Ronald Rice

Ronald L. Rice (born December 18, 1945) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey State Senate since 1986, where he represents the 28th Legislative District. Rice is one of the longest-serving state senators in New Jersey history.[1] His son, Ronald C. Rice, is a former city councilman in Newark, New Jersey.

Ronald Rice
Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 28th Legislative District
Assumed office
December 4, 1986
Preceded byJohn P. Caufield
Deputy Mayor of Newark
In office
July 1, 2002 – July 1, 2006
Member of the Newark City Council
In office
July 1, 1982 – July 1, 1998
Personal details
Born
Ronald Rice

(1945-12-18) December 18, 1945
Richmond, Virginia
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceNewark, New Jersey
WebsiteLegislative Website
Military service
Years of service1966-1970
RankSergeant
Battles/warsVietnam War

Early life

Rice received an A.S. from Essex County College in Police Science, a B.S. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Administration and Planning and an M.A. from Rutgers University in Criminal Justice. He has also attended but never graduated from the Rutgers School of Law—Newark.[2] Rice served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Marines from 1966 to 1970.[3] in the Vietnam War.[4] Before entering politics, Rice was a Newark police officer for eight years, then a security employee for PSEG.[5]

Newark City Council

Rice served 16 years on the Newark City Council (1982-1998), and he was the Deputy Mayor of Newark from 2002 until March 2006.[2] He stepped down as deputy mayor in order to run for mayor. During this time, dual office holding was not banned in New Jersey therefore he was able to serve on both the city council and in the State Senate at the same time.

New Jersey Senate

Following the death of John P. Caufield in August 1986, Rice was elected in a special election to serve the 28th district and was seated on December 4, 1986. Rice never received less than two thirds of the vote in any of his Senate general elections, though he faced close challenges in the Democratic primaries from Laurence Brown in 1997, Assemblyman Willie B. Brown in 2001, and Freeholder D. Bilal Beasley in 2007.[6] Rice was one of only two Democrats in the Senate to vote no on two bills to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey in 2009 and 2012, the other twice-dissenting Democrat was Jeff Van Drew.[7][8] Rice was one of New Jersey's presidential electors in the 2004 presidential election, for Democratic candidate John Kerry.[9] Rice was a leading opponent of legislation in the 218th New Jersey Legislature to legalize marijuana in New Jersey.[5][10]

Newark Mayoral Bids

1998

Rice had run for unsuccessfully for Mayor of Newark in 1998 being defeated by incumbent mayor (and future Senate colleague) Sharpe James.

2006

On March 6, 2006, Rice entered the mayoral race again, noting "that Mayor James had encouraged him to run but noted that if the mayor decided to join the race, his candidacy could change."[11] On March 27, 2006, James announced that he would not seek a sixth term, preferring to focus on his seat in the New Jersey Senate.[12] On Election Day, May 9, 2006, Newark's nonpartisan election took place. Former City Councilman Cory Booker won with 72% of the vote, soundly defeating Rice, the runner-up, who received 23%.[13]

28th District

New Jersey's 28th Legislative District comprises parts of Essex County, New Jersey. The current representatives from the district to the 218th New Jersey Legislature are:

  • Senator : Ronald Rice (D)
  • Assemblyman : Ralph Caputo (D)
  • Assmblywoman : Cleopatra Tucker (D)

References
  1. New Jersey’s longest serving State Senators, Observer (September 7, 2009).
  2. Senator Rice's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 14, 2008.
  3. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey - Two Hundred and Eleventh Legislature (First Session) (PDF). Skinder-Strauss Associates. 2004. pp. 236–237. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  4. Benson, Josh. "Who Is Ronald Rice Anyway?", The New York Times, April 23, 2006. Accessed November 4, 2018. "A Vietnam veteran and former Newark police officer, Mr. Rice has served for the past two decades as a public official in Trenton and Newark, and has long wanted to be mayor."
  5. Mike Kelly, Ronald Rice's lonely quest to block legal pot, North Jersey Record (March 15, 2019).
  6. "NJ Election Information and Results Archive". Secretary of State of New Jersey. Retrieved July 4, 2015—1997, 2001, 2007
  7. James, Davy. "Democrats Line Up the Votes to Pass Gay Marriage Bill". Patch. Retrieved July 4, 2015. In 2009, the only Republican to vote for the Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act, as it was called, was Sen. Bill Baroni (Hamilton). ... Meanwhile, Democratic [Sen] Ronald Rice (Essex) voted against the bill.
  8. Staff. "N.J. Senate approves bill legalizing gay marriage", The Star-Ledger, February 13, 2012. Accessed June 24, 2012. "Two Democrats, Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex) and Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May), voted no."
  9. 2004 Presidential Election: Electoral College Members, National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed July 10, 2007.
  10. Nick Corasaniti, Effort to Legalize Marijuana in New Jersey Collapses, New York Times (March 25, 2019).
  11. New York Times Metro Briefing - NEWARK: DEPUTY MAYOR ENTERS THE RACE The New York Times, March 6, 2006
  12. Sharpe Drops Out: James cites only his position against holding dual offices NJ.com / Star-Ledger, March 28, 2006.
  13. Elects Cory Booker to Be New Mayor: Newark Elects Cory Booker First New Mayor in Two Decades in Landslide Victory, ABC News, May 9, 2006.
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by
John P. Caufield		 Member of the New Jersey Senate for the 28th District
December 4, 1986 – present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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