Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Other Group

Reclaim Rhode Island

Website:

reclaimri.org/
Type:

Activist Group
Formation:

2020
Co-Chair:

Daniel Denvir

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Reclaim Rhode Island is a left-of-center group active in Rhode Island state politics. Supporters of the 2020 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) founded the group after his defeat in the Democratic primaries. 1

In 2020, the group advocated for defunding the police. 2 The group advocated for a package of legislation called the “Rhode Island Green New Deal” in 2021. 3

In 2022, the group advocated for a bill that would allow Rhode Island to build government-owned housing units. 4

Background

Rhode Island volunteers for the 2020 presidential campaign of democratic socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) founded Reclaim Rhode Island in 2020 after Sanders dropped out of the presidential race. The volunteers wanted to continue to work together on state issues. 5

The group organized Sen. Sanders’s Rhode Island-based volunteers and organizers and built a group that would fight for Sanders’s platform on the state level. The group fought both issue-based and electoral campaigns in legislative districts all over Rhode Island. 6

By August 2020, the group claimed over 100 activists, half of whom were dues paying members. 7

Early Organizing

People’s Budget

Reclaim Rhode Island’s first campaign opposed proposed budget cuts in 2020 by then-Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (D) and called for a “People’s Budget.” The “People’s Budget” called for no cuts to public services in the state budget and instead called for tax increases on the wealthy to close COVID-19 pandemic-caused deficits. 8

Defund the Police

Reclaim Rhode Island advocated for defunding police and diverting funds to social programs in 2020. The group co-sponsored a statewide defund the police rally, held a nationwide forum, and hosted a defund the police teach-in. The group worked with other left-of-center to far-left groups to promote a budget that defunded the police and prisons and redirected that money to social programs, along with raising taxes on the rich. The group advocated defunding the police to surrender what it called the state’s “violent means of privatization” and redirect the money to more social welfare spending. 9

2020 State Primaries

In September 2020, Reclaim Rhode Island helped four candidates – Sam Bell, Leonela Felix, Meghan Kallman, and David Morales – win their primaries. All four candidates committed to opposing any budget that cut education, health care, municipal funding, or transit. The group worked with the RI Political Co-Op, the Providence DSA, the Sunrise Movement, and the Working Families Party in shifting the Rhode Island Democratic Party to the left. 10

Rhode Island Green New Deal

In March 2021, Reclaim Rhode Island supported the Rescue Rhode Island Act, which supporters called “Rhode Island’s Green New Deal.” The legislation would have created a “Green Justice Zone” to fight pollution, created a government agency to create more jobs in agriculture, and created a government agency to create jobs in housing construction. 11

Marijuana Legalization

In April 2021, Reclaim Rhode Island held a rally for marijuana legalization which was co-sponsored by Yes We Cannabis RI, the BLM RI PAC, the Formerly Incarcerated Union of Rhode Island, AFROSOC RI, and the Marijuana Policy Project. The rally demanded the automatic expungement of marijuana related convictions from criminal records, setting aside legal marijuana licenses for worker-owned cooperatives, and unionization of all marijuana industry employees. 12

Organizing Tenants

In October 2022, Reclaim Rhode Island helped organize tenants of an apartment building owned by Pioneer Investments in West Warwick, Rhode Island to demand better living conditions. The tenants alleged they faced structural issues, major leaks, rat infestations, and led concerns. 13

State Owned Housing

In November 2022, Reclaim Rhode Island held a Zoom meeting advocating for legislation that would allow the Rhode Island government to build government-owned housing. The original bill called for federal money to fund the program, but the group suggested a tax on housing speculation or on second homes to fund it instead. 14

Leadership

Reclaim Rhode Island’s co-chair is Daniel Denvir. 15 Denvir is the host of the Marxist magazine Jacobin’s The Dig podcast. 16

Rithika Ramamurthy is a former co-chair of the group. 17 She later became the economic justice editor for Nonprofit Quarterly. 18

References

  1. “About Us.” Reclaim RI. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://reclaimri.org/about-us.
  2. Ramamurthy, Rithika, and Mie  Inouye. “Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment.” Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment , August 4, 2020. https://forgeorganizing.org/article/reclaiming-rhode-island-movement-moment.
  3. Ahlquist, Steve. “Rescue Rhode Island Act: Creating Jobs, Affordable Housing, and Environmental Solutions.” Uprise RI, March 7, 2021. https://upriseri.com/rhode-islands-green-new-deal/.
  4. Kubzansky, Will. “Advocacy Group Outlines Path Forward for Housing Development Public Option.” The Brown Daily Herald, November 28, 2022. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/11/advocacy-group-outlines-path-forward-for-housing-development-public-option.
  5.  “About Us.” Reclaim RI. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://reclaimri.org/about-us.
  6. Ramamurthy, Rithika, and Mie  Inouye. “Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment.” Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment , August 4, 2020. https://forgeorganizing.org/article/reclaiming-rhode-island-movement-moment.
  7. Ramamurthy, Rithika, and Mie  Inouye. “Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment.” Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment , August 4, 2020. https://forgeorganizing.org/article/reclaiming-rhode-island-movement-moment.
  8. Ramamurthy, Rithika, and Mie  Inouye. “Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment.” Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment , August 4, 2020. https://forgeorganizing.org/article/reclaiming-rhode-island-movement-moment.
  9. Ramamurthy, Rithika, and Mie  Inouye. “Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment.” Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment , August 4, 2020. https://forgeorganizing.org/article/reclaiming-rhode-island-movement-moment.
  10. “Reclaim Ri Backed Candidates Sweep Primary Election.” Uprise RI, September 10, 2020. https://upriseri.com/2020-09-10-reclaim-ri/.
  11.  Ahlquist, Steve. “Rescue Rhode Island Act: Creating Jobs, Affordable Housing, and Environmental Solutions.” Uprise RI, March 7, 2021. https://upriseri.com/rhode-islands-green-new-deal/.
  12. James, Will, and Steve Ahlquist. “Reclaim RI Holds Rally for Cannabis Freedom and Justice at State House – Endorses Cannabis Legalization with Calls for Racial and Economic Justice.” Uprise RI, April 21, 2021. https://upriseri.com/420-rally-for-racial-and-economic-justice-in-cannabis-legalization-law/.
  13. Levine, Molly. “Tenants of West Warwick Apartments Protest for Better Living Conditions.” WJAR, October 2, 2022. https://turnto10.com/news/local/landlord-protest-pioneer-investments-west-warwick-property-better-living-conditions-complaints-reclaim-rhode-island-town-leaders-show-support-october-2-2022.
  14. Kubzansky, Will. “Advocacy Group Outlines Path Forward for Housing Development Public Option.” The Brown Daily Herald, November 28, 2022. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/11/advocacy-group-outlines-path-forward-for-housing-development-public-option.
  15. Kubzansky, Will. “Advocacy Group Outlines Path Forward for Housing Development Public Option.” The Brown Daily Herald, November 28, 2022. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/11/advocacy-group-outlines-path-forward-for-housing-development-public-option.
  16. “Daniel Denvir – Host – the Dig, a Podcast from Jacobin Magazine.” LinkedIn. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-denvir-010b6b43/.
  17. Ramamurthy, Rithika, and Mie  Inouye. “Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment.” Reclaiming Rhode Island in a Movement Moment , August 4, 2020. https://forgeorganizing.org/article/reclaiming-rhode-island-movement-moment.
  18. “Rithika Ramamurthy – Editor – Nonprofit Quarterly .” LinkedIn. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rithikaramamurthy/.
  See an error? Let us know!