What Can RI Expect from a Raimondo Administration?
Thursday, November 06, 2014
What will a Raimondo administration look like?
Democratic General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island's Governor-elect -- and first female Governor -- won on Tuesday with 40% of the vote, beating opponents Allan Fung, who garnered 36% of the vote, and Bob Healey, who got 21%.
"In general, women run good campaigns. They're good at raising money, and they win as much as men do," said Rhode Island College Professor of Communications Valerie Endress. "What comes into play after the fact is that they're judged much more harshly by the media. They're more likely to be judged more harshly by the state legislature."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"They can't use incumbency strategies by their very presence. They're the "challenger," even through they've been in office before," continued Endress of winning female candidates. "[Raimondo] has to mend fences with the public employee unions, and the Healey folks. She'll have a short honeymoon. She needs to get people working together, and work well with the General Assembly."
Hitting the Ground Running
Darrell West, vice president and Director of Governance Studies at the Bookings Institution, offered his perspective at to what the start of Raimondo's term might entail.
"Raimondo has committed herself to focusing on the economy so I would anticipate her first six months focusing on jobs, jobs, and jobs. That is the challenge in Rhode Island, and the issue she needs to address," said West. "She likely will put some proposals on the table designed to stimulate investment and create jobs."
"I would expect her to be the same type of leader she demonstrated during the campaign," West continued. "She is smart and forward-looking, and those are skills that will help her govern effectively."
During the campaign, Raimondo unveiled a jobs plan that focused on made in Rhode Island manufacturing, a cutting edge workforce, rebuilding Rhode Island infrastructure, tourism, and supporting Rhode Islands startup and small businesses.
"We cannot afford to continue doing what we’ve been doing. The stakes are simply too high. We cannot afford more of the same. And there is no single solution. Silver-bullet plans and back-room deals are not going to get us out of this crisis. Instead, we need a comprehensive, detailed approach that moves our state forward on multiple fronts, while focusing on areas where we are already poised to succeed," said Raimondo.
Making it Happen
"First of all, [Raimondo] clearly has got to try and patch up some of the rough spots, with the unions in particular," said veteran Rhode Island pollster Victor Profughi "She'll move quickly to prove to them that she's as progressive as they are. If she does that and works hard, she'll go a long way to correcting the 40%"
In total, Raimondo received 123,450 votes in 2014. By contrast, Ernie Almonte received 124,890 in the General Treasurer's race, and Dawson Hodgson got over 128,000 in the Attorney General contest -- and both Almonte and Hodgson lost.
"You have to make a distinction between her and [Governor] Chafee," said Profughi of Raimondo's vote percentage, compared with Chafee's 36% plurality in 2010. "She's a Democrat, and the coalition of Democrats that run the state will fall in line. I think she'll work well with leadership, they're relatively conservative for Democrats, and she is as well, so she shouldn't have an issue."
"Her most difficult challenge will be working with the General Assembly. The Speaker has much greater power than she does so she will need to develop a good working relationship with him as well as Paiva-Weed," said West.
West continued, "She will need to repair her relations with public sector unions. That will probably involve reaching out to them and making sure she understands their concerns. Resolving the court case over pensions would go a long ways towards rebuilding that relationship."
Related Slideshow: 10 Questions Gina Raimondo Has to Answer When Running for Governor
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