Rep. Cherie L. Cruz (D-Dist. 58, Pawtucket) was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in November 2022. She represents Pawtucket's Fairlawn and Woodlawn neighborhoods, where she was born and raised. She is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Municipal Government and Housing Committee, and the House Special Legislation Committee.
During her time in the legislature, Representative Cruz has been a constant advocate for housing rights, criminal justice reform, and ensuring that quality childcare is affordable for all families. In the 2026 legislative session, she introduced legislation that establishes the Rhode Island Child Care for All Act and she sponsored a bill that allows expungement of multiple felony convictions for non-violent felonies 10 years from the date of conviction. She also introduced several tenant's rights bills, including legislation that allows the sealing of eviction records for defective complaints and a bill that would make landlords pay interest on withheld security deposits.
In 2025, Representative Cruz introduced a bill that passed the House that would take advantage of underutilized land in a community for the purpose of housing construction. Portions of the bill were adopted into final passage as part of comprehensive housing legislation enacted by the legislature. She also had a bill pass the House that would reduce the time for expungements to three years for a single misdemeanor and five years for felonies and multiple misdemeanors.
During the 2023 session, Representative Cruz introduced legislation, which became law, that eliminated housing rental application fees.
She is a graduate of Brown University, with a Bachelor's degree in Education Studies Cum Laude and a Master's degree in Urban Education Policy as the Urban Education Policy Fellow. She also earned an Associate's degree with Highest Honors in Liberal Arts at the Community College of Rhode Island.
Representative Cruz is a long-time tenant organizer and tenant rights advocate. Previously, she ran an early-childhood development program, Parents as Teachers, at CCAP through the Love That Baby program supported by the Rhode Island Department of Health. Representative Cruz is a certified CLC and CPRS.
She currently serves on the Joint Commission on Reducing the Recidivism of Women. She has served as a board member of the RI Welcome Back Center and OpenDoors (Formerly The Family Life Center), on the executive board of the RI American Civil Liberties Association, and is the co-founder of the Formerly Incarcerated Union of Rhode Island. In addition, her past public service includes appointments on the Rhode Island Special Education Advisory Committee and the RI Governor's Council on Behavioral Health.
Born on January 14, she is the mother of four children, Christopher,
Charice, Aaron, and Terrell, and grandmother to Jazzlynn.