Rep. Matthew S. Dawson (D-Dist. 65, East Providence) was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in November 2022. He graduated from East Providence High School, the University of Rhode Island, earning a degree in Journalism and Political Science in 1990, and the New England School of Law in 1995. He is a practicing attorney at Lynch & Pine. He is currently a member of the RI Bar Association, the RI Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, and the RI Hospitality Association. He also is the owner of The Red Door restaurant in Providence, has been a member of the Boston College football chain crew for the past 25 years, and plays guitar in the band Liquid Courage. His past public service includes serving as a prosecutor for the RI Attorney General's office from 1995-2011 where he served as Chief of the Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit and, later, as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division. From 2012-2014 he served as a Probate Judge in East Providence. Representative Dawson was the 2019 Providence Journal's People's Choice Attorney of the Year and he served as President of the Rhode Island Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys from 2021 to 2022. He lives in the Riverside section of East Providence.
