Joe Shekarchi

Shekarchi was born to a father of Iranian-American descent and a mother of Italian-American heritage. He grew up in the Conimicut neighborhood of Warwick. He earned his bachelor's degree from Suffolk University and his Juris Doctor from the Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Mount St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, prior to attending Suffolk. ==Career==

Shekarchi was the manager of Paul Tsongas's Rhode Island campaign for the 1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries and then served as a legislative aide in the administration of governor Bruce Sundlun. In 2010, he led future governor Gina Raimondo's successful campaign for general treasurer. He won the November 6, 2012, General election with 4,302 votes (67.9%) against Republican nominee John Falkowski, and has served in the position since January 1, 2013. Shekarchi was chairman of the House Labor Committee until his Democratic colleagues elected him as the House majority leader in November 2016. After four years as majority leader, his colleagues elected him speaker in November 2020 following the defeat of longtime speaker Nicholas Mattiello. Shekarchi considers himself a moderate Democrat. ==Personal life==

Shekarchi is openly gay. He is the second openly gay speaker of the Rhode Island House, after Gordon Fox. ==References==