NERONHA
Peter Neronha, a fourth-generation Jamestown resident who has been attorney general of Rhode Island since January 2019, is running for re-election.
The Democrat announced his decision following an interview at The Jamestown Press office Tuesday morning.
“I love the work,” he said. “I think we’re making real progress that benefits the people of Rhode Island. I also feel that there is unfinished business. I don’t want to leave the job unfinished.”
Neronha, 57, previously served as U.S. attorney for the district of Rhode Island under President Barack Obama from 2009 until he was ousted by the Trump administration in 2019.
After graduating law school magna cum laude from Boston College in 1989, Neronha was hired by a private law firm to practice commercial litigation. His career in public service began seven years later when he was appointed state prosecutor in Rhode Island. He became a federal prosecutor in 2002 until his promotion to U.S. attorney.
“Public service is important,” he said. “My client is the people of Rhode Island. I never had a private client in Rhode Island. Since I returned home from Boston, I’ve only represented the people of this state. It’s been incredibly satisfying. To wake up in the morning, knowing you’re the people’s lawyer, to get them justice, is rewarding. Then I get to go home a lot of days hoping that I made a difference.”
Neronha’s connection to Rhode Island dates back to his great-grandfather, a fisherman who emigrated from the Azores in the late 19th century. His grandfather and father, a Korean War veteran, were raised on Narragansett Bay.
“They both worked on the ferries that connected Jamestown and Newport,” he said during his campaign in 2018. “My mother arrived in this country at 19 with little formal education and no knowledge of English. But she worked hard, met my dad, and built a life. And even though they never went to college, my parents worked really hard to make sure that their kids had that chance. That chance gave us everything.”
During his 2018 campaign, which resulted in a landslide victory against Compassion Party candidate Alan Gordon with 80 percent of the vote favoring the Democrat, Neronha said he wanted to reduce violent crimes, promote treatment over incarceration for drug users and make it easier for convicts to re-enter society. In his first term, he’s taken steps on all three of his priorities.
Legislation spearheaded by Neronha has resulted in a bevy of gun-control laws that are intended to reduce violence. Those measures include the prohibition of straw sales for firearms, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and the restriction on undetectable ghost guns. He called these “commonsense steps” to lower the risk of gun violence “within the bounds of the Second Amendment.”
Neronha also championed a law that allows for the sealing of records pertaining to cases when a defendant is acquitted or exonerated, and eliminates the fee to have criminal records expunged. A bill to amend the Uniform Controlled Substances Act to reclassify possession of 10 grams or less of controlled substances as a misdemeanor rather than a felony also was drafted by Neronha’s office. This amendment is intended to prevent people who are caught with small amounts of drugs for personal use from being in the system as a convicted felon for 13 years.
“It’s time we recognize, like many states have, that simple drug possession is not felony conduct,” he said. “This reform will reduce the impact that drug addiction or a conviction can have on their ability to get a job, find housing, and turn their life around.”
Moving forward, while continuing to work on his past priorities, Neronha said he has expanded his oversight on health care, consumer protection, and environmental enforcement. At the legislative level, he said he wants to take another stab at strengthening the law governing wage theft. According to Neronha, a thief who steals a $1,500 television will be charged with a felony, for example, but an employer who refuses to pay $1,500 to a worker for overtime will be charged with a misdemeanor.
“It makes no sense,” he said. “We have to keep pushing for that.”