Rhode Island House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said Thursday he will step down as speaker of the state House of Representatives – often called the most powerful political job in the state – to seek a vacant post on the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
“As a candidate for judicial office, I believe it is best to step away from my role as speaker, effective today, although I will remain a member of the House of Representatives,” Shekarchi said in a statement. “I will not participate in any political activity related to the upcoming election cycle, including the endorsement of any candidates.”
The speaker said he is suspending all fundraising and spending from his prodigious $4.7 million campaign account.
“If I am so fortunate to be confirmed for a position on the Supreme Court, my campaign account will be handled in strict compliance with the law and the Code of Judicial Conduct,” he said.
Shekarchi’s decision set the stage for House Majority Leader Chris Blazejewski, 46, (D-Providence) to succeed him as speaker. He was elected 65-10 during a House session Thursday. House Democratic Whip Katherine Kazarian (D-East Providence) was elected the first female majority leader in the House.
Shekarchi, 63, is considered likely to win a nomination from Gov. Dan McKee to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg earlier this year, although McKee has denied having made up his mind ahead of the formal selection process.
Shekarchi considered running for Congress and governor in recent years, and passed on each. After five years as a hands-on speaker, taking calls from lawmakers at all hours, the court opening appears to have struck him as an appealing capstone for his career.
With the close of applications Thursday, the state Judicial Nominating Commission has 90 days to submit the names of three to five finalists to McKee. The governor then has 21 days to pick a nominee, subject to the General Assembly confirmation.
A related issue is the state revolving door law, which requires lawmakers to be outside of government for one year before taking another post with the state. It was established after two consecutive state Supreme Court chief justices resigned amid scandal in the 1980s and ‘90s.
In 2020, Senate Judiciary Chair Erin Lynch Prata argued the Supreme Court is expempt from the law and the state Ethics Commission did not bar her path to becoming a Supreme Court justice.
Michael Yelnosky, former dean of Roger Williams University School of Law, vowed on the social media platform X that if Shekarchi doesn’t seek an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission, “I guarantee that someone will file a complaint” with the commission.
Shekarchi has been a lawyer for more than 30 years and he’s been involved in Rhode Island’s political scene for decades, including managing Gina Raimondo’s winning campaign for general treasurer in 2010.
“I wish to thank my constituents, my treasured colleagues, and my dedicated staff for the many years of trust and collaboration as we worked hard together every day on a simple premise to get good things done for the people of Rhode Island,” he said. “Whatever the next chapter brings, my goal of serving the people of this great state will always remain constant.”
Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, has told acquaintances that his experience as a freshman in the House after first winning election in 2012 left him wondering if he would seek re-election. But he did – and later moved up the House hierarchy thanks to defeats for two other Democrats.
In 2016, after House Majority Leader John DeSimone of Providence was upset by progressive challenger Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, Shekarchi moved into the number two position in the House. Then, in 2020, Shekarchi and Blazejewski lined up support as the new leadership team after Speaker Nick Mattiello lost his state representative seat in a race with Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung.
Shekarchi won lopsided House votes for two-year terms as speaker in 2021, 2023 and 2025.
A statement distributed by his office credited Shekarchi with leading the House as it “has passed vital policy initiatives that have improved the lives of Rhode Islanders. Shekarchi has been steadfast in the development of measures that encouraged the production of housing, improved the accessibility of healthcare, and spurred economic development.”
At the same time, Rhode Island faces ongoing challenges with infrastructure, underperforming schools, a structural gap between state revenue and state costs, among other things.
Blazejewski, 46, a lawyer with Sherin and Lodgen, was first elected in 2010. Like Shekarchi, he is well-liked in the chamber and around Smith Hill. Blazejewski is considered more liberal than Shekarchi, but as speaker he will face the challenge of balancing competing demands from across the chamber’s ideological spectrum.
In 1992, Republican lawmakers made the difference when Democrat John Harwood competed for the speakership with the more progressive Russell Bramley. Now, through the dint of Blazejewski’s long tenure in the House, which has moved in a slightly more progressive direction over the last decade, he won the speakership with overwhelming support.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
