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James A. Diossa (born 1985) is an American politician from Rhode Island. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the Rhode Island General Treasurer. He served as a member of the city council and as mayor of Central Falls, Rhode Island, guiding the city after it declared bankruptcy.

Early life and education

Diossa's parents were from Medellín, Colombia.[1] They immigrated to the United States, settling in Central Falls, Rhode Island, in 1983.[1] He was born there two years later.[1] His father works for Osram Sylvania. His parents separated and his mother returned to Colombia.[2]

Diossa attended Central Falls High School, where he played for the school's soccer team and won a state championship.[2] He graduated in 2003 and enrolled at Community College of Rhode Island.[3] earned his undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Becker College[1] in 2009,[4] becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college.[1] He also played soccer at Becker.[5]

Career

Inspired by Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and an undergraduate course on government,[2][4] Diossa interned for U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.[4] He ran for election to the city council of Central Falls in November 2009 and won a seat by 17 votes,[6] becoming the youngest city councilor in Central Falls' history.[1] With a $6 million budget deficit and the city's pension fund underfunded by $80 million, the city went into receivership and filed for bankruptcy in August 2011.[2][7] The city's only public library closed, and Diossa organized members of the community to raise enough funds to have it reopened.[1] When the city's sole post office was in danger of closing, he led a march to protest the closure and met with the United States Postmaster General, saving the post office.[1]

The city cut jobs and services to come out of bankruptcy in September 2012.[8] Also in September 2012, Charles Moreau, Central Falls' mayor, resigned and pled guilty to federal charges of fraud.[9] Diossa ran in a special election for mayor in December 2012, and won. He took office on January 1, 2013, at the age of 27.[1] Diossa hired an administrative and a financial officer for the city in April 2013.[10] Under Diossa's leadership, Moody's Investors Service upgraded their rating of Central Falls city bonds.[7] Diossa also guided Central Falls through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[11]

After serving two terms as mayor, Diossa was prevented from running in the November 2020 election due to term limits.[11][12] When Lieutenant Governor Dan McKee was elevated to governor in 2021, Diossa was a candidate to succeed McKee as lieutenant governor. However, McKee instead selected Providence city councilor Sabina Matos.[5] In January 2021, Diossa became a senior advisor at the Rhode Island Innovative Policy Lab at Brown University.[13] President Joe Biden nominated Diossa to the board of trustees for the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation in July 2021.[14]

In December 2021, Diossa announced his candidacy for general treasurer of Rhode Island in the 2022 elections, as the incumbent, Seth Magaziner could not run for a third term due to term limits.[15] Diossa defeated Stefan Pryor, the former state secretary of commerce, to win the Democratic Party nomination.[16] He defeated James Lathrop, North Kingstown's finance director, in the general election on November 8.[17]

Personal life

Diossa's fiance, Sandra Cano, is a member of the Rhode Island State Senate. They have two children together.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i O'Berg Figueroa, Michelle (January 23, 2013). "Can a 27-Year-Old Take a City out of Bankruptcy?". ABC News. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Taricani, Jim (August 26, 2013). "The Freshman". Rhode Island Monthly. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  3. ^ Parker, Paul Edward (August 26, 2022). "James Diossa and Stefan Pryor want to be state treasurer. Here's how they'd do the job". The Providence Journal. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Rebuilding Public Trust with Mayor James Diossa | Johnson & Wales University". Jwu.edu. September 17, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Fenton, Josh. "Diossa Announces Run for RI General Treasurer". GoLocalProv. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  6. ^ Cols Azócar, Geraldine (August 8, 2017). "Meet the Young Latino Mayor Who Is Bringing Back His Rhode Island City". NBC News. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Rhode Island's Central Falls reeling from underfunded pension". Los Angeles Times. August 3, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Bankruptcy saves tiny Rhode Island city, but leaves scars". Reuters. September 4, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  9. ^ "Central Falls, RI mayor quits, to plead guilty to fraud". Reuters. September 19, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Malinowski, W. Zachary (April 2, 2013). "Central Falls mayor names administrative and finance officer". Providence Journal. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Political Scene: After eight years in City Hall, Diossa looks back and to the future". Providence Journal. December 13, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  12. ^ Hoskins, Amanda (December 24, 2020). "Central Falls mayor reflects as term comes to close". WJAR. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  13. ^ "Former Central Falls Mayor James Diossa joins Brown University". The Boston Globe. January 27, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  14. ^ "President Biden Announces 11 Key Nominations | The White House". Whitehouse.gov. July 13, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Sherman, Eli (December 13, 2021). "James Diossa launches bid for RI general treasurer". WPRI. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  16. ^ "Diossa wins Democratic bid against Pryor to be next Rhode Island general treasurer". September 13, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  17. ^ "RI treasurer race: James Diossa defeats James Lathrop". Wpri.com. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  18. ^ "NEW: Diossa and Cano Welcome Second Child".

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of Rhode Island
2023–present 		Incumbent
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Diossa