PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island lawmakers are beginning the process to confirm the state’s next lieutenant governor
The state Senate’s Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing Thursday to consider the nomination of Providence City Council President Sabina Matos, who would become the first person of color to hold the post if approved by the full senate.
Democratic Gov. Daniel McKee picked Matos for the role he vacated in order to become governor. About 80 people initially applied for the job, but McKee said the 47-year-old shares his vision of supporting local communities and small businesses.
Matos, who is Afro-Latina, said her priorities will be continuing the state’s coronavirus vaccination efforts, getting the state back to work and children up to speed in the classroom after the pandemic, and addressing what she called the “affordable housing crisis.”
Matos was first elected to the city council in 2010 and was voted president in 2019.
She was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to the U.S. in 1994. She graduated from Rhode Island College in 2001 with a degree in communications and public relations. She is married with two children.
McKee became governor last month after former Gov. Gina Raimondo resigned to become President Joe Biden’s commerce secretary.
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