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Terri-Denise Cortvriend

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Terri Cortvriend
Member of the
Rhode Island House of Representatives
from the 72nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byKenneth Mendonca
Member of the Portsmouth School Committee
In office
2012–2018
In office
2004–2008
Personal details
Born (1962-01-15) January 15, 1962 (age 62)
Miami, Florida
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseCharles
Children1
ResidencePortsmouth, Rhode Island
EducationMiami-Dade Community College

Terri-Denise Cortvriend is an American politician, businesswoman, pilot, and yacht captain. She is a democratic member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, and before that served as a member of the Portsmouth School Committee.

Education & career

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For High School she attended North Miami Senior High School. Cortvriend attended Miami-Dade Community College. She is an owner of a marine plumbing firm she founded in 1989.[1] Before 1989, she worked as a yacht captain. Cortvriend holds a private pilot's license and a USCG Captain's license. She was a member of the Portsmouth School Committee for a total of nine years first from 2004 to 2008 and later from 2012 to 2018. Four of those years she served as the chairperson of the school committee. She has served on numerous boards and committees in the area including, the Newport Chamber of Commerce,[2] the Portsmouth Water and Fire District Advisory Board, the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee, and the Portsmouth Charter Review Committee.[3]

Rhode Island House of Representatives

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Cortvriend was first elected to the House for the 72nd district in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Kenneth J. Mendonca. District 72 is made up of parts of Portsmouth, Rhode Island and Middletown, Rhode Island on Aquidneck Island in Newport County.

Elections

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2018

Cortvriend announced that she was running after learning that Linda Finn, the Democratic representative who had previously been defeated by Mendoca, said she was not running. She ran as a small business owner who opposed Mendoca's bill that would allow businesses to pay workers under the age of 20 less than minimum wage.[4] She also campaigned in favor of environmental protections. Cortvriend ran unopposed in the democratic primary and then later defeated Mendonca in the general election 54.6% to 45.3%.

2020

Cortvriend announced that she was running for reelection. She campaigned on sponsoring the Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act, bringing climate literacy to K-12 schools, and helping constituents during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Republican Kenneth Mendoca also announced that he was running for his old seat. The Providence Journal said this race was one of the Republican Party's best chances to pick up seats in the General Assembly and watchdog group RI Rank listed it as one of the most competitive assembly races in the state.[6][7][8] Cortvriend won the primary contest against Christopher T. Semonelli with 80.7% of the vote and ended up defeating Mendoca again in the general election 57.5% to 42.3%.

Tenure

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In 2020 RI Rank named Cortvriend the number one ranked representative in the House. RI Rank's system took into account the RI ACLU's civil rights voting record metrics, the Environmental Council of RI's environmental voting record metrics, RI Common Cause's opening government voting record metrics, as well as their own accountability metrics which measures things such as social media outreach and number of town hall meetings.[9]

House reform

Cortvriend was one of a number of women members of the House who abstained in protest in the vote of Nicholas Mattiello for Speaker of the House.[10] She is a member of the reform caucus which is a group of members who seek the rules of the House to be more transparent, open, and more democratic.[11]

Environment and climate

Cortvriend was one of the founders of the Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus which is a group of legislators and their constituents who want to give voice to the importance of mitigating and adapting to the changing climate.[12] The caucus will be used as a vehicle for legislators to engage with their communities about environmental bills and issues coming before them.[13]

Americans with Disabilities

Cortvriend was the lead sponsor in the House Preservation Of Families With Disabled Parent Act which was signed into law by Governor Dan McKee. The law makes it so that a parent's disability cannot be the sole basis to deny or restrict their rights in regards a child's welfare, foster care, family law, guardianship or adoption.[14]

Public health

Cortvriend sponsored the Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act which would require two hours of suicide prevention training for all licensed educators in the state. The act is partial named for Nathan Bruno who was a student at Portsmouth High School who committed suicide. Classmates and the family of Bruno have worked with Cortvriend to pass the act.[15][16]

Committee assignments

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  • House Small Business Committee (2nd Vice Chair) [17]
  • House Environment and Natural Resources Committee [18]
  • House Oversight Committee [19]

Caucus memberships

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  • Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus [20]
  • Reform Caucus [21]

Electoral history

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2018
2018 Rhode Island's 72nd House of Representatives district Democratic primary[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Terri-Denise Cortvriend 1,285 100
Total votes 1,285 100
2018 Rhode Island's 72nd House of Representatives district election[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Terri-Denise Cortvriend 3,462 54.6
Republican Kenneth J. Mendonca (Incumbent) 2,877 45.3
Write-In Others 7 0.1
Total votes 3,646 100
2020
2020 Rhode Island's 72nd House of Representatives district Democratic primary[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Terri-Denise Cortvriend (Incumbent) 1,195 80.7
Democratic Christopher T. Semonelli 286 19.3
Total votes 1,481 100
2020 Rhode Island's 72nd House of Representatives district election[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Terri-Denise Cortvriend (Incumbent) 4,781 57.5
Republican Kenneth J. Mendonca 3,518 42.3
Write-In Others 9 0.1
Total votes 8,308 100
2022
2022 Rhode Island's 72nd House of Representatives district Democratic primary[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Terri-Denise Cortvriend (Incumbent) 1,396 100
Total votes 1,396 100
2022 Rhode Island's 72nd House of Representatives district election[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Terri-Denise Cortvriend (Incumbent) 4,524 95.9
Write-In Others 195 4.1
Total votes 4,719 100

References

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  1. ^ "Cortvriend to serve on House Small Business Committee". rilegislature.gov. Rhode Island House of Representatives. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Cortvriend to serve on House Small Business Committee". rilegislature.gov. Rhode Island House of Representatives. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  3. ^ Ahlquist, Steve (29 January 2018). "Democrat Terri Cortvriend announces for House District 72 seat". Uprise RI. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. ^ Ahlquist, Steve (29 January 2018). "Democrat Terri Cortvriend announces for House District 72 seat". Uprise RI. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  5. ^ McGee, Sandy (24 June 2020). "State Rep. Cortvriend Announces Re-Election Campaign". Portsmouth Press. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  6. ^ Anderson, Patrick. "Political Scene: RI 2020 election — what to watch for as the results come in". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. ^ Anderson, Patrick. "Political Scene: N. Kingstown Senate race a test of whether suburbs go 'blue'". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. ^ "RI General Assembly - 2021 Election Strength Rankings". RI Rank. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  9. ^ "RI State House - 2020 Overall Legislator Rankings". RI Rank. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. ^ Anderson, Patrick; Gregg, Katherine. "Mattiello's loss leaves a power vacuum in the RI House. Here's who could step up and take Rhode Island's most powerful position". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  11. ^ Ahlquist, Steve (13 January 2021). "Discussing the House Rules with Representative Rebecca Kislak". Uprise RI. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  12. ^ RI, Uprise (3 February 2020). "Introducing the Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus". Uprise RI. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  13. ^ Newport Daily News. "Cortvriend faces challenge for District 72 seat in state House of Representatives". Newport Daily News. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  14. ^ "New Rhode Island Law Protects Families with Parents Who Are Disabled". The Imprint. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  15. ^ Argemí, Clara Gutman (24 April 2019). "State high school students push for suicide prevention bill". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  16. ^ Damon, Laura. "Testimony heard on suicide prevention bill". Newportri.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  17. ^ "The State of Rhode Island General Assembly". webserver.rilin.state.ri.us. Rhode Island House of Representatives. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  18. ^ "The State of Rhode Island General Assembly". webserver.rilin.state.ri.us. Rhode Island House of Representatives. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  19. ^ "The State of Rhode Island General Assembly". webserver.rilin.state.ri.us. Rhode Island House of Representatives. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  20. ^ RI, Uprise (3 February 2020). "Introducing the Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus". Uprise RI. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  21. ^ RI, Uprise (20 November 2018). "The 21 Democrats opposing Speaker Mattiello have a name: The Reform Caucus". Uprise RI. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Representative in General Assembly District 72". ri.gov. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Representative in General Assembly District 72". ri.gov. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Representative in General Assembly District 72". ri.gov. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Representative in General Assembly District 72". ri.gov. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Representative in General Assembly District 72". ri.gov. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Representative in General Assembly District 72". ri.gov. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
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