As a student at the Harvard Extension School he was graduate student speaker at the commencement ceremonies in 1989. He was elected to the Providence City Council in 1978 and was re-elected in 1982. He was serving as City Council Chairman when incumbent Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr. was removed from office after pleading no contest to felony charges and given a five-year suspended sentence. With Cianci's removal from office, Paolino became acting mayor at the age of 29 and ran in the special election to succeed Cianci. He won the special election and was re-elected in 1986 and served until January 1991. In 1990, Paolino ran for Governor of Rhode Island, but lost to Bruce Sundlun in the Democratic Primary. In 1994 he was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Ambassador to Malta. He served as ambassador from July 6, 1994 to June 2, 1996. He ran for the United States House of Representatives in Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district in 1996, but lost the Democratic primary to then Lieutenant GovernorRobert Weygand. He ran for mayor again in 2002 but lost to David N. Cicilline in the Democratic primaries. In 2010, he suggested that he would run again for mayor as an independent. After withdrawing from politics, Paolino pursued interests in the real estate industry. Along with two other investors, he developed a plan to redevelop the Newport Grand slot parlor in Newport, Rhode Island as a full service casino with table games. Rhode Island state law, however requires that any expansion of gaming facilities be approved by referendum both statewide and in the community where the facility is located. More recently, he has to run the campaign, which advocated for the passage of a referendum question that would have allowed table games at the , in Newport. The referendum passed statewide but was rejected by 57 percent of Newport voters. A second ballot question contained a provision without voter approval, which was approved both statewide and in Newport. As of October 2019, he was registered to vote in Ward 2 in the City of Providence.
Personal life
His father, Joseph R. Paolino Sr., was a prominent Rhode Island real estate dealer and developer. He married Lianne Andreoni shortly after becoming Mayor of Providence in 1984. They have four children.
