English
Special Collections and University Archives
15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu
Licht, Richard A., 1948-
Rhode Island Senator Richard Licht Papers
1988-2000
8 linear feet
5.5 box(es)
This collection is comprised of audio and visual materials used by Licht for his campaigns of 1988 and 2000.
Mss. Gr. 163
Biographical note
Richard A. Licht, nephew of two term governor Frank Licht, was born in Providence, R.I. on March 25, 1948. In 1968 he graduated from Harvard College, cum laude. Licht received his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1972 and earned an LL.M. degree in Taxation from Boston University School of Law in 1975. After serving as a law clerk for the Honorable Thomas Roberts, then Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1973 to 1974, Mr. Licht went into private legal practice.
Richard Licht served as a member of the Rhode Island State Senate from 1975 to 1984 and held two terms as Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island from 1985 to January 1989. He served on the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education from 1991-1997 and was Chairman 1992-1995.
As a senator, Licht championed such issues as parental leave and providing access to affordable day care. He sponsored the first open space bond issue for purchasing open space and recreational lands. He also created and chaired the state's Long Term Care Coordinating Council, and fought for small businesses by creating and then chairing the state's Small Business Advisory Council.
In 1988, Licht ran unsuccessfully against Republican incumbent John H. Chafee for a seat in the U. S. Senate. In 2000, Licht made another bid for the U.S. Senate. After Senator John Chafee's unexpected death in October 1999, his son Lincoln, four-term mayor of the city of Warwick, was appointed to serve until the 2000 election. Lincoln had previously dealclared his candidacy forhis father's senate seat after his father had announced that he would not seek reelection in 2000. Richard Licht ran for the Democratic nomination against U.S. Rep. Robert Weygand, who was representing Rhode Island's 2nd district. Licht had the endorsement of the state party but he had been out of politics since 1988. Perhaps this contributed to his defeat by Weygand who garnered 57% of the votein the primary on Sept 12th.
Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred Citation
Rhode Island Senator Richard Licht Papers, Mss. Gr. 163, University of Rhode Island.
Scope and Content Note
This collection is comprised of audio and visual materials used by Licht for his campaigns of 1988 and 2000. The tapes contain television and radio advertisements, speeches, and interviews. The collection is divided into two series.
Series 1, 1988 Campaign, contains VHS video and audio cassette material generated during his 1988 bid for United States Senate against Senator John H. Chafee. About twenty advertisements were aired on local television networks in Rhode Island. Licht's campaign platform was centered around the family and stressed the need to regain the "American Dream." The advertisements challenged the incumbent Senator John Chafee by claiming that his political agenda was focused on Washington ideals and not what was in the best interest of the people of Rhode Island.
In addition to advertisements, there are recordings of news conferences on Rhode Island's local television Channel 10. The news conferences consist of Senator Chafee speaking about the election and of his then opponent Richard Licht. There are also five television commercials produced by Chafee for his campaign against Licht. The audio recordings consist of campaign commercials as well as audio recordings of Licht and Chafee advertisements and endorsements. See also Series II for 1988 VHS campaign tapes.
Series 2, 2000 Campaign, contains VHS video documenting Licht's bid for the state Democratic party's nomination for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the late John Chafee in 2000. These videos comprise television interviews of Licht and his opponent, Robert Weygand. Political commercials depicting the candidates positions on the issues of affordable healthcare and prescription drugs. The tapes in this series were given in a separate accession, among them are VHS tapes dating from the 1988 campaign. Also in this series is a VHS tape of a testimonial given by Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis at Gov. Frank Licht's funeral. There is one audio cassette tape of an interview of Robert Weygand in which he expresses his views on the importance of healthcare, housing, and the economy.
Arrangement
The tapes are arranged into two series and in alphabetical order by their title.
- 1. 1988 Campaign
- 2. 2000 Campaign
Acquisitions InformationThe collection was donated as a gift to the University of Rhode Island in 2003 Jul.
Names
Licht, Richard A., 1948-
Subjects
Licht, Richard A., 1948-
Legislators -- Rhode Island
Rhode Island -- Politics and government
RIAMCO Browsing Terms
Government, Politics and Law
The Senatorial Papers of John H. Chafee.
Richard A. Licht co-authored a book entitled
Property Tax Law in Rhode Island
available through the HELIN catalog.
The commercials for Licht's campaigns can be found in the
Julian P. Kanter Commercial Archive
housed at the University of Oklahoma's Political Communication Center.
Inventory
Series 1
1988 Campaign1988
The series contains audio and audiovisual records from Richard Licht's 1988 campaign against Senator John H. Chafee including television advertisements and interviews. In addition to advertisements, there are recordings of news conferences on Rhode Island's local television channel 10. The news conferences in tapes 33 - 35 consist of Senator Chafee speaking about the election and of his then opponent Richard Licht. There are also five television commercials of Chafee's as well. The Chafee videos and the audio recordings consist of campaign commercials as well as audio recordings of Licht and Chafee advertisements and endorsements. The audiovisual materials are recorded on VHS tapes and the audio tapes are recorded on cassette tapes.
The records are arranged according to format and in alphabetical order within the format.
1
1
1988 Oct 10
"Again"
1
2
1988 Oct 10
"American Dream"
1
3
1988 Oct 3
"American Dream"c.2
1
4
1988 Sep 6
"Broken Promises"
1
5
1988 Oct 27
"Children" version A B
1
6
1988 Oct 27
"Children" version A B
1
7
1988 Nov 1
"Commitment"
1
8
1988 Oct 25
"Day Care"
1
9
1988 Oct 25
"Day Care"c.2
1
10
1988 Jul 15
"Endorsement"
1
11
1988 Nov 2
"Frank Licht"
2
12
1988 Oct 31
"Future"
2
13
1988 Jul 14
"Great State", "Top Priority", "Testimonial", "Every Generation", "Dukakis"
2
14
1988 Jul 14
"Great State", "Top Priority", "Testimonial", "Every Generation", "Dukakis"c.2
2
15
1988 Oct 3
"Great State", "Top Priority", "Testimonial" ,"Every Generation", "Endorsement", "Woonsocket", "Well Baby"
2
16
1988 Oct 3
"Great State", "Top Priority", "Testimonial" ,"Every Generation", "Endorsement", "Woonsocket", "Well Baby"c.2
2
17
1988 Apr 27
"Great State", "Top Priority", "Testimonial", "Every Generation"
2
18
1988 Apr 27
"Great State", "Top Priority", "Testimonial", "Every Generation"c.2
2
19
1988 Oct 13
"Housing", "Housing II"
2
20
1988 Oct 13
"Housing", "Housing II" c.2
2
21
1988 Sep 13
"Knowing", "Caring"
3
22
1988
"October RI -135"
3
23
1988
"On Your Side", "Tried Twice"
3
24
1988
"Pepper"
3
25
1988
"Testimonial", "Every Generation"
3
26
1988
"Testimonial", "Every Generation" c.2
3
27
1988 Nov 2
"Tough"
3
28
1988 Nov 3
"Tough" (revised)
3
29
1988 Aug 1
"Woonsocket", "Well Baby"
3
30
1988 Oct 26
Licht for Lt Gov. "Office"
3
31
1988 Oct 22
Rough Cuts: "That's Why II"
3
32
1988 Apr 19
Rough Cuts: "Testimonial", Testimonial 2, VO Park, VO Dream, American Dream, Chafee Advertisements, Interviews, News Conferences
3
33
1988 Aug 23
"Backbone"
3
34
1988 Sep 15
"Catastrophic Illness"
3
35
1988?
"Housing Attendance Attack"
3
36
1988 Aug 22
"Korean Nails, 200 Jobs"
3
37
1988?
News Conference: Channel 10 Chafee
3
38
1988?
News Conference: Channel 10 Chafee on Licht
3
39
1988?
News Conference: Channel 10 Licht on Chafee
3
40
1988 Jan 1
Newsmakers Chafee [Sen. Chafee before trip to Middle East]
3
41
1988 Sep 30
Poll Coverage, Channel 10
3
42
1988 Oct 3
"RI Housing", "Billboards, Tobacco, Sugar
3
43
1988 Jan 7
"West Bank/ Gaza" [Sen. Chafee in Middle East, Licht Opinion], Channel 10 News
4
44
1988?
"All Takes"
4
45
1988 Sep 15
"Caring"
4
46
1988 Sep 15
"Caring"
4
47
1988
Chafee U.S. Senate Campaign
4
48
1988
Chafee U.S. Senate Campaign
4
49
1988
Chafee U.S. Senate Campaign
4
50
1988
Chafee U.S. Senate Campaign
4
51
1988?
"Conservation"
4
52
1988 Jul 14
"Dukakis"
4
53
1988 Jul 14
"Dukakis"
4
54
1988 Aug 12
"Environment"
4
55
1988 Aug 12
"Environment"
4
0
1988 Oct 13
"Here We Go Again"
4
56
1988 Aug 8
"Ocean Dumping, Dukakis, Choice"
4
57
1988 Sep 9
"Prescription Drugs"
4
58
1988 Sep 9
"Prescription Drugs"
4
59
1988?
"Service"
4
60
1988?
"Social Security"
4
61
1988?
"Social Security"
4
62
1988?
"139"
Series 2
2000 Campaign1998-2000
The series contains VHS video documenting Licht's bid for the state Democratic party nomination for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the late John Chafee in 2000. The records include television interviews of Licht and his opponent, Robert Weygand. Political commercials depicting the candidates positions on the issues of affordable healthcare and prescription drugs. The tapes in this series were given in a separate accession, among them are VHS tapes dating from the 1988 campaign. Also in this series is a VHS tape of a testimonial given by Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis at Gov. Frank Licht's funeral. There is one audio cassette tape of an interview of Robert Weygand in which he expresses his views on the importance of healthcare, housing, and the economy.
The audiovisual materials are recorded on VHS tapes and the audio tapes are recorded on magnetic cassette tapes. They are arranged by format and in alphabetical order within each format.
6
1
2000?
Announcement of Filing Papers
6
2
2000 Jan 12
Bristol Public Access
6
3
2000?
Channel 10
6
4
1999 Jun 23-24
Chafee: Drugs (Channel 10 "Today")
6
5
2000?
Chafee: In Our Water Environmental Film
6
6
1988? Mar 19-1988? Apr 5
Chafee-Licht
6
7
1988 Jun 13-1988 Jul 24
Chafee-Licht
6
8
1988? Sep 6-1988? Oct 26
Chafee-Licht
6
9
1988? May 26-1988? Jun 1
Chafee-Licht
6
10
1988? Apr 9-19
Chafee-Licht
6
11
1988 May 16-25
Chafee-Licht
6
12
1988 Oct 26-1988 Nov 8
Chafee-Licht
6
13
2000 Jun 26
"Choice" Rough Cuts
6
14
undated, 2000?
Commercials
6
0
2000 Jun 19
Commercials -- Licht 2000 Committee: "Drug Store," "Crushing Savings," "Interview," "All Months"
6
0
2000 Jun 28
Commercials -- Licht 2000 Committee: "Betsy," "Karen"
6
0
2000?
Commercials -- Licht for US Senate: "Drug Store," "Crushing Savings," "Interview," "All Months," "Betsy," "Karen"
6
15
2000?
Commercials, ABC 6
6
0
2000?
Commercials, NBC 10, ABC 12
6
16
1999 Nov 8
Common Cause
6
17
1999 Nov 8
Common Cause
6
18
1988 Sep 12
Cope Senate Group (Nevada-- Richard Bryan)
6
19
2000? Aug 1
Debate Glenn
6
20
2000 Sep 4
Debate Practice
6
21
2000 Sep 4
Desperate Ethics
6
22
2000 Sep 8
Ethics Press Conference
6
23
2000 May 3
Family: Licht
6
24
2000?
Family Profile: Licht
6
25
1987?
Governor Licht, Funeral: Dukakis Testimonial (original)
6
26
2000 Aug 11
"Grounded"
6
27
2000 Aug 11
"Grounded"
6
28
1999 Dec 12
Health Care Hearing (Tape 1 of 2)
6
29
1999 Dec 12
Health Care Hearing (Tape 2 of 2)
6
30
1998
Heffner, [Mark]: political advertisements for
6
31
2000 Jun 28
House Prescription Drugs
6
32
2000 Jun 28
House Prescription Drug Benefits: Weygand and Chart Objectives
6
33
2000 Aug 31
John Depetro Show
6
34
2000 Aug 13
"Judge" "Fact"
6
35
2000 Aug 16
"Judge" "Fact"
6
36
1999 Oct 3
Kennedy, Congressman: Hate Mail, Channel 6 , 11:00 [p.m.]
6
37
1987 May 6
Licht: Poll Results
6
38
2000 Aug 29
"League of Female Voters"
7
39
2000 Jul 28
"Liftoff"
7
40
2000 Jul 28
"Liftoff"
7
41
1999 Sep 30
"Lively Experiment"
7
42
1999 Dec 16
"Lively Experiment"
7
43
1999 Sep 30
"Lively Experiment 1214"
7
44
2000 May 25
"Lively Experiment 1248"
7
45
1989 Jan 3
"Matt McWilliams on CNN"
7
46
2000 Aug 9
"Missile Defense Ad Story"
7
47
2000 Aug 18
"National Guard Story"
7
48
2000? Aug 15
"Newman Attack Ad"
7
49
2000? Jul 5
"News"
7
50
2000 Apr 2
"News"
7
51
2000 Apr 2
"News Conference"
7
52
1999 Apr
"News Conference"
7
53
1999 Sep 24
News Conference (Master)
7
54
2000 Aug 27
"Newsmakers" Channel 10
7
55
2000 Jul 13
"Patrick"
7
56
2000 Jul 13
"Patrick"
7
57
2000 Jul 13
"Patrick"
7
58
1988 Aug 26
"PEC"
7
59
2000 Jul 20
"Prescription Drugs"
7
60
2000 Jun 22
Raw Footage
7
61
2000?
Rhode Island Second Congressional Debate
7
62
2000 Sep 7
"Rhythm"
7
63
2000 Sep 7
"Rhythm"
7
64
2000?
Rough Choice
7
65
2000 Jun 21
Rough Cuts
7
66
2000 Jun 22
"RX America Rollout"
7
67
2000 Aug 8
"Santa Monica"
7
68
2000 Aug 8
"Santa Monica"
7
69
2000 Aug 8
"Santa Monica"
7
70
2000?
"Sawyer Miller" Political Screening Reel
7
71
2000?
"Sawyer Miller" Political Screening Reel
7
72
2000 Aug 27
"Scoutmaster"
7
73
2000 Aug 27
"Scoutmaster"
7
74
2000 Aug 1
Senate Debate, Ch 6, 10, 12
7
0
2000?
Senate Primary Debate, Decision 2000, NBC 10
7
75
2000?
Speech at Ross Fundraiser
7
76
2000?
Spots and Debate Glen Medrios
7
77
2000 Aug 21
"Sued By Sue"
7
78
2000 Aug 21
"Sued By Sue"
8
79
2000 Aug 21
"Sued By Sue"
8
80
2000 Sep 3
Sunday News Cont'd
8
81
2000? Aug 24
Taped News
8
0
2000? Aug 25
Taped News - Democratic Convention, ABC 6 NBC 10
8
82
1999 Sep
Ten News Conference
8
83
1999 Sep
Ten News Conference
8
84
2000 Aug 31
Truman Taylor
8
85
2000? Sep 12-13
Two Thousand Campaign
8
86
2000?
Unethical Attack
8
87
1998 Apr 12
Weekend Sunrise "Myrth York"
8
88
1996
Weygand: '96 Debates I
8
89
1996
Weygand: '96 Debates II
8
90
2000 Aug
Weygand Attacks Missile
8
91
2000 Aug
Weygand Attacks Missile
8
92
2000? Aug 1-2
Weygand: Debate and Ads
8
93
1998 Aug 22
Weygand: Drugs
8
94
2000 May 7
Weygand: Family Profile
8
95
2000 Jan 13
Weygand: Lively Experiment
8
96
2000, undated
Weygand: Profile
8
97
2000 Aug 11
Weygand: Revoke Docs Licenses
8
98
1999 Nov 21
Weygand: News Makers WJAR TV Channel 10
8
99
1999 Nov 21
Weygand: News Makers WJAR TV Channel 10
8
100
2000 Aug 22
"Whole"
8
101
2000 Aug 22
"Whole"
8
102
1986
Woods Bond Campaign Commercial
8
103
2000
Weygand: Audio Interview RE: Campaign Position (audio cassette)