West Ward Councilman Ronald C. Rice is a third generation Newark resident and son of the West Ward having lived his early formative years in the ward’s Vailsburg section and at the Georgia King Village housing complex in the ward’s Fairmount section. He attended Alexander Street School and was enrolled in the Newark School District’s Gifted and Talented Program at Louise A. Spencer School where he was a consistent honor role student.
In 1986, Ron graduated from the Pingry School, consistently ranked in the top 40 of the best secondary schools in the nation and began his matriculation at the American University in Washington, DC where he received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Political Science and Public Administration in 1990. While at American, Ron interned on Capitol Hill and served on the Executive Board of the AU College Democrats and the AU Black Student Alliance. In 1988, Ron was initiated into the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and was the campus director of the Students for Jesse Jackson for President ’88 effort. Ron was part of that campaign’s upset victory in the Virginia caucuses in 1988.
In 1991, Ron began his matriculation at the Seton Hall University, School of Law in Newark, NJ and received his Juris Doctorate (JD) degree in 1995. In 1993, he served as the assistant Essex County Coordinator for the Re-Election effort for Gov. Jim Florio ’93 and became the first African-American President of the Essex County Young Democrats.
Ron has worked in a variety of public policy arenas for over thirteen years having served as a Law Clerk in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Appellate Division and as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Jared D. Honigfeld, J.S.C. in the Essex County Vicinage. In 1999, as a Policy Analyst for the Deputy Commissioner at the New Jersey Department of Education, Ron wrote the regulations for implementing the Abbott decision that enabled the Newark school district to receive millions in additional funding for universal pre-school and classroom teaching. He also directed the comprehensive review of all NJDOE regulations for two years. Ron has also served as a spokesman with the state Department of Education.
Ron is very active in his community and listed below are just a few of the many organizations he leads or is a member of:
President, West Ward Education Fund
Founder, The Brothers Club
President, REFORM NEWARK
Vice-President, Vailsburg Park Association
Member, Steering Committee, Democracy for America, Essex County Chapter
Advisory Board Member, Newark Civic Health Survey Initiative-Center for Civic Responsibility
Member, Board of Trustees/Assistant Choir Director, St. James AME Church, Newark, NJ
Member, Board of Directors, Newark NOW
Member, Pingry Alumni Association
As an advocate for urban city governance innovation, Ron has spoken on urban public policy and political reform in Newark to such diverse groups as Leadership New Jersey, Common Cause, the NJ Historical Society, Leadership Newark and various schools and other community organizations. In 2001, he was named one of New Jersey’s 50 Best Rising Stars bywww.politicsnj.com. Ron is currently a contributing editor to www.foxnews.com and www.jerseypolitics.com. He has served as an advisor to the Newark local organizing committee (LOC) of the NJ Million Man March committee, the Chancellor Avenue Corporation, the Newark Pride Alliance, Newark ACE, Vailsburg Block Association Council (VBAC), and many more community organizations and empowerment initiatives.
