Political Profile: Jonathon Acosta, Candidate for Reelection (Senate District 16)

Friday, July 29, 2022

GoLocal Political Team

Jonathon Acosta is a Democratic candidate for reelection in Senate District 16 (Central Falls, Pawtucket). Here is what he has to say.

 

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1.  What do you think is the biggest political issue this campaign season in Rhode Island?

Voters are seemingly expected to vote for the candidate they like most as a person. We’ve been bombarded with jargon-laced buzzword-heavy messages all season and can’t readily point to what public policy differences there are between the options in front of us. How will candidates approach income taxes? What concrete plan do they have for healthcare? Education? Climate change? Most of what has been released by candidates is surface level, at best, or aspirational with no real plan, at worst.  

 

2.  What do we need to do to improve Rhode Island's economy?

We must start with fixing our education system. Any conversation on education should start with Barrington Public Schools where, in any given year, 20-30% of 3rd-8th graders can’t do math or read at grade level. This is not a poverty, special education, or multilingual learner problem (as the percentage of these is so low in that district). It is a fundamental problem with the quality of education we provide all students in our state. This is one of the few places where I believe in a trickle down effect. If we can address the issues holding Barrington students back, these should have positive effects on our most disenfranchised students as well. 

 

3.  What is the greatest challenge facing Rhode Island as a state?

Our underfunded system of social services in the State requires our immediate attention. Services from child care, healthcare, to hospice cover our lives from cradle to the grave. We have underinvested in these sectors for years while siphoning off funds to private providers. If we don’t raise taxes on the wealthy and find innovative ways to fund the services and supports we are guaranteed as Americans, we will witness the death of the social safety net that so poignantly defines the modern State. 

 

4.  Why are you running for office? What makes you uniquely qualified?  

I have the education and experience to make contributions to the policy domains important to our State. Specifically, I understand demography (we’ve got an aging baby boomer population bulge that demands our attention and a growing non-white child age population that requires unique services and supports) and education policy which informs economic development. 

 

5.  Who is your inspiration?  

WEB DuBois inspires me to wear many hats. He was the consummate public intellectual. He was a founder of the NAACP, editor of The Crisis, university Professor, organizer, researcher, and so much more. I hope that I can have a sliver of the impact he had on the world around him by the time my time is up.

Bio:

Jonathon Acosta is a Democrat representing District 16 (Central Falls, Pawtucket) in the Rhode Island Senate.

A former member of the Central Falls City Council, Sen. Acosta was elected to the Senate on Nov. 3, 2020. His time in the legislature has included action on issues including law enforcement, education and health care.

He was the Senate sponsor of legislation to create a new statewide body-worn camera program for police, which was signed into law in 2021. He also introduced the Rishod K. Gore Justice in Policing Act of 2021, which sought a range of police reforms, and legislation seeking to bar private prisons in Rhode Island.

Sen. Acosta was the Senate sponsor of a law authorizing Central Falls to invest nearly $6 million in school repair and construction. He also introduced a bill that would prohibit discrimination against potential organ transplant recipients based solely on a physical or mental disability.

Sen. Acosta was born on Nov. 3, 1989. He and his partner, Aly Chatham, have two sons, Leon Ernesto Acosta-Chatham and Jonathon Andres Acosta-Chatham.

He earned Bachelor's degrees in Political Science (Theory) and Ethnic Studies and a Master's degrees in Urban Education Policy and Sociology from Brown University. He is currently working to earn a Ph.D. in Sociology at Brown. He previously worked as a middle school math teacher in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Central Falls before becoming a school administrator.

In 2015, Sen. Acosta received recognition from the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2016, he received the Latino Public Radio Community Champion Award.

Sen. Acosta is a member of the Central Falls Children's Foundation, and he previously served on the Central Falls Juvenile Hearing Board. He has been involved in his community as a wrestling coach and earned the rank of Eagle Scout in Boy Scouting.

Editor's Note: An earlier version spelled the candidate's first name incorrectly in one reference.

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