (1945–2009) was a Democratic member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. He served in the

U.S. Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...

for 30 years, reaching the rank of Sergeant Major. He ran for office in 1994 and defeated incumbent Republican Representative Mary C. Ross for Providence Representative in the state house, and continue serving until his death in 2009. He was a member of the House Finance Committee, and he spoke against cuts to welfare benefits and children's health care, opposed an executive order cracking down on undocumented immigrants living in the state, and supported new fire codes.

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 ...

access was a large focus for Slater and one of the final pieces of legislation that he sponsored involved the 2009 legalization of medicinal marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island.

Early life and military career

Thomas C. Slater was born 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 ...

May 21, 1945, to Thomas J. and Edith M. (Simpson) Slater. He had six siblings, among them three sisters: Patricia, Frances, and Deborah, and a brother Stephen. He grew up in Providence, attended La Salle Academy, was a graduate of Johnson & Wales University, and he served in the

, retiring after 30 years with the rank of Sergeant Major.

Political career

First campaigns and legislation

Slater ran for office on November 8, 1994, defeating incumbent Republican Representative Mary C. Ross by a margin of 55%-45% of the votes cast. Slater served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives from January 3, 1995, until his death in 2009. While a Providence representative, he was a member of the House Finance Committee. Among other issues, he spoke against budget cuts that would have limited

welfare benefit Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet Basic needs, basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refe ...

s to the poor of Rhode Island, and which would have also reduced health care for children. He also opposed an executive order signed by Governor

Don Carcieri Donald Louis Carcieri ( ; ; born December 16, 1942) is an American politician and corporate executive who served as the 73rd Governor of Rhode Island from January 2003 to January 2011. Carcieri has worked as a manufacturing company executive, aid ...

, which cracked down on illegal immigrants living in Rhode Island. He advocated for the State of Rhode Island Rehabilitation Building and Fire Code for Existing Buildings and Structures in January 2002, which was adopted in May 2002 and provided a uniform

fire code Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...

and

building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permission ...

. In 2003 he supported a bill for a hike in the state

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, to increase the rate from US$6.15 to a mandatory $6.57 an hour.

Medical marijuana legislation

He was supporting legislation to legalize medical marijuana in Rhode Island by 2005, and in 2006 he sponsored legislation that made Rhode Island the 11th US state to allow chronically ill patients to use small amounts of marijuana to ease symptoms. The year prior, he cast the role vote against an amendment to name the medicinal marijuana law after him. The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act passed in 2006, but did not clarify legal methods for patients to procure their medicine, leaving them dependent on the

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

. Slater urged lawmakers in 2009 to allow up to three nonprofit marijuana stores to sell to registered patients, with the legislation passing by a wide margin and earning Slater a standing ovation when the bill passed in the House.

Memberships

He was a Past Grand Knight and fourth degree member of the Cranston Knights of Columbus, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

fraternal service organization. He was also a longtime member of the Providence Democratic City Committee.

Personal life and legacy

Slater and his wife Jody McKierman had three children: Ellen, Gary, and

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...

. He died on August 10, 2009, from lung cancer at his home in Providence. He was buried at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in Exeter, Rhode Island. When Slater died later in 2009, his son Scott Slater succeeded him in his position as a Providence representative. The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center is a medicinal dispensary in Rhode Island named after Slater, and was the first dispensary in the state, opened in spring of 2013. The Thomas C. Slater Training School for delinquent youth in Providence is also named for him. Eight years after Slater helped push the bill through, on March 28, 2017, the "Legislative Oversight Commission of the Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act" met for the first time, with his son Scott Slater included as the representative of the House.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Thomas C. 1945 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American legislators Deaths from cancer in Rhode Island Deaths from lung cancer in the United States Johnson & Wales University alumni La Salle Academy alumni Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers United States Marine Corps reservists