Matthew Dawson is running for a third term as the representative in the Rhode Island House of Representative’s 65th District, which encompasses Riverside and areas of Kent Heights.

A Riverside native, attorney, and lifelong East Providence resident who was first elected in 2022, Dawson said in an interview on Friday that he feels as though his short time in the House has proven him to be an effective legislator capable of getting things done — and he has the stats to back it up.

“I've gotten 18 bills passed, which puts me in the last four years at somewhere near the top five or six [legislators in the House] who's gotten the most done,” he said.

Dawson credits his 21 years as a state prosecutor — working his way up from a paralegal in the state Attorney General’s office shortly after graduating from the University of Rhode Island in 1990, ultimately rising to become the deputy chief of the office’s criminal division — as a big reason for that record.

“It's because I know how to do it. It’s persuasion,” he said of working at the State House. “It's like being a trial attorney. It's just being persuasive and changing what you need to change and getting people on board.”

It hasn’t hurt, either, that Rhode Island politics has become inundated with Townies in positions of high power. Katherine Kazarian (Dist. 63) just became the House Majority Leader, and Val Lawson has now been the Senate President for over a year.

“It’s been a godsend for me,” Dawson said. “I can speak to Val and we can get things done.”

Things that got done

Dawson said that some of his proudest accomplishments in the state legislature have often been simple or overlooked issues that needed practical fixes.
He pointed to his most recent bill that passed, which amended an existing law to allow police to criminally charge those who leave children under the age of 7 unattended in a vehicle. Previously, they could only issue warnings.

“Last year a fellow went to down to Twin River, left a 15-month-old in his car and went inside for a few hours to gamble,” he said. “But because of that statue, they weren't able to charge the guy, despite the fact it was blatant negligence and child endangerment. But we got that passed.”

He mentioned a long-suffering effort to bury high-voltage power lines that had existed between Bold Point Park in East Providence and India Point Park in Providence, which he finally got across the finish line last year through a joint effort with Providence Senator Sam Zurier.

Dawson said that the bill was an example of a legislative effort paving the way for further development of the city’s under-utilized waterfront; an important political platform for him.

“One of my main issues that I really want to see done in East Providence is getting our shoreline up and running,” he said. “It is outstanding land out there that we're not using. And it's been slow for the last 20 years, getting a few things here, getting a few things there. But I really feel like there's no reason why we shouldn't be like Bristol or Warren on the water, with houses and restaurants and such.”

Other efforts include fixes for problems he never foresaw when running for office in the first place.

“I did the bill to make threatening a poll worker a crime, which I never thought in my lifetime would be a thing. But it is, because everyone's going bonkers,” he said. “That's something I'm pretty proud of.”

Dawson said another important victory was getting an item in the state’s FY27 budget to make it so that East Providence would no longer foot the bill for students being sent to Bradley Hospital from other cities and towns. Our reporting showed that requirement had cost the city over $1.1 million in net expenses over the prior three years (as of June 16, 2025).

Things left to be done

Dawson said that if he is elected for a third term — and he likes his chances, despite two challengers who have declared their candidacy, because he is set to receive endorsements from a host of colleagues, the Democratic Party, as well as prominent unions and PACs — he will continue to use the same approach to governing he has since winning office in 2022; treating his constituents like the neighbors that they are.

“I understand Riverside and East Providence more than most, having been here for almost 60 years,” he said. “My mother is the oldest of nine, now seven, that live in the greater East Providence area. These are my family, my friends, and my neighbors.”

Dawson said that he makes his cell phone available to everyone because his email inbox gets too unwieldy to reasonably manage. The accessibility leads to moments with constituents that can be comical, productive, or a mixture of both.

“Sometimes people are shocked that I answer the phone…I get a call one day and say ‘Hello, Matt Dawson,’ and he goes, ‘Oh. I didn't think you would answer your phone.’ I said, ‘Well, I do, what do you want to talk about?’ He says ‘Well, I wanted to leave you a message,’” Dawson recalled. “It was right around the time we were passing some gun legislation. I said, ‘Let me guess, you're a gun lover and you want to cuss me out?’ ‘Well, yeah, kind of.’ I said ‘Alright buddy, let it rip. I don't mind.’ And we actually went on to have a decent conversation.”

If he is re-elected, Dawson (currently the Second Vice Chair of the House Judiciary Committee) said he will likely become the next First Vice Chair of the committee, as that role is currently held by Attorney General candidate, Rep. Jason Knight.

He said one issue he thought was important to get across the finish line next year would be striking a balanced bill regarding Flock cameras — which have pitted law enforcement supporters and privacy advocates against one another in heated debate.

Dawson said that the cameras’ ability to track down criminals (as in the Brown University shooting), as well as people who are at risk of harming themselves is undeniable.

“This has happened two or three times that they have examples of this throughout Rhode Island where somebody has told their relatives and such that they're going to be committing suicide…they had her pulled over in 10 minutes,” he said. “It was unbelievable.”

However, he also sees the possibility for the cameras to be abused, and for the public’s privacy to be jeopardized.

“Sometimes people can take advantage of it…if they're following an ex-wife's boyfriend or something of that nature, and that can be a problem,” he said. “But I’m at the point where it’s like, well, we're going to have to live with this. So now the bill that's going to come out next year is strictly regulatory…If I win I’m going to get on that right away.”

Dawson said he ran for the first time because Rhode Island’s Secretary of State, Gregg Amore, asked if he would consider doing so. Now, he says that he has grown to enjoy the work and doesn’t see a reason to stop doing it.

“Across the board, everyone seems to feel that I’m doing a very good job, and most people want me to stay,” he said. “Much of that has to do with the fact that state agencies and other groups have given me their bills, because they know I can make things happen. And I expect that to continue in the future.”