2022 -- H 8374

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LC006202

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

HONORING AND THANKING LEADER BLAKE FILIPPI FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Representatives Chippendale, Shekarchi, Newberry, Place, Price,
Nardone, Roberts, Quattrocchi, Fenton-Fung, and Blazejewski

     Date Introduced: June 23, 2022

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Blake Filippi was born in 1980, and spent the first 18 years of his life

working his family’s cattle farm in Lincoln, Rhode Island, and also helping to run his family’s

Block Island seasonal businesses; and

     WHEREAS, From a young age, Mr. Filippi enjoyed a deep connection to animals, and

worked as an equine trail guide through Block Island’s beautiful nature preserves; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Filippi’s love of nature continues to inspire him towards outdoor

adventures, from climbing volcanos to trekking though jungles; and

     WHEREAS, Soon after graduation from Lincoln High School in 1999, Mr. Filippi

headed west to the University of Arizona to study history and astronomy; and

     WHEREAS, In 2001, Mr. Filippi participated in the Semester at Sea program,

circumnavigating the globe on a steamship and meeting with national dignitaries, including Fidel

Castro; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Filippi then attended Rutgers University School of Law-Camden where

he developed a deep appreciation for the power of the law as a force for good and evil; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Filippi subsequently returned to Rhode Island to serve in the Rhode

Island Supreme Court Law Clerk Department, and learned to write; and

     WHEREAS, After serving as a legal analyst for the Tenth Amendment Center, a national

think tank dedicated to local sovereignty and the preservation of individual liberties, Blake Filippi

ran to represent Block Island, Charlestown, South Kingstown and Westerly in the House of

Representatives, winning his first election in November of 2014; and

     WHEREAS, Blake Filippi was inspired to enter public service by the work of his

deceased father, Paul Filippi, a civil rights leader who opened the famed Celebrity Club in

Randall Square, Providence, Rhode Island, which became the first integrated jazz venue in New

England, and hosted musical greats such as Sarah Vaughn, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Ella

Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, and Sammy Davis Jr.; and

     WHEREAS, Paul Filippi’s struggle to help integrate Rhode Island taught Blake that we

must stand tall for our beliefs, especially when they are unpopular, and this has guided his tenure

in the House of Representatives; and

     WHEREAS, In January of 2015, Blake Filippi entered elected office and had an

immediate impact on the House Minority Caucus with his energy, ideas and love of our republic,

and also compelled many members of the House at large to compassionately and logically rethink

previously held political positions on myriad issues; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Filippi served on the House Committee on Environment and

Natural Resources, the Committee on Judiciary, the Committee on Oversight, the Committee on

Municipal Government and the Rhode Island Lottery Commission in addition to several special

House Commissions, and has always been an active, contributing member of the legislative or

oversight processes of these important committees, and has doggedly sought answers and

solutions from anyone appearing before these committees; and

     WHEREAS, In 2017, Representative Filippi was elected to the post of House Minority

Whip and soon ascended to House Minority Leader in 2019. During his tenure as Leader, he was

responsible for leading the holistic changes within the House Minority Office’s organizational

chart and inner workings which resulted in transformative and positive changes to every element

of the Minority Caucus’s impact in the political arena and thereby set the standard by which all

future Minority Leaders will be measured; and

     WHEREAS, Leader Filippi led his caucus mates with honor, loyalty, humility and an

unrelenting hunger for continuous improvement in the caucus’ political and legislative approach,

and overall approach to community engagement, which has resulted in forging strong bonds

within all political corners of the state, including and most importantly among minority

communities and businesses; and

     WHEREAS, As any true leader would, Leader Filippi has led by example, never

displaying an aversion to tackling difficult issues wherever they were found, and earning the

reverence of not only the Minority Caucus, but of Republicans and Democrats alike across our

state and nation because the “spirit of compromise” has always been an element of the political

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process that he felt was losing importance and rightfully needed to be embraced by all policy

makers, and never dismissed; and

     WHEREAS, Leader Filippi’s love and deep respect for our Republic and our Constitution

have compelled him to view every issue through that prism, and he has consistently sought to

bring perspective to issues that were both imperative and constructive in order for members of the

House to craft better-informed policy positions; and

     WHEREAS, Leader Filippi’s style of passionately engaging in floor debates, often in a

very animated fashion, have made his presentations even more compelling and have enabled him

to capture the attention of so many elected officials, aspiring elected officials, as well as citizens

across the State of Rhode Island, and have proven that passion is an integral part of being an

effective elected leader; and

     WHEREAS, Blake Anthony Filippi has served the people of Block Island (New

Shoreham), Charlestown, South Kingstown and Westerly – as well as the entire state, for eight

years with honor and dignity; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

wishes Blake Filippi the very best in all his future endeavors; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Honorable Blake Filippi.

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LC006202

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