SABINA MATOS ANNOUNCES RUN FOR CONGRESS
PROVIDENCE, RI – Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos announced today that she will run for U.S. Congress in the upcoming special election in Rhode Island’s First Congressional District. Matos will formally kick off her campaign in April.
“Congressman David Cicilline has served our state with great distinction and we owe him a debt of gratitude for his lifelong commitment to public service. His dedicated work to improve the lives of all Rhode Islanders is a model for all our state’s leaders. He leaves big shoes to fill and I’m committed to doing my part to ensure that Rhode Islanders continue to have a strong voice in Washington,” said Lt. Governor Sabina Matos.
“I’m running for Congress because Rhode Islanders deserve a champion who has a deep connection and commitment to the vibrant communities that make up our state. We’re facing an important moment in Washington. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and continue fighting for the things that matter to Rhode Islanders: addressing affordable housing, protecting reproductive freedom, working to solve our climate crisis, and standing up to threats to our democracy. I’ve worked on these important issues and have led during challenging times in my years as President of the Providence City Council and as Lt. Governor. I’m looking forward to talking with voters across the First District about putting my experience to work for them in Congress,” continued Matos.
During Sabina Matos’s time as Providence City Council President, she shepherded significant changes to help city residents. She helped capitalize the Providence Housing Trust Fund; a dedicated municipal funding source for the construction of affordable housing capitalized by tax-stabilization agreement payments. She overhauled the city’s tax-stabilization ordinance to ensure developers who received tax relief agreements also abided by local employment, apprenticeship, and procurement requirements and invest in efforts to beautify our parks and build affordable housing.
As Lt. Governor, Sabina Matos has spent two years advocating for stronger voting rights and gun safety legislation, working closely with the McKee Administration to make historic investments in addressing our climate crisis and affordable housing, and championing enhanced protections for reproductive freedom.
ABOUT SABINA MATOS
Like many Rhode Islanders, Sabina knows what it’s like to work hard and, at times, struggle to make ends meet. Immigrating to the United States from the Dominican Republic at the age of 20 and determined to secure the American dream, Sabina worked at a clothing factory before moving to Providence – where she learned English while working in a jewelry factory.
Sabina graduated from Rhode Island College, and soon after started a sales job at a Spanish-language radio station. In 2010, Sabina was elected to the Providence City Council. During her campaign, Sabina remembers being asked why a single mother with a baby would run for office. Her response: “Why not?”
Sabina served 10 years on the Council, championing an equity agenda. Her initiatives took direct aim at the barriers facing Providence households: building housing that hard-working Rhode Islanders can afford, supporting women leaders, and protecting reproductive freedom.
Since 2021, Sabina has served as Rhode Island’s Lieutenant Governor, advocating for stronger voting rights and gun safety legislation, working closely with the McKee Administration to make historic investments in addressing our climate crisis and affordable housing, and championing protections for reproductive freedom.
Lt. Governor Matos has been a trailblazer in her public service to Rhode Island as both the first Afro-Latina to be President of the Providence City Council and hold statewide office in Rhode Island. If elected, she would become the first Democratic woman and first person of color elected to Congress in Rhode Island’s history – as well as the nation’s first Afro-Latina elected to Congress.
Sabina and her husband live in Providence with their two children.
