Trailblazer: Senator Ronald Rice

An iconic Newark maverick whose boyhood in the South under Jim Crow laws shaped Ronald Rice’s lifelong mission as a fierce and unwavering advocate of social justice and racial equality.   He was unwavering in his advocacy of the underprivileged and extraordinarily unafraid of any political consequences that resulted in his unwillingness to compromise his principles.

Rice spent nearly 36 years in the New Jersey State Senate, becoming the longest-serving Black legislator in New Jersey history before health issues forced him to resign in the summer of 2022.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam and a former police officer, Rice entered politics in 1982, winning a Newark City Council seat to represent the West Ward.  He was re-elected three times and spent sixteen years on the council.

He was elected to the State Senate in a 1986 special election following the death of John P. Caufield.  He has been re-elected eleven times.

Assemblyman Michael Adubato, who has spent thirteen years in the legislature, wanted the seat.  Sensing the need for greater minority representation in the Senate, North Ward Democratic leader Stephen Adubato told his brother that the seat would go to Rice.

He defeated independent Anthony Montanelli by a 74%-15% margin, with Republican Frederick Douglas Randolph, Jr. receiving 11%.

Rice has beat back several serious primary challenges, sometimes without the support of the Essex County Democratic Committee.

After Newark Mayor Sharpe James, Rep. Donald Payne (D-Newark), State Sen. Wynona Lipman, and Steve Adubato backed former Newark police officer Larry Brown in the 1997 Democratic primary, Rice ran off-the-lone and won by 1,218 votes, 53%-47%.

He defeated former Assembly Minority Leader Willie Brown (D-Newark) in the primary by 986 votes, 54%-46% in 2001, and Essex County Freeholder and Irvington Councilman Bilal Beasley in 2007 by 475 votes, 52%–48%.

He gave up his council seat to run for mayor in 1998.  James won a third term by a 56%-27% margin over Rice, with Mildred Crump finishing third with 17% of the vote.

From 2002 to 2006, Rice was the deputy mayor of Newark under James.

Following James’ retirement, Rice ran for mayor in 2006 but lost to Cory Booker by a 72%-23% margin in a four-candidate race.