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William O'Brien (Rhode Island)

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William O'Brien
Image of William O'Brien

Democratic Party

Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54
Tenure

2013 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

12

Compensation

Base salary

$19,037/year

Per diem

$No per diem is paid

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Rhode Island College

Personal
Profession
Math teacher
Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn 

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William O'Brien (Democratic Party) is a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, representing District 54. He assumed office in 2013. His current term ends on January 5, 2027.

O'Brien (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Rhode Island House of Representatives to represent District 54. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Email [email protected] to notify us of updates to this biography.

O'Brien earned his B.S. in mathematics from Rhode Island College. His professional experience includes working as a math teacher at Hope High School in Providence.[1]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: [email protected].

2021-2022

O'Brien was assigned to the following committees:

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2019-2020

O'Brien was assigned to the following committees:

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}

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Rhode Island committee assignments, 2017
• Environment and Natural Resources
• Finance
• Rules, Vice chair
• State Lottery

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, O'Brien served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, O'Brien served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2024

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent William O'Brien won election in the general election for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of William O'Brien
William O'Brien (D)
 
95.9
 
5,325
 Other/Write-in votes
 
4.1
 
230

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,555
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent William O'Brien advanced from the Democratic primary for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 on September 10, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of William O'Brien
William O'Brien
 
100.0
 
907

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 907
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

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Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for O'Brien in this election.

2022

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent William O'Brien won election in the general election for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of William O'Brien
William O'Brien (D)
 
94.3
 
3,464
 Other/Write-in votes
 
5.7
 
209

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,673
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent William O'Brien advanced from the Democratic primary for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 on September 13, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of William O'Brien
William O'Brien
 
100.0
 
1,476

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,476
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent William O'Brien won election in the general election for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of William O'Brien
William O'Brien (D)
 
96.5
 
5,481
 Other/Write-in votes
 
3.5
 
197

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,678
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent William O'Brien advanced from the Democratic primary for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 on September 8, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of William O'Brien
William O'Brien
 
100.0
 
1,037

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,037
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent William O'Brien won election in the general election for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of William O'Brien
William O'Brien (D)
 
96.5
 
4,116
 Other/Write-in votes
 
3.5
 
148

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,264
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent William O'Brien advanced from the Democratic primary for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 on September 12, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of William O'Brien
William O'Brien
 
100.0
 
1,614

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,614
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Rhode Island House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 13, 2016, and a general election would have taken place on November 8, 2016, if no candidate had won a majority of votes in the primary. The candidate filing deadline was June 29, 2016.

Incumbent William O'Brien ran unopposed in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 general election.[2][3]

Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 54 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png William O'Brien Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Rhode Island State Board of Elections


Incumbent William O'Brien defeated William Deware, Jr. in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54 Democratic primary.[4]

Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 54 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png William O'Brien Incumbent 66.18% 1,978
     Democratic William Deware, Jr. 33.82% 1,011
Total Votes 2,989



2014

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Rhode Island House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 25, 2014. Incumbent William O'Brien was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[5][6][7]

2012

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2012

O'Brien won election in the 2012 election for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54. O'Brien defeated Lance Mantia and David Pellegrino in the September 11 Democratic primary and defeated Kenneth Amoriggi II in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9][10]

Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 54, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngWilliam O'Brien 55.7% 3,356
     Independent Kenneth Amoriggi II 43.9% 2,647
     Other Write-in 0.4% 25
Total Votes 6,028
Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 54 Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngWilliam O'Brien 40.4% 868
David Pellegrino 37.4% 805
Lance Mantia 22.2% 477
Total Votes 2,150

2010

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2010

O'Brien was a 2010 Democratic candidate for District 54 of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. The primary election took place on September 14, 2010, and the general election took place on November 2, 2010. He was defeated in the 2010 Democratic primary by Gregory Schadone on September 14, 2010.[11][12][13]

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

William O'Brien did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

William O'Brien did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

William O'Brien did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2012

On his website, O'Brien stated that he, "supports the increased use of wind power for Rhode Island. He will also work to pass legislation protecting consumers from predatory lenders."[14]

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

William O'Brien campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54Won general$37,345 $0
2022Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54Won general$37,480 $0
2020Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54Won general$20,820 N/A**
2016Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 54Won $14,700 N/A**
2014Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 54Won $17,450 N/A**
2012Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 54Won $19,800 N/A**
2010Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 54Lost $13,850 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Rhode Island

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Rhode Island scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].


2024


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


Noteworthy events

In August 2012 it was reported that O'Brien took material for his campaign website directly from the website of Georgia Senator Jason Carter (D), the grandson of Jimmy Carter. While the two both admitted that they were friends and the content was not taken without permission, O'Brien stated, "Looking back at it, I wish I didn’t do it, but this is not plagiarism. I had 100 percent permission to use that material. There’s nothing wrong with using statements that came from a friend that you agree with."

One of his primary opponents, David Pellegrino, was critical of upon hearing the news, saying "If he can’t come up with his own ideas what’s he going to do if he gets to the Statehouse? These could be great ideas. My friends have great ideas, but they’re not the ones running for office."[13]

See also

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Candidate

Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography of Rep. William O'Brien," accessed June 10, 2014
    2. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed October 5, 2016
    3. ↑ Rhode Island State Board of Elections, "2016 general election results," accessed January 19, 2017
    4. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed June 30, 2016
    5. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Candidates for Representative in General Assembly," accessed June 30, 2014
    6. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2014 Statewide Primary Results: Representative in General Assembly," accessed September 26, 2014
    7. ↑ Rhode Island Board of Elections, "Official 2014 general election results," accessed December 4, 2014
    8. ↑ Candidates in Upcoming Elections, "Rhode Island Secretary of State," accessed July 10, 2012
    9. ↑ State of Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2012 Statewide Primary Results," accessed June 10, 2014
    10. ↑ State of Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2012 Statewide General Election Results," accessed June 10, 2014
    11. ↑ State of Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2010 Statewide Primary Results," accessed June 10, 2014
    12. ↑ State of Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2010 Statewide General Election Results," accessed June 10, 2014
    13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Cherokee Tribune, "RI candidate copies Ga. politician's website," August 8, 2012
    14. ↑ Williamobrien2012.com, "Mission," accessed August 21, 2012(Archived)
    15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Warwick Online, "Rep. Morgan scores top on 'subjective' House Freedom Index," May 31, 2016

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Rhode Island House of Representatives District 54
    2013-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -


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