Sabina Matos (born February 13, 1974) is a Dominican-American politician serving as the 70th

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 gove ...

since April 2021. Sabina Matos is the first Afro-Latina lieutenant governor and the first

Dominican-American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United Stat ...

to hold state-wide office in the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented Ward 15 in the

Providence City Council The Providence City Council is the fifteen-member legislative body of the city of Providence, Rhode Island. The two major responsibilities of the council are enacting ordinances necessary to ensure the welfare and good order of the city and ad ...

and served as its president.

Early life

Matos was born in

Paraíso, Barahona Paraíso is a town in Barahona Province, in the southwest of the Dominican Republic. It is a small city surrounded by green mountains and rivers that end up at the Caribbean Sea. San Rafael and Los Patos are the two municipalities that are on bo ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. Her mother was a teacher and her father served as

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 ...

of Paraíso. Matos emigrated to the United States in April 1994, at the age of 20, with her parents and sister. She spoke no English when she went to the United States, and thought she would return to the Dominican Republic by the end of the year. After briefly living in New York, Matos and her family settled with her uncle in the

Olneyville Olneyville is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island bordered by Atwells Avenue to the north, U.S. Route 6 to the south and Rhode Island Route 10 to the east. The Woonasquatucket River runs through the southern portion of the neighborhood. ...

neighborhood of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. Matos graduated from

Rhode Island College Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Providence, Rhode Island. The college was established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, making it the second oldest institution of higher education in Rhode Island after Brown Uni ...

with 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 si ...

in communications and public relations in 2001. She became a United States citizen in 2005.

Political career

Matos ran for the Ward 15 seat on the

in the 2006 elections, losing the Democratic primary to long standing incumbent Josephine DiRuzzo. She challenged DiRuzzo again in 2010, and won. She was a 2014

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

Rodel Fellow. Matos became acting president of the council in May 2017 and served in the role until December 2017. She was elected president of the city council in January 2019. During the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: ** ...

, she served as one of Rhode Island's four electors. In 2021, after

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 g ...

resigned as

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Democrat Dan McKee. In their capac ...

to become the

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

, and 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 ...

succeeded her as Governor, Matos applied to become the next

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 gove ...

. On March 31, 2021, Governor McKee announced he would nominate Matos to be Lieutenant Governor. The confirmation process began in the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of wh ...

on April 8, and the judiciary committee approved her nomination unanimously, sending her nomination for confirmation by the full Senate. On April 9, she submitted her resignation from the Providence City Council, effective April 13. Matos was confirmed as lieutenant governor by the State Senate on April 13 by a vote of 34–0 and was sworn into office on April 14. She is the first member of an ethnic minority and the second woman to hold the position. In the 2022 elections, Matos defeated Republican Aaron Guckian to win a full four year term as lieutenant governor.https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2022/11/09/ris-lieutenant-governor-race-election-results-matos-against-guckian/69616106007/

Personal life

Matos and her husband, Patrick Ward, have two children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Sabina 1974 births 2020 United States presidential electors American politicians of Dominican Republic descent Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States Living people Naturalized citizens of the United States People from Barahona Province Providence City Council members Rhode Island College alumni Rhode Island Democrats Women city councillors in Rhode Island Lieutenant Governors of Rhode Island 21st-century American women

Early life

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

External links