Ron Mariano

Ronald Joseph Mariano was born on October 31, 1946, and is a lifelong resident of Quincy, Massachusetts. A Democrat, he currently serves as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, a position he has held since December 2020. He represents the 3rd Norfolk District, which comprises Quincy, Weymouth, and Holbrook. Mariano is married to Eve Powell.

Education and Early Career

Mariano attended Quincy Public Schools before earning his B.S. from Northeastern University in Boston and his M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Before entering the state legislature, he worked as a teacher and served on the Quincy School Committee from 1989 to 2009.

Political Experience

Mariano was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in a special election in December 1991. He rose through legislative leadership ranks, serving as Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Insurance from 1997 to 2000, then as Chair beginning in 2001. In 2005, he became chair of the Joint Committee on Financial Services, a position in which he oversaw significant reforms.

As a key architect of Massachusetts' landmark 2006 health care reform—which later served as a model for the Affordable Care Act—Mariano was instrumental in that legislation's development. He also led the 2008 auto insurance deregulation initiative, earning the 2008 Insurance Professional of the Year Award for this work.

In February 2009, Mariano was appointed Assistant Majority Leader, and in January 2011, he was promoted to Majority Leader by then-Speaker Robert DeLeo. When DeLeo retired in 2020, Mariano succeeded him as Speaker. He was reelected to a second term as Speaker in January 2023.

Throughout his career, Mariano has championed groundbreaking legislation in healthcare, criminal justice, gun control, and education. He was the lead negotiator in Massachusetts' 2014 gun safety reform and the subsequent ban on bump stocks. His current priorities as Speaker include child care affordability, public transportation reliability, and oversight of hospital mergers and acquisitions.