2016 -- S 2783

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LC005544

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING SINCERE CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF ROBERT J. HEALEY,

JR., ESQ.

     Introduced By: Senators Coyne, Felag, Paiva Weed, Ruggerio, and Goodwin

     Date Introduced: March 23, 2016

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, It is with great sadness that this Senate has learned of the passing of Robert

J. Healey, Jr., Esq., lawyer, entrepreneur, restauranteur, and the founder of Rhode Island’s Cool

Moose Party; and

     WHEREAS, Robert J. Healey was born in the City of Providence, the son of Robert and

Mary Healey, Sr. He grew up in the Town of Warren and was a graduate of Warren High School.

He continued his education, earning a Bachelor's Degree in English and Secondary Education

from Rhode Island College, a Master's Degree in Reading Education from Boston University, a

Juris Doctorate from the New England School of Law, and a Master's Degree in English

Literature from Northeastern University. In 1983, he began a PhD program at Columbia

University, but after completing the requirements, was unable to complete the process when his

dissertation supervisor passed away; and

     WHEREAS, In 1982, Mr. Healey was elected to the Warren School Committee, where he

served as chairman until 1986. He also served as the secretary for the Bristol County Bar

Association at that time, and remained in that position for the rest of his life; and

     WHEREAS, Robert Healey was an iconic political figure whose appearance and

irreverent persona captured the loyalty of the disenfranchised and disaffected. He once stated, "I

have a view of government in the way it was intended not in the way it exists": and

     WHEREAS, In 1986, Mr. Healey ran for Governor as an Independent Candidate. In

1994, he founded the Cool Moose Party, serving as the chairman from 1994 to 1998. Also in

1994 and in 1998, he ran for the Office of Governor as the Cool Moose Party Candidate. In 2002,

2006, and 2010, he ran for the Office of Lieutenant Governor on the unconventional platform of

abolishing the office; and

     WHEREAS, Robert Healey ran five times on the Cool Moose ticket, once as an

independent, and in 2014, he ran for Office of Governor, but due to unusual circumstances, he

became the Moderate Party candidate. In his 2014 campaign for governor, he appealed to a broad

political spectrum and garnered a remarkable 21 percent of the vote, while spending only $35.31

on office supplies and 98 cents on postage; and

     WHEREAS, Robert Healey was persuasive and effective. He was gifted with exceptional

clarity of purpose, and anecdotes about this remarkable man, who helped to transform our state

and shape the diverse structure of Rhode Island politics will long be reiterated and remembered;

now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby expresses our deepest sympathies on the passing of Robert J. Healey, Jr.

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