Regina Lewis-Ward

Regina Lewis-Ward (born October 4, 1959) is an American politician who served as councilwoman for the city of Stockbridge, Georgia from 2014-2016 and as the Democratic Party's nominee from District 109 for the Georgia House of Representatives in the 2018 election.
Raised in New York City Housing Authority in Brooklyn, Lewis-Ward graduated from Baruch College in 1982 with a bachelors in computer systems and in 2017 earned an Master of Art, in political science, from Clayton State University.
As city councilwoman, Lewis-Ward advocated for inclusive communities, and became the first politician from Stockbridge to respond to segregated playgrounds. Lewis-Ward's commitment to unite families and children of all abilities on the playground led to inclusive play at Stockbridge Memorial and Clark Parks with adaptive playground equipment.
During her tenure as councilwoman, Lewis-Ward started the first Stockbridge Citizens Academy in 2015, which offered free classes aimed to engage citizens with their local government. Fourteen participants, of all ages and ethnicities graduated from the first class.
Lewis-Ward made a run for Mayor of Stockbridge in 2016. From a field of four candidates, she received the most votes in the history of Stockbridge elections (38.9% or 3,760 votes) and lost the run-off election to Judy B Neal, by 142 votes.
As the 2018 Democratic nominee for Georgia State Representative, District 109, Lewis-Ward became the first African American woman to receive a nomination, for Georgia's House District 109, by a major U.S. political party. On October 7, 2018, Eric H. Holder, held an event in Stockbridge, GA to campaign for Stacey Abrams, Regina Lewis-Ward and other democrats. Regina lost the election to 6 year Republican incumbent, Dale Rutledge. 2018 Georgia House of Representatives election.
Biography
Early life
Regina Lewis was born on October 4, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York. Regina's maternal ancestors were sharecroppers in South Carolina and the family roots can be traced back to the Gullah people in the Low Country. The Lewis family's history began in North Carolina and were later found in New York, Philadelphia and other states west of North Carolina. She had a modest upbringing in a Protestant household with her father, a labor union truck driver, mother, a homemaker and two siblings.
Lewis’ childhood home was in the Breukelen Houses located in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, New York. As a child, she attended predominantly white schools. Regina encountered her first experience with racism, protests, and boycotts, during a riot at her junior high school against school desegregation. During her years in middle school, the school district was rezoned to allow black children from nearby neighborhoods to integrate schools in Canarsie. The white parents from Canarsie staged boycotts and violent protests against the rezoning.
Lewis' early political commitment to inclusive, unified communities is framed by her childhood experience of walking past violent protesters to get an education and her niece born with Cerebral Palsy, Britney Wilson, whom she saw have difficulty navigating playgrounds.
Regina graduated from Canarsie High School then attended CUNY, LaGuardia Community College and Baruch. She held a management position for two decades with NYC Transit until retirement.
Philosophical and/or political views
Lewis-Ward opposed the unprecedented 2017-2018 Georgia legislation for the cityhood of Eagle's Landing. She hosted meetings with the press and community to express her opposition
Published works
Research: The United States Federal Government and Lags in Protecting Personally Identifiable Information, 2017. Print.
Honours, decorations, awards and distinctions

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