Representative Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy) has represented Quincy, Weymouth, and Holbrook in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 1991. He was elected Speaker in December of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and oversaw the disbursement of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, delivering targeted support to workers, businesses, and to critical sectors of the economy. Speaker Mariano’s top priority is making Massachusetts an affordable place to live and raise a family, and he remains focused on continuing to sustain the state’s progress in health care, education, and innovation. As Speaker, he also led the House in reauthorizing the third iteration of the Life Sciences Initiative, cementing Massachusetts’ role as a leader in the biotechnology industry.

Throughout his career, Speaker Mariano has been a driving force behind groundbreaking legislation related to health care, gun control, and clean energy. Speaker Mariano was a key architect of the Commonwealth’s landmark health care reform law of 2006, which went on to serve as a model for the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, prior to his Speakership, Speaker Mariano led many of the House’s conference committee negotiations for bills that established school accountability standards, contained health care cost growth, reformed the criminal justice system, created an adult-use marijuana industry, and that regulated ride-sharing services. Speaker Mariano was the lead negotiator during Massachusetts’ 2014 gun safety reform effort and the subsequent ban on bump stocks, which have made Massachusetts a national leader in gun safety. Speaker Mariano, throughout his career, has been an ardent proponent of LGBTQ+ rights, civil rights, and of ensuring access to reproductive justice and to women’s health care.

Speaker Mariano is a lifelong resident of Quincy Point and is married to Eve Powell, a retired Quincy Public Schools teacher. He attended Quincy Public Schools, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston. He taught in the Quincy Public Schools for 12 years and served as a member of the Quincy School Committee for 18 years. He is a lifelong basketball fan and coached Quincy Youth Basketball for many years.