Christopher R. Blazejewski, who emerged as a top academic performer while growing up in Cumberland, completed his ascent to one of Rhode Island’s most powerful political offices, winning a 65-10 party-line vote Thursday to succeed Joe Shekarchi as House speaker.
Blazejewski, 46, a lawyer and partner with Sherin and Lodgen in Providence, first won election to the House in 2010 as part of a vanguard of progressives who have nudged the chamber in a slightly more liberal direction over time.
“I think our job as Democrats is to help working people,” he told reporters after the vote that made him speaker, “to try to improve healthcare in Rhode Island, to try to improve public education, to protect our environment, to protect Rhode Islanders from the overreaches of the federal government.”
The Providence Democrat said he believes the role of the speaker “is to be openminded, to be willing to listen to people, have an open door and consider everyone’s opinions and also try to empower the members to improve the quality of the lives of their constituents.”
Blazejewski offered little clue about how his outlook will influence policy.
He said it is fair to call him a progressive, adding, “The job of the speaker is to include all voices and make sure that they’re heard. And to understand that the room can only be governed by looking at all the perspectives from all sides and taking that information.”
Blazejewski – pronounced with four syllables: Blaz-uh-jew-ski – was able to move to become speaker after Shekarchi resigned the post to seek a vacant position on the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
Blazejewski lives in the Fox Point section of Providence with his wife, Ami Gada, a history teacher at Johnston High School, and their two children, Aria and Liam.
Blazejewski has a low-key, slightly reserved persona – less prone to bantering than Shekarchi – although he has a canny political sense and is quick to flash a smile.
He raised his political profile before running for office by hosting Drinking Liberally, a discussion series, at the Wild Colonial Tavern in Providence. In 2010, a young activist called it “a hub of Rhode Island progressivism and a new constituency that candidates must satisfy to get a realistic shot at winning an election.”
In 2014, Blazejewski was part of a team that unsuccessfully tried to win the speakership after House leader Gordon Fox resigned amid an investigation that ultimately landed Fox in prison on corruption charges. He worked his way back into good graces during Nicholas Mattiello’s time as speaker and became majority leader, the number two position in the House, after Mattiello lost his state rep seat in 2020.
His ascent as speaker follows an accumulation of academic credentials: graduating as class salutatorian at Cumberland High School and winning degrees from Harvard University and Harvard University Law School.
Succeeding Blazejewski as majority leader is the former House Democratic whip, Katherine Kazarian of East Providence. She beamed in the chamber while joined by her husband, Sam Daniel, and their twin daughters, Eleanor and Serena, who were born in February. She is the first woman to serve in the position.
Blazejewski said he does not expect to fill the whip position with the General Assembly set to recess some time next month.
Lawmakers praised his leadership skills, saying he played an important role in advancing measures such as a state-based abortion rights law in 2019, and said his years in the House make him well prepared to be speaker.
But GOP House Whip David Place (R-Burrillville) dismissed Rep. Samuel Azzinaro’s (D-Westerly) view that Blazejewski was almost destined to be speaker and he nominated House Republican Leader Mike Chippendale (R-Foster) instead.
All 10 House Republicans voted for Chippendale – who wished Blazejewski well – while 64 Democrats and independent Rep. Jon Brien of Woonsocket supported the Democratic choice.
After five years as speaker, Shekarchi’s voice choked with emotion as he counted down his final minutes on the House rostrum and resigned his post as speaker. He took credit for raising the state’s focus on housing and cited progress on other issues.
It made for an unusual sight when he took a seat with other rank-and-file state representatives on the House floor.
The House pulsed with applause and well wishes for Shekarchi, who was credited with ushering in a new era of good feeling in the chamber and fostering progress on topics including pay equity, the environment and education funding.
Blazejewski predicted from the rostrum that Shekarchi will make for a good Supreme Court justice.
In related news, Shekarchi said he does not plan to seek a state Ethics Commission advisory opinion about his attempt to join the court.
“I’ve done my own analysis and the issue has been resolved,” he said. “The law is very clear to me.”
Echoing the argument made by Erin Lynch Prata when she moved from the state Senate to the Supreme Court in 2020, Shekarchi said the court is a constitutional office exempt from the revolving door law. Critics disagree.
The Judicial Nominating Commission now has 90 days to submit three to five finalists to Gov. Dan McKee, who has 21 days to make his nomination.
