Richard Dale Roth (born November 6, 1950) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, currently serving in the California State Senate. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he represents the 31st Senate District, encompassing northwestern

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

, including the cities of

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley,

Moreno Valley Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's po ...

, Norco, Perris, and Riverside. Prior to being elected to the state senate in 2012, Roth served as a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, and as a practicing attorney.

Early life

Roth was born on November 6, 1950, in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Ada High School (

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

) in 1968, where he played in the band and was elected president of his junior class and the student council. He went on to

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

(Ohio), majored in political science, minored in chemistry and enlisted in the ROTC program. After a less-than-perfect eye exam kept him from flight school, Roth set his sights on the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) and earned his J.D. degree from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in 1974.

Air Force career

After earning admission into the JAG Corps, Roth entered active duty in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

in 1975. He served various postings with the Strategic Air Command and Pacific Air Forces units in Arizona, Okinawa, Japan and California. Roth became a resident of Riverside in 1978, when he was assigned to Riverside's 22nd Bomb Wing at

March Air Force Base March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB) is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's ...

. Transferring from active duty to the Air Force Reserves in 1979, he served at March AFB over the next 13 years with Strategic Air Command and Military Airlift Command units. During this period, he was named Air Force Judge Advocate of the Year (1986) and California Air Force Reserve Officer of the Year (1992). Through the 1990s and early 2000s, Roth worked as a reserve judge advocate at Air Force bases in Georgia, California, and Illinois. He also served at Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command and in the Pentagon. By 2004, he had risen to the rank of

and served in the Pentagon as mobilization assistant to The Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Air Force, where he oversaw more than 900 Reserve judge advocates and paralegals assigned to more than 200 offices at every level of command and helped to manage the recruitment, training, utilization and deployment of Reserve legal forces worldwide. Roth retired from the Air Force in 2007 after 32 years of service, in the grade of major general. Over the course of his career, he received numerous awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

and the

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

Civilian life

Roth engaged in the practice of labor and employment law with Riverside-based firms for over 30 years and is a member of the State Bars of California and Georgia. Prior to establishing his law practice, Roth worked as an attorney with the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Na ...

. He has served as a part-time adjunct instructor in labor and employment law at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

’s Anderson School of Management and in the university's extension division. Roth is a past chairman of the board for the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce and past president of the Monday Morning Group. He is a former member of The Raincross Club, the Riverside Community Hospital Advisory Board, the Thomas W. Wathen Foundation Board (Flabob Airport), the Riverside County Bar Association Board of Directors, the Path of Life Ministries Advisory Board, the Air Force Judge Advocate General's School Foundation Board and the La Sierra University Foundation Board. He is also past vice chairman of the Parkview Community Hospital Board, past member of the Riverside Art Museum Board and a past trustee of the March Field Museum. He currently serves as legal advisor to the Airlift/Tanker Association and as a member of the Riverside Police Foundation. He has served as a lawyer representative to the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

Judicial Conference. Roth and his wife Cindy live in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

Election to State Senate

Roth was elected to represent the California State Senate's 31st Senate District on November 6, 2012, defeating state Assemblyman Jeff Miller. He was sworn into office in California's State Capitol in Sacramento on Monday, December 3, 2012. The 31st Senate District, encompasses northwestern

, including the cities of

, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley,

, Norco, Perris and Riverside.

References

External links

*
Official US Air Force Biography

Join California Richard Roth
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Richard Democratic Party California state senators Living people 1950 births United States Air Force generals California lawyers Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Lawyers from Riverside, California 21st-century American politicians Lawyers from Columbus, Ohio Miami University alumni Emory University alumni