Jennifer Stewart (D) was elected in November 2022 as the State
Representative from District 59 in Pawtucket. She is a member of the
House Health and Human Services Committee, the House Innovation and
Technology Committee, and the House State Government and Elections
Committee.
In 2025, Representative Stewart introduced
legislation enacted into law which prohibits discrimination
on the basis of race by expanding the definition to include traits
historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective
hairstyles.
A vocal advocate for tenants' rights, during
the 2024 legislation session she championed a new law amending the
state's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
to give tenants more notice before raising their rent.
She
cosponsored a bill, which became part of the state budget, to add
another $5 million to the $10 million the governor proposed to help the
Rhode Island Public Transit Authority close an $18.1 million budget gap
following the end of federal pandemic aid, avoiding service cuts.
During the 2023 legislative session, Representative Stewart supported
the passage of the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act to provide
insurance coverage for abortion care to individuals on Medicaid as well
as state employees. She also supported passage of several bills that
will address Rhode Island’s insufficient housing stock as well as the
elimination of rental application fees. Rhode Island’s chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union recognized her strong voting record on
bills concerning civil liberties issues by giving her a perfect score on
its 2023 Legislative Score Card.
In 2023, Representative Stewart introduced bills to make Rhode Island a
better place to live for all its residents. These bills included
extending the notification time that landlords must provide to tenants
about rent increases, promoting visitable and accessible building
standards for all residential projects that receive public support,
repealing the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, and renaming
Victory Day as Peace and Remembrance Day. She was the prime sponsor of
resolutions to require state agencies to report on their use of
artificial intelligence and to welcome the Golden Rule to Rhode Island
when it arrived to educate the public about the continued threats of
nuclear destruction.
A graduate of the University of Chicago, Representative Stewart
has a master's degree in political science and is a teacher of history
and political science. She previously had a successful seven-year tenure
as humanities department chair.
She was a recipient of the U.S.
Presidential Scholars Teacher Recognition Award in 2011. She has been
privileged to pursue many professional development opportunities,
including a summer fellowship on cartographic history with the National
Endowment for the Humanities.
Representative Stewart is a
2018-2019 recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Award for Teaching.
As a Fulbright grantee, she made Finland her home from January through
June, 2019, and conducted an inquiry project entitled “How Less Can Be
More: What Finland Can Teach the U.S. about Cutting the Homework in the
Humanities." During her stay, she was hosted by the University of
Helsinki.
Representative Stewart resides in Pawtucket with her
husband. She is excited to represent her Oak Hill and Woodlawn neighbors
in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.