Nellie M. Gorbea (born July 12, 1967) is an American politician. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, she has served as the

Secretary of State of Rhode Island The secretary of state of Rhode Island is an elected office in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of 2015, the current secretary of state is Nellie Gorbea. The Rhode Island Department of State or is composed of five separate divisions: *The Ele ...

since January 2015. Gorbea is the first Hispanic to win statewide office in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Early life and education

Gorbea was born and raised in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. She earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from Princeton University's School of International and Public Affairs and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

School of International and Public Affairs The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. It ...

. She moved to

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 the mid-1990s.

Career

Gorbea was Deputy Secretary of State under Secretary of State Matt Brown from 2002 through 2006. She worked for Fleet Securities, was the program officer for economic and community development for the Rhode Island Foundation, and founded the Rhode Island Latino Civic Fund. Before resigning in July 2013 to run for election as Secretary of State, she was executive director of Housing Works Rhode Island for five and a half years.

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Secretary of State

Ralph Mollis Angelo Ralph Mollis (born May 24, 1961) is an American politician who served as the Secretary of State of Rhode Island from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he assumed office on January 1, 2007. He was reelected to a second term ...

was ineligible to run for reelection in the

2014 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2014. * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presi ...

because of

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s. Gorbea campaigned for the position on a platform of making elections fair, fast and accurate, ensuring that Rhode Island businesses can easily start and thrive, bringing transparency to government, and increasing civic engagement. She defeated Guillaume de Ramel in the Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee John Carlevale in the general election. She was sworn in as Secretary of State on January 6, 2015, becoming the first Hispanic to hold statewide office in New England. In 2016, Gorbea ushered in legislation to allow for stiffer penalties for violations of lobbying rules. In 2017, Gorbea worked to pass automatic voter registration; the bill, which automatically registers Rhode Islanders when they interact with the state Department of Motor Vehicles, was signed into law by Governor

Gina Raimondo Gina Marie Raimondo (; born May 17, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and venture capitalist who has served as the 40th United States Secretary of Commerce since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 75th go ...

, making Rhode Island the ninth state in the United States to do so. In November 2018, Gorbea was re-elected to a second term with over 67% of the vote. In 2018, Gorbea worked to modernize Rhode Island's notary public laws to allow for electronic notarizations for the first time in Rhode Island. On May 24, 2021, Gorbea announced she was running for the Democratic nomination for

governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, o ...

in the 2022 election. She lost the Democratic Party primary election to the incumbent,

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 ...

Personal life

Gorbea lives in

North Kingstown North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. The population was 27,732 in the 2020 census. North Kingstown is home to the birthplace of American portraitist Gilbe ...

. She and her husband, Steven D'Hondt, have three daughters.

Electoral history

References

External links

Government websiteCampaign website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorbea, Nellie 1967 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Living people People from North Kingstown, Rhode Island People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Place of birth missing (living people) Puerto Rican women in politics Rhode Island Democrats School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Secretaries of State of Rhode Island Women in Rhode Island politics Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni Hispanic and Latino American politicians