WHO IS DONALD FOX
My wife Rachel and I have been residents of Burrillville since 1997. We have three children, Claudia, Caroline and Douglas. All three children are in the Burrillville school system. My wife and I own the Alashan Cashmere Company and we are proud to maintain its corporate office and warehouse in Harrisville. Rachel is as active in the PTF as the children’s dance, gymnastics, and soccer schedules allow. I am currently the Chairman of the Burrillville Rubbish & Recycling Committee. We are proud to support our local youth sports leagues and participate in as many community activities and charities as time allows.
I was born in Glocester and my family eventually moved to Cranston, where I graduated from Cranston High School West. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Vermont in 1989 with a BA in Soviet & East European Area Studies and several minors. I received my MBA from Bryant University (then Bryant College) in 1995.
In 1993, I began my career in the cashmere business when I joined Forte Cashmere Company in Woonsocket, RI. When Forte closed in early 2004, I started the Alashan Cashmere Company. The past 17 years in the highly competitive and fast moving clothing industry have taught me how to run a profitable business, how to make sound financial decisions, and ultimately to better understand what is right and wrong in our state government.
With this said, please allow me to explain why I am running for office. I am a fiercely proud Rhode Islander. I cherish the independent spirit upon which Rhode Island was founded. I have been proud to keep my family and ultimately my business here. But make no mistake about it, it is pride alone that has kept me and my business here. There is NO financial incentive to keep me from moving our company and home easily into neighboring CT or MA. I keep the business here to support my staff and their families. I keep my family here because I love Rhode Island.
The problem that we all face is that RI is one of the most heavily taxed states in the nation and we place at the bottom of the rankings when it comes to attracting new businesses. As a business owner and a fiscal conservative, I have watched with a growing sense of dismay and horror what has taken place in Washington, DC and Providence over the past several years. With no population growth, businesses fleeing RI and a state government out of control in its spending and denial of the financial disaster that looms just over the horizon, I began to talk with my wife last year about running for office. Unlike many of the politicians in Providence who are looking for financial gain, a job for themselves, or a job for a relative through their elected positions, I have nothing to gain from serving as a State Rep. In fact, I will have to give up valuable time with my family and in my business. But the more I thought about this, I realized that I would be doing this for my children and thousands of other families in our great state. The decisions that will be made in the General Assembly over the next several years will impact us for generations. Any Democrat elected from this district will have to tow the line handed down by the Speaker of the House. Any Democrat will not have the ability to speak his mind and vote against what the Speaker wants. That is why I am proudly running as a Republican who wants positive change for RI. It will take a stronger minority in the State House to make a difference.
I am a proud member of the NRA, the RI Salt Water Angler’s Association, the RI State Rifle & Revolver Association, Save The Bay and other groups dedicated to the preservation of our rights to hunt and fish, as well as to the health of our environment. I will defend the Second Amendment of the US Constitution as well as the 22nd Amendment of the RI Constitution to the best of my ability should I be elected to serve this district. I also promise to be a dedicated steward for the preservation of our State’s natural resources and its environmental health.
I promise that I will work hard and vote for Rhode Islanders, not for the special interests.
Last Updated: 2011-06-16 10:09:14