Benjamin Ramos (born August 31, 1956) is a former Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

. Ben Ramos represented over 60,000 residents in Pennsylvania's 180th Legislative District from 1994 to 2000. He served as the Democratic Secretary of the Committee on Health and Human Services, the Urban Affairs, Liquor Control and the House Democratic Policy Committees. He was appointed by the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to serve on the Pennsylvania Adult Basic Education Interagency Coordinating Council well as the Select Committee on Pharmaceuticals and the Sub-Committee on School Violence. Ramos was a member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus; Co-Chair, member, National Hispanic Cacus of State Legislators (NHCSL) and National Association of Latino Elected/Appointed Officials (NALEO); Secretary, Black Elected Officials of Philadelphia. He was nominated to serve as

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania The secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (or "secretary of state") administers the Pennsylvania Department of State of the U.S. state (officially, " commonwealth") of Pennsylvania. The secretary is appointed by the governor subject to co ...

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...

. Ben Ramos most recently worked for the U.S. Census Bureau as a Partnership Coordinator & Specialist where he was responsible for developing and nurturing productive partnerships for the purpose of gaining cooperation and support for the 2010 Census in the Philadelphia region as well as working with state, local and tribal governments, community-based organizations, faith-based groups, schools, media outlets and businesses. He was born 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 ...

and attended Thomas A. Edison High School in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He earned an M.S. degree in Community Economic Development from New Hampshire College (now

Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private university between Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with national accreditation for some hospitali ...

). Prior to elective office, he served as Deputy Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. He represented the 180th legislative district from 1995 until his defeat in the 2000 Democratic primary by

Angel Cruz Angel L. Cruz is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 180th District since 2001. Cruz is a member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus is an Ameri ...

. In early 2003, newly elected

Pennsylvania Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforc ...

nominated him to serve as

. However, Ramos withdrew from consideration in February 2003 amid legislative criticism over revelations that as a State Representative he was late in filing campaign-finance reports and was subject to fines, although all fines had been paid years prior. He would have been the first Latino to hold that post. He is currently the Regional Director of the Office of International Business Development for the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development.

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* official PA House profile Living people 1956 births People from Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Puerto Rican Roman Catholics Hispanic and Latino American people in Pennsylvania politics Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Pennsylvania American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Community College of Philadelphia alumni Temple University alumni Southern New Hampshire University alumni {{Pennsylvania-PARepresentative-stub