Jonathan Aaron Regunberg (born January 26, 1990) is an American progressive activist and politician who served as the member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

for the 4th district from 2015 to 2019. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for

lieutenant governor of Rhode Island The current lieutenant governor of Rhode Island is Sabina Matos, who was sworn in on April 14, 2021, after Daniel McKee succeeded to the office of governor. The first lieutenant governor was George Brown. In Rhode Island, the lieutenant gover ...

in 2018. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2023 special election for

Rhode Island's 1st congressional district Rhode Island's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It includes all of Bristol and Newport counties, along with parts of Providence County, including most of the city of Providence. The dis ...

Early life and education

Regunberg is a native of Chicago. His father, Jonathan Regunberg, died in a plane crash before Aaron was born. Regunberg's grandfather was born in Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1948 after surviving

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Regunberg's uncle is U.S. Representative

Brad Schneider Bradley Scott Schneider (born August 20, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who became the U.S. representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district in 2017, previously holding the position from 2013 to 2015. Before he was elec ...

from

Illinois's 10th congressional district The 10th congressional district of Illinois lies in the northeast corner of the state, and mostly comprises northern suburbs of Chicago. It was created after the 1860 census. The district is currently represented by Democrat Brad Schneider. ...

Aaron and his sister were raised by their mother, Erica Regunberg, in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago. Regunberg graduated ''magna cum laude'' from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. While at Brown, Regunberg co-founded the Providence Student Union, a youth-led public school student advocacy organization that has organized around issues including

ethnic studies Ethnic studies, in the United States, is the interdisciplinary study of difference—chiefly race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by indivi ...

curricula, infrastructure repairs, free student bus passes, and an end to school closings and high-stakes testing. Regunberg attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, receiving a J.D. in 2022.

Career

Rhode Island House of Representatives

In 2014, Regunberg was elected to serve Rhode Island House District 4 on the East Side of Providence.

Elections

In the race for Rhode Island House District 4, Regunberg won 51.5% of the vote in the Democratic primary against challengers Heather Tow-Yick and Miriam Ross, who won 33.9% and 14.6%, respectively. He received the endorsement of the Progressive Democrats of Rhode Island,

Clean Water Action Clean Water Action is an American environmental advocacy group. Created in 1972, the group focuses on canvassing and gaining support for political issues and candidates. It is a 501(c)(4) organization and is based in Washington, D.C. History The ...

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

, and progressive labor organizations. He went on to defeat independent candidate Ethan Gyles in the general election, 83% to 17%. Regunberg ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and in the general election for Rhode Island House District 4.

Tenure

During his first term as state Representative, Regunberg introduced and passed legislation raising Rhode Island's

tipped minimum wage The tipped wage is base wage paid to an employee in the United States who receives a substantial portion of their compensation from Tip (gratuity), tips. According to a common labor law provision referred to as a "tip credit", the employee must ea ...

for the first time in 20 years, established online voter registration, and created new

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

programs. He also introduced and passed legislation to guarantee earned paid sick days for over 100,000 Rhode Islanders, and pushed for a state-level

carbon pricing Carbon pricing (or pricing), also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS), is a method for nations to reduce global warming. The cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage polluters to reduce the co ...

system,

single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from ...

system, and a more

progressive tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases.Sommerfeld, Ray M., Silvia A. Madeo, Kenneth E. Anderson, Betty R. Jackson (1992), ''Concepts of Taxation'', Dryden Press: Fort Worth, TX The term ''progre ...

system, among other proposals. He also chaired a special legislative study commission to reform the use of

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

in Rhode Island. Regunberg served as a member of the Rules Committee for the Democratic National Convention in July 2016, where he was a leader in the campaign to reform the Democratic Party's use of

superdelegate In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15 ...

s in future presidential nominating contests. After

Donald Trump's Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

election in 2016, Aaron Regunberg worked locally to resist the Trump administration's agenda. He co-founded Resist Hate RI, a coalition of activists and organizations that mobilized hundreds of Rhode Island residents to take state and federal action in opposition to the Trump administration. He introduced legislation that would divest Rhode Island from any companies that contracted to help build Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico. Regunberg received a 74% score from Common Cause Rhode Island in their 2015-2016 legislative scorecard, and an A rating from the Environmental Council of Rhode Island.

Committee assignments

;2015 For the 2015 legislative session, Regunberg served on the following Rhode Island House of Representatives committees: * Environment and Natural Resources * Health, Education and Welfare ;2017 During the 2017 legislative session, Regunberg served on the following Rhode Island House of Representatives committees: * Environment and Natural Resources * Labor

2018 campaign for lieutenant governor

In late October 2017, Regunberg announced that he would run to become the

in the 2018 election. He ran against incumbent lieutenant governor

Dan Mckee Daniel James McKee (born June 16, 1951) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 76th governor of Rhode Island since March 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Rhode Island's 69th lieutenant governor from 2015 to ...

in the Democratic primary. In his announcement speech, Regunberg said that if elected, he would be a voice "for all of the Rhode Islanders who can’t afford that State House lobbyist," and campaigned on a progressive platform, including as one of the earliest supporters of a

Green New Deal Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...

. His bid received national attention when

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

named it one of the "9 Democratic primaries to watch in 2018." Regunberg's campaign was endorsed by many progressive organizations and politicians throughout

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. In March 2018, Regunberg received the endorsement of

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Jorge Elorza Jorge O. Elorza (born November 24, 1976) is an American law professor and mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. He defeated former mayor Buddy Cianci in the 2014 mayoral election and on January 5, 2015, was sworn in as mayor of the city. Early lif ...

. Regunberg was defeated in the Democratic primary election by incumbent Dan McKee, receiving 49% of the vote to McKee's 51%. After the election, Regunberg served as a Senior Policy Advisor to Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. In the summer of 2019, he was arrested as a part of a

Never Again Action Never Again Action is a Jewish political action organization in the United States that uses civil disobedience and nonviolent methods to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The organization derives its name from the slogan 'never ag ...

protest against President Donald Trump's immigration reforms.

2023 congressional campaign

Regunberg was a candidate in the 2023 special election for

. Leaving his job as a legal clerk in U.S. District Court in Providence to run for the open seat, he was endorsed by

Senator Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Nev ...

, Congressman

Jamie Raskin Jamin Ben Raskin (born December 13, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Maryland State Senate fr ...

, and the

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most Left-wing politics, left-leaning faction of the ...

. He was also endorsed by several local officials, including former state senator J. Clement “Bud” Cicilline, the uncle of former Rep.

David Cicilline David Nicola Cicilline (; born July 15, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 36th mayor of Providence from 2003 to 2011, the first openly ...

. Following his endorsement of Regunberg, former Sen. Cicilline stated that Regunberg reminded him of his nephew. Despite several election prognosticators viewing Regunberg as a favorite, he was defeated by Gabe Amo in the September 5 primary.

References

External links

Official websiteRhode Island General Assembly Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regunberg, Aaron 1990 births 21st-century American politicians American people of German-Jewish descent Brown University alumni Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Candidates in the 2023 United States elections Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Harvard Law School alumni Jewish American people in Rhode Island politics Living people Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island