Experts Look at Raimondo’s First 1,000 Days as Governor of RI
Monday, October 02, 2017
Governor Gina Raimondo is gearing up for re-election and her staff has scheduled a full day of public relations events to celebrate her successes in office. The Governor’s office pressured state departments to develop press events for the milestone being celebrated on Monday.
GoLocal asked experts to weigh in, and here is how they see Raimondo’s first 1,000 days.
URI economist Len Lardaro puts the milestone of 1,000 days in some perspective. “In responding to this, it is critical to note that merely identifying what occurred over 999 days does not necessarily mean everything is attributable to the Governor, either good or bad," said Lardaro.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs Raimondo’s PR team presses for successes and tries to paint over failure, Lardaro says she is just one-third of the decision-making process.
SEE SLIDESHOW BELOW - 26 EXAMPLES OF THE GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY
“This is, after all, Rhode Island. Our Governor is only third on the power chart for the governance of the state. Essentially, the role of Rhode Island's governor ranges anywhere from being a visionary to a punching bag. Therefore, attributing everything to our governor and entirely omitting any explicit role for our legislature, which is clearly far more powerful than our governor, is largely meaningless. With this serious caveat in mind, I will mention a few positives and negatives,” said Lardaro (see below).
Successes:
U.S. Army Major and Harvard Kennedy School student Matt Fecteau, a Democrat, is positive on Raimondo and her successes. “Governor Gina Raimondo has been successful in helping everyday Rhode Islanders. She inherited a mess from Mr. Lincoln Chafee but she has made some serious strides towards improving the quality of life in our great state," said Fecteau. "A number of companies are relocating to or expanding in Rhode Island including General Electric (meaning jobs).”
Fecteau said, “Unemployment has nominally fallen to 4.7, dipping below the national average. Her community college program will help a number of struggling people, and her initiative to spearhead computer coding in every school will help close Rhode Island's skills gap -- this one of her greatest and most unappreciated achievements.”
“I would argue that Governor Raimondo has been very successful at convincing big-name companies to locate, develop a presence, and create a small number of jobs here by offering subsidies that make her deals basically offers that companies cannot refuse -- General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, etc.,” said GoLocal contributor Russ Moore.
“So she has really become a master at public relations in one respect. She's a good politician, and deserves credit for that. Further, whether we like the nuts and bolts, she does deserve credit for addressing our infrastructure needs, through her RhodeWorks plan,” added Moore.
Former Providence Journal Editorial Page Editor Robert Whitcomb, now a GoLocal Columnist, agreed with Moore on RhodeWorks, saying, "RhodeWorks very good, in my opinion." He also cited Medicaid improvements as good, as well as a new emphasis on vocational education and positive effort to work with other states.
Failures:
“Unfortunately, the Governor continues to have trouble with transparency. Just this week she refused to reveal the tenant agreements at the new Wexford development, despite the fact that taxpayers are subsidizing the project. That's a big disappointment for a Governor who rose to prominence as General Treasurer citing 'truth in numbers' while fighting for pension reform,” said Moore.
Fecteau, a Raimondo supporter, pointed out the following. "Raimondo has made a number of tactical missteps that have led many Rhode Islanders to question her ability to lead. Her administration oversaw the cooler warmer debacle which was met with laughs and a thud. In addition, the tourism video which featured a scene from Reykjavik, Iceland made a number of Rhode Islanders question her competence," said Fecteau. "While these seem insignificant, these were serious tactical missteps that could have easily been avoided and have some serious optical pitfalls (she definitely threw the talking chatterboxes on the radio a bone here)."
Lardaro warns the errors may impact the state in the long run. “While I will skip over the largely ceremonial efforts that we witness all too frequently, which also lack the guidance of in-house due diligence, I am very disappointed in the governor’s failure to institutionalize in-house due diligence as a part of our state’s decision-making process. If anyone has the background to understand the importance of this, it is certainly Governor Raimondo,” said Lardaro.
“Sadly, Rhode Island continues to fly blind, essentially launching 'darts' whenever it initiates a policy. In the norms of the information age, this is clearly backward. Make no mistake, when Rhode Island’s economy slows, we will neither be prepared nor have any knowledge base upon which to act. To date, due diligence for Rhode Island continues to consist almost entirely of heavy reliance on the word 'should.' Hiring outside consulting firms who always falsely presume that Rhode Island’s economy works exactly like that of other states is our ongoing folly,” added Lardaro, “Governor: 0, Legislature 0.”
Fecteau admits that too often Raimondo is inept at taking advantage of successes.
“Raimondo doesn't seem able to translate any of her successes into political wins that will deter potential opponents in the primary and/or the general election. She is perceived to be inaccessible, and even at times callous to the working class individuals of our fine state," said Fecteau. "After a contentious primary and general election, Raimondo should have done more to reach out to her opponents, and working-class Rhode Islanders -- she failed in this regards resoundingly. This is difficult --if not impossible now -- to overcome, but only by taking a Buddy Cianci approach -- show up for the opening of an envelope -- to our fine state will she be able to make progress.”
SEE SLIDESHOW BELOW - 26 EXAMPLES OF THE GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY
Related Slideshow: Raimondo’s Tenure as Governor - The Good, Bad, & Ugly
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