Seth Michael Magaziner (born July 22, 1983) is an American investment professional and politician who is the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for . He served as the 31st
General Treasurer of Rhode Island
The General Treasurer of Rhode Island is one of the five general state officers directly elected by the voters and serves as the custodian of state funds for the Rhode Island government. The General Treasurer is tasked with managing the state's f ...
from 2015 until 2023.
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 ...
, Magaziner won the November 2022
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
to succeed retiring representative
James Langevin
James R. Langevin ( ; born April 22, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the first quadriplegic to serve in Congress; Langevin was appointed to be the first q ...
.
Early life and education
Seth Magaziner was born in
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England.
The population of B ...
, on July 22, 1983, to Suzanne and
Ira Magaziner
Ira Magaziner (born November 8, 1947) is an American advisor. He was born in New York City, New York, US. After being a student activist and business consultant, Magaziner became the senior advisor for policy development for President Clinton, es ...
. Ira Magaziner is a
policy advisor
Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tele ...
for politicians, governments, and
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s.
[Donnis, Ian]
"Seth Magaziner considering a run for Treasurer in 2014"
''RIPR
The RIPRNet (Releasable Internet Protocol Router Network) is a TCP/IP based computer network for joint South Korea-US access, analogous to the SIPRNet.
Whereas SIPRNet is the de facto SECRET-level TCP/IP network for general use, RIPR is for infor ...
'', May 16, 2013. Suzanne is Catholic and Ira is Jewish. Seth is the oldest of three children.
Magaziner graduated from
Milton Academy
Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered ...
in
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...
, in 2002.
["Class of 2002 10th Reunion"](_blank)
, ''Milton Academy
Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered ...
, accessed January 29, 2014.'' He then attended
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, where he served as president of the Brown University Democrats, president of the
College Democrats
College Democrats are organizations on many college campuses, working to elect Democratic Party candidates and provide networking and leadership opportunities for student members. The chapters have served as a way for college students to connect w ...
of Rhode Island, and as a member of the
Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice.
Magaziner graduated from Brown with a Bachelor of Arts in history in 2006. He received a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from the
Yale School of Management
The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate business school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Administration (MBA), MBA for Executives ...
in 2010.
[Lamb, Katherine]
"Magaziner '06 to run for R.I. general treasurer"
''The Brown Daily Herald
''The Brown Daily Herald'' is the student newspaper of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Established in 1866 and published daily since 1891, The ''Herald'' is the second-oldest student newspaper among America's college dailies. I ...
'', October 24, 2014.
Career
Magaziner worked as a school teacher at
Creswell Elementary School in
Opelousas, Louisiana :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.''
Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were ...
, from 2006 to 2008, as a
Teach For America member.
In 2009, he worked as an associate at Point Judith Capital, a Rhode Island-based venture capital firm.
After graduate school, Magaziner worked at Trillium Asset Management as a vice president.
Rhode Island General Treasurer
On October 22, 2013, Magaziner announced his candidacy for
Rhode Island General Treasurer
The General Treasurer of Rhode Island is one of the five general state officers directly elected by the voters and serves as the custodian of state funds for the Rhode Island government. The General Treasurer is tasked with managing the state's f ...
.
He won the
Democratic nomination in the September 9
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
, defeating former Treasurer
Frank Caprio.
[Kuffner, Alex]
"Magaziner ends Caprio’s comeback for general treasurer"
''The Providence Journal
''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...
'', Providence, September 9, 2014. Magaziner was elected in the November 2014 general election, defeating Independent candidate Ernest A. Almonte.
[Parker, Paul Edward]
"Political newcomer Magaziner defeats Almonte to be next R.I. general treasurer"
''The Providence Journal
''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...
'', Providence, November 5, 2014.
In his first months in office, Magaziner developed a plan to establish the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (RIIB) to finance green infrastructure projects.
In June 2015, Magaziner launched a transparency initiative for the Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI). In 2015, the treasurer's office announced it was pursuing two class-action lawsuits against fossil fuel industry companies
BP and
Plains All American
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. is a master limited partnership engaged in pipeline transport, marketing, and storage of liquefied petroleum gas and petroleum in the United States and Canada. It owns interests in of pipelines, storage capacity ...
for oil spills that allegedly harmed investors and the environment.
![ABLE Press Conference](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/ABLE_Press_Conference.jpg)
In February 2016, Magaziner was selected as chair of the Financial Literacy Committee for the National Association of State Treasurers.
Affiliations
Magaziner serves on the board of directors of Crossroads Rhode Island, a
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
service organization. He previously served on the board of directors of
Common Cause
Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...
Rhode Island.
Magaziner was active in the successful campaign for
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
in Rhode Island. He served as a board member of Marriage Equality Rhode Island.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2022
On September 14, 2021, Magaziner announced his candidacy in the
2022 Rhode Island gubernatorial election, focusing on abortion rights, clean energy, reducing gun violence, education, and mandatory coronavirus vaccination for all state and school employees. 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 ...
, had not yet filed for reelection.
![Seth_Magaziner_speech_Nov_8_2m21s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Seth_Magaziner_speech_Nov_8_2m21s.jpg)
On January 26, 2022, Magaziner withdrew from the gubernatorial election and instead announced he would run to represent
Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district
Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in southern and western Rhode Island. The district is currently represented by Democrat James Langevin, who has represented the district since January 2001.
Composition
T ...
in the U.S. House of Representatives after longtime incumbent
James Langevin
James R. Langevin ( ; born April 22, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the first quadriplegic to serve in Congress; Langevin was appointed to be the first q ...
announced his retirement. Magaziner was a resident of
the 1st congressional district but moved to a rented house in
Cranston after his opponents criticized him for not living in the district, though federal law requires a representative only to be a resident of the state. He defeated five other candidates in the September 13 Democratic primary with over 50% of the vote. On November 8, 2022, Magaziner won the general election, defeating Republican nominee
Allan Fung
Allan Wai-Ket Fung (born February 25, 1970) is an American attorney and politician who served as Mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island from 2009 to 2021. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of Rhode Island in the 2014 and 2018 elections as we ...
, a former mayor of Cranston and two-time Republican nominee for governor.
Electoral history
Personal life
Magaziner married Julia McDowell in 2018. The couple has a son.
References
External links
Congressman Seth Magazinerofficial U.S. House website
Seth Magaziner for Congresscampaign website
*
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magaziner, Seth
1983 births
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American politicians
Brown University alumni
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island
Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives
Living people
Milton Academy alumni
People from Bristol, Rhode Island
Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island Democrats
State treasurers of Rhode Island
Teach For America alumni
Yale School of Management alumni