Ronald L. Rice (born December 18, 1945) is a former American Democratic Party politician who has served in the
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
State Senate
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
from 1986 to 2022. He represented the 28th Legislative District. Rice is one of the longest-serving state senators in New Jersey history. His son, Ronald C. Rice, is a former city councilman in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.A.S. from
Essex County College
Essex County College (ECC) is a public community college in Essex County, New Jersey, United States.
History
In August 1966, the Essex County Board of Freeholders approved the creation of Essex County College and in September 1968, more than a ...
in
Police Science Police science is the study and research which deals with police work. Studies and research in criminology, forensic science, psychiatry, psychology, jurisprudence, community policing, criminal justice, correctional administration and penology all c ...
, a
B.S.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
from
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts ...
in Administration and Planning, and an
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
in Criminal Justice. He has also attended but never graduated from the
Rutgers School of Law—Newark
Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public university, public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the ...
U.S. Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
from 1966 to 1970, in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. Before entering politics, Rice was a police officer with the
Newark Police Department
Established in April 1857, the Newark Police Department (NPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving Newark, New Jersey, and the largest municipal law enforcement agency in New Jersey. As of December 2017 the force had 1,146 officers.
I ...
Rice served 16 years on the Newark City Council (1982-1998), and he was the Deputy Mayor of Newark from 2002 until March 2006. He stepped down as deputy mayor in order to run for mayor. As dual office holding was not banned in New Jersey, 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. Rice was one of only two Democrats in the Senate to vote no on two bills to legalize
same-sex marriage in New Jersey
Same-sex marriage in New Jersey has been legally recognized since October 21, 2013, the effective date of a trial court ruling invalidating the state's restriction of marriage to persons of different sexes. In September 2013, Mary C. Jacobson, ...
in 2009 and 2012, the other twice-dissenting Democrat was
Jeff Van Drew
Jefferson H. Van Drew (born February 23, 1953) is an American politician and dentist serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 2nd congressional district since 2019. Formerly a Democrat, he has been a member of the Republican Party s ...
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', March 25, 2019. Accessed January 31, 2022. "'The public has not properly been educated on the topic of recreational marijuana,’’ said Senator Ronald L. Rice, a Democrat who represents Newark and emerged as one of the main opponents of legalization. 'People don’t realize, particularly people in urban communities, how it will affect their lives. In urban communities, neighborhoods will struggle against the spread of 'marijuana bodegas' disguised as dispensaries.'"
Committees
Committee assignments for the current session are:Senator Ronald Rice New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 30, 2022.
*Community and Urban Affairs, Vice-Chair
*Joint Committee on Housing Affordability
*Joint Committee on Economic Justice and Equal Employment Opportunities
*Joint Committee on the Public Schools
*Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens
District 28
Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
Rice had run for unsuccessfully for Mayor of Newark in 1998 being defeated by incumbent mayor (and future Senate colleague)
Sharpe James
Sharpe James (born February 20, 1936) is an American Democratic politician from New Jersey, who served as State Senator for the 29th Legislative District and was 37th Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. James was the second African American Mayor of ...
, who won with 56% of the vote; Rice was in second, with 28%.
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." 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. On Election Day, May 9, 2006, Newark's nonpartisan election took place. Former City Councilman
Cory Booker
Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. se ...
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
New Jersey Network
The New Jersey Network (NJN) was a network of public television and radio stations serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. NJN was a member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for television and the National Public Radio (NPR) for radio, br ...
, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia,
American Archive of Public Broadcasting
The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The AAPB is a national effort to digital ...