Nicholas Mattiello

Nicholas Mattiello (Democratic Party) was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, representing District 15. He assumed office in 2007. He left office on January 4, 2021.

Mattiello (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Rhode Island House of Representatives to represent District 15. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Mattiello was elected speaker of the House on March 25, 2014, after Gordon Fox resigned from the position. He served as House majority leader from February 2010 to March 2014.^[1]

Biography

Mattiello earned his bachelor's degree from Boston College in 1985 and his J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law in 1988. His professional experience includes working as a self-employed attorney.^[2]

Committee assignments

2019-2020

Mattiello was assigned to the following committees:

• Legislative Services Committee, Chairman

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Mattiello served on the following committees:

Note: As House Speaker, Mattiello served as an ex officio member on all house committees.

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Mattiello served on the following committees:

Note: As Majority Leader, Mattiello served as an ex officio member on all house committees.

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Mattiello served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Mattiello served on these 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

2020

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

2018

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

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 Nicholas Mattiello defeated Steven Frias and Patrick Vallier in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 15 general election.^[3][4]

Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 15 General Election, 2016
Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Nicholas Mattiello Incumbent	49.20%	3,611
	Republican	Steven Frias	48.04%	3,526
	Independent	Patrick Vallier	2.75%	202
Total Votes	7,339
Source: Rhode Island State Board of Elections

Incumbent Nicholas Mattiello ran unopposed in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 15 Democratic primary.^[5]

Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 15 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party	Candidate
	Democratic	Nicholas Mattiello Incumbent (unopposed)

Steven Frias defeated Shawna Lawton in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 15 Republican primary.^[6]

Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 15 Republican Primary, 2016
Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Steven Frias	79.63%	477
	Republican	Shawna Lawton	20.37%	122
Total Votes	599

This candidate ran in one of Ballotpedia's races to watch in 2016. Read more »

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 Nicholas Mattiello was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.^[7][8][9]

2012

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2012

Mattiello won re-election in Rhode Island House of Representatives District 15. He was unopposed in the September 11 Democratic primary and defeated Robert Bach (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.^[10][11][12]

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Nicholas Mattiello Incumbent	57.9%	3,856
	Republican	Robert Bach	41.9%	2,792
	Other	Write-in	0.2%	13
Total Votes	6,661

2010

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2010

Mattiello won re-election to the 15th District seat in 2010. He was unopposed in the September 14 Democratic primary and defeated Republican James Quinlan and independent Stephen Perrino in the general election on November 2, 2010.^[13][14]

Rhode Island House District 15
Candidates	Votes
Nicholas Mattiello (D)	2969
James Quinlan (R)	2275
Stephen Perrino (I)	455

2008

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2008

In 2008, Mattiello was elected to the Rhode Island House District 15. Mattiello (D) finished with 3,898 votes and was followed by Robert Coupe (R) with 2,328 votes and Christopher Frappier (I) with 749 votes.^[15] Mattiello raised $28,076 for his campaign fund.^[16]

Rhode Island House District 15
Candidates	Votes
Nicholas Mattiello (D)	3,898
Robert Coupe (R)	2,328
Christopher Frappier (I)	749

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Nicholas Mattiello did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

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.

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 editor@ballotpedia.org.

2020

In 2020, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 7 to August 30.

• National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

• The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Mattielo and his wife, Mary Ann, have two children.^[2]

Noteworthy events

2017 legislative session

• A debate over motor vehicle taxes between Democratic leadership in the Rhode Island state Senate and House led Rhode Island to enter the 2018 fiscal year without a budget in place. Leading up to the deadline on June 30, 2017, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello (D) had advocated for a six-year-phase repeal of motor vehicle taxes in Rhode Island. The House approved the repeal in a budget plan—which also included a proposal backed by Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) for tuition-free community college—on June 23, 2017, in a 64-11 vote. When the Senate took up the budget on June 30, 2017, it voted 30-5 in favor of an amendment that would suspend the car-tax repeal if state revenues prove lower than projected or if the economy declined. Mattiello protested the amendment, calling it a last-minute change and dismissed the House for summer recess before a vote could take place. Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (D) stated that Mattiello was aware of concerns voiced in the Senate about the financial sustainability of repealing the motor vehicle tax. Mattiello later said he had no plans to call the House back from recess.
• In a press conference on July 5, Raimondo stated that she intended to find new revenue sources to cover the $2.75 million needed for the free community college plan that she supported throughout the regular session. She also criticized the Legislature over its standoff.
• On July 6, 2017, Ruggerio stated in an op-ed that the House proposal for the motor vehicle tax repeal did not do enough to protect the state’s rainy day fund, and he called on Mattiello to call the House back into session:^[18]

• On July 8, Mattiello released his own op-ed, in which he stated that Ruggerio had backed out of a deal and that the Senate amendment was neither needed nor appropriate:^[20]

• Mattiello and Ruggerio held a meeting on July 18, 2017. After the meeting, both released statements describing it as productive. Rhode Island Public Radio reported that Ruggerio was considering having the Senate take up the original House version of the budget without the Senate amendment. Mattiello, on the other hand, was reportedly considering holding a special session in the Fall to consider other legislative initiatives that the budget standoff held up.^[21]
• The standoff concluded on August 3, 2017. After a series of meetings in late July and early August, Mattiello and Ruggerio reached an agreement in which the state Senate would pass the original budget without the amendment if the state House agreed to pass legislation requiring the state Department of Revenue to conduct an annual study of tax repeal beginning in 2021. The Senate vote was 30-5. Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) signed the budget shortly after receiving it.^[22]

Background information

• In 2004, Rhode Island enacted a law allowing the state to continue operating at the previous year’s spending levels when a budget is not passed by the June 30 deadline.^[23][24][25]
• In Rhode Island, the governor has the power to call the Legislature into a special session. In 2017, the legislature was in session from January 3 through June 30.
• An annual motor vehicle excise tax in Rhode Island fluctuates among municipalities in the state. It is highest in Providence—Rhode Island’s biggest city—where residents pay $60 for every $1000 that the vehicle is worth. Revenue generated from car taxes provides roughly $220 million per year for Rhode Island municipalities. That money accounts for as much as 14 percent of a town’s revenue, on the high end, and as low as 2.9 percent on the low end. Earlier in 2017, Raimondo proposed an alternative to the full repeal supported by Mattiello. She advocated for a 30 percent cut to the tax.^[26]
• The budget standoff left several other pieces of legislation in limbo, including a proposal granting paid sick leave for private sector employees and a proposal to limit access to firearms for individuals with histories of domestic abuse. Groups such as the National Rifle Association campaigned against the latter measure.^[27]

Grants to nonprofit organizations

In 2012, Rhode Island lawmakers issued $1.9 million in legislative grants to nonprofit organizations. These grants were awarded on a nonpartisan basis by House Speaker Gordon Fox and Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed and were chosen based on the merits of the organizations' applications and requests by individual lawmakers. Though the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that the legislature has the authority to create grants as part of the budget, some critics called these grants wasteful government spending and said the money could be used to influence votes. Lawmakers in support of the grants claimed that they went to community organizations that were struggling to fill fundraising gaps or make up for a lack of resources that may no longer be available at the municipal level. According to an August 2013 report in Go Local Prov News, Mattiello was among the top 25 lawmakers who sponsored the most in grant funding, obtaining $53,000 for community organizations.^[28][29]

See also

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Profile from Open States
• Nicholas Mattiello on Facebook
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions via Follow the Money

Footnotes

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