David Lavine, a longtime Democratic state lawmaker who served nine terms in the General Assembly and penned landmark legislation regulating wetlands, died this week in Rhode Island. He was 82.
A New York City native, Lavine always loved the outdoors and moved to rural Durham, Connecticut in the late 1960s. In 1970, he ran for state representative. "I had written about pollitics but I had never really considered running,'' Lavine told the Courant in 1988. After a quick conversation with his wife, he decided to go for it.
He represented the 100th House District for nine terms, rising to co-chairman of the powerful finance committee. He left office in 1992.
But Lavine, who also served as deputy House speaker, is best known for helping to craft environmental policy. As chairman of the legislature's energy and public utilities committee, he ushered through laws capping the cost of building nuclear plants, promoting solar energy and recycling phone books. One of his signature accomplishments was the 1972 Inland Wetlands Act, which gave municipalities the tools to regulate developments in wetlands.
"He's probably the most knowledgeable person in the state or the country on energy issues,'' John Larson told the Courant in 1987. Larson, who was then senate president and is now a congressman, said at the time that he considered Lavine his political mentor.