State Representative Donald Lally, a Democrat who represents District 33 in the House, has decided to resign his seat after serving 26 years.. Approximately 2 hours later, Susan Cicilline-Buonanno, the sister of Congressman David Cicilline, announced she will run for the seat.

Lally’s decision makes no sense to me. He cited the desire to spend more time with family, yet he has decided to resign less than three months after the beginning of his current term. Why bother running if your heart isn’t in it? At any rate, we’re looking at a Special Election, along with the costs involved in the process.

My Hope is that the Republican Party finds a strong candidate to run against Cicilline-Buonanno, but I am concerned. Lally ran unopposed in 2014, and defeated Republican Robert A. Trager 57.9% to 42% in 2012. Also, in her race for Narragansett Town Council in 2014, Cicilline-Buonanno finished second out of nine candidates (the top five are elected).

A special Election in South County is very winnable for the GOP. Now let’s hope we can find a good candidate and mobilize our resources to get a 12th seat in the House.