Warren Democrat June Speakman released this statement Monday, Dec. 17:

WARREN, RI – Warren resident June Speakman, Professor of Political Science at RWU, announced today that she is a candidate for state representative in the special election in District 68 (Bristol/Warren), and will be filing declaration papers on December 27 to make it official.

“It is clear to me that we need honest representation,” said Speakman. “More than anything we need elected officials that are transparent and will be accessible to our communities. We need to begin with these very simple, basic values. Our communities have been through a lot in such a short time, and we cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past. I would be honored to earn support from the voters of Bristol and Warren to act on their behalf in the House of Representatives.”

Speakman is a longtime resident of the East Bay and currently resides on Seymour Street in Warren. She has two adult children, Jason and Adam. She holds her B.A. from University of Massachusetts, her M.A. from New School for Social Research, and her Ph.D. in Political Science from City University of New York, and has been teaching at Roger Williams University for the last twenty-three years. Speakman was also a Hassenfeld fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where she earned a certificate for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. She previously served as a member of the Barrington Town Council for fourteen years, including six years as Council President. Speakman has worked collaboratively with the Towns of Bristol, Warren, and Barrington on issues related to education, water supply, and our environment. She helped lead the first Rhode Island effort to adopt an ordinance eliminating plastic bags in Barrington, which has since been adopted by several waterfront communities in Rhode Island, including Bristol and Warren.

“Working on policies that will positively impact our communities and our state is something I am very passionate about. I love the East Bay. I want to take my passion and knowledge for policy development and government relations to the State House. It would be an honor to serve Bristol and Warren at the State House as their state representative,” said Speakman.