Ronald L. Rice (December 18, 1945 – March 15, 2023) was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New JerseyState Senate from 1986 to 2022. He represented the 28th Legislative District. Rice is one of the longest-serving state senators in New Jersey history.[1][2]
Rice served 16 years on the Newark City Council (1982-1998), and he was the Deputy Mayor of Newark from 2002 until March 2006.[3] 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.[7]
Rice had run unsuccessfully for Mayor of Newark in 1998 being defeated by incumbent mayor (and future Senate colleague) Sharpe James, who won with 56% of the vote; Rice was in second, with 28%.[15]
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."[16] 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.[17] On Election Day, May 9, 2006, Newark's nonpartisan election took place. Former City Councilman Cory Booker won with 72% of the vote, soundly defeating Rice, the runner-up, who received 23%.[18]
Personal life and death
Rice left office on August 31, 2022, due to health issues. He died on March 15, 2023, in Newark, New Jersey. He was 77.[19]
^Donyéa, Tennyson. "", WHYY-FM, August 27, 2022. Accessed August 31, 2022. "New Jersey Senator Ronald Rice (D-Essex) announced he would retire later this month. He is the longest-serving Black Senator in state history, according to his colleagues in the Legislature. Rice was elected to the state Senate in 1986."
^Benson, Josh. "Who Is Ronald Rice Anyway?", The New York Times, April 23, 2006. Accessed November 4, 2018. "A Vietnam veteran and former Newark police officer, Mr. Rice has served for the past two decades as a public official in Trenton and Newark, and has long wanted to be mayor."
^Strum, Charles. "New Jersey Politicians Serve Public, Twice", The New York Times, December 27, 1992. Accessed January 31, 2022. "This can result in the full-service public servant, like Mayor William J. Pascrell Jr. of Paterson, a Democrat who is also a State Assemblyman; Councilman Ronald L. Rice of Newark, a Democrat who is also a State Senator, and Assemblyman John E. Rooney of Bergen County, a Republican who is also Mayor of tiny Northvale."
^James, Davy. "Democrats Line Up the Votes to Pass Gay Marriage Bill". Patch. Retrieved July 4, 2015. In 2009, the only Republican to vote for the Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act, as it was called, was Sen. Bill Baroni (Hamilton). ... Meanwhile, Democratic [Sen] Ronald Rice (Essex) voted against the bill.
^Corasaniti, Nick. "Effort to Legalize Marijuana in New Jersey Collapses", The New York Times, 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.'"
^Smothers, Ronald. "Newark Mayor Wins Vote, Defeating 2 for a 4th Term", The New York Times, May 13, 1998. Accessed January 31, 2022. "Sharpe James won a fourth term as Mayor of New Jersey's largest city tonight, capping a campaign that had relentlessly stressed good news, such as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and new housing development.... In unofficial results, with 181 of the 182 city election districts reporting, Mr. James had 23,402 votes, or 56 percent of the ballots cast. His nearest opponent, Councilman Ronald Rice of the city's West Ward, had 11,513 votes, while Councilwoman Mildred Crump had 7,158."