Feet Do the Talking: Only One Living Former RI Governor Still Lives in the State
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Is Rhode Island a good place to retire?
In the past week, national media has lampooned the state as a place for running a business. CNBC ranked Rhode Island #45 for the second straight year, and then 24/7 Wall Street’s editor-in-chief wrote a story titled “Flee Rhode Island As Soon As Possible.”
According to the behavior of former Rhode Island governors, Rhode Island may not be the best place to work and retire. The living former chief executives in the past 30 years have all packed up and moved away.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThere is only one living former Rhode Island governor who is still a resident.
Former Governors and Where the UHauls Took Them
Governor Phil Noel — who served as Governor from 1973 to 1977, is now a resident of Florida.
Governor Don Carcieri, a Republican, who was elected in 2002 and served two terms, moved away to New Hampshire.
Carcieri was followed by Lincoln Chafee, who was elected as an independent, then switched to be a Democrat and later became a Libertarian; he is now a resident of Teton Village, Wyoming.
Chafee’s successor was now-U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, who left her second term as Governor to join the Biden Administration.
Both Chafee and Raimondo continue to own property in Rhode Island.
While governors have migrated from the state, Rhode Island does not make the top 20 states for migration, according to the World Population Review.
"Of the top five states that saw more people moving out than in, New York, Connecticut, and California are among the ten states with the highest cost of living in 2022," according to the review.
The Only Living Governor
The only living Rhode Island governor who continues to live in the state that elected him to the executive office is Ed DiPrete — the three-term Republican Governor who served from 1985 to 1991 (gubernatorial terms were two years until the 2004 election).
DiPrete saw record approval ratings during his tenure, and then he hit bottom. In 1986 his approval ratings hit nearly 90%.
In December 1998, he pleaded guilty to state charges of bribery, extortion, and racketeering and was sentenced to a year in prison.
"I love Rhode Island! Born in my home in Cranston, served mass at St. Ann’s church from age 8 or 9 until I entered Holy Cross. Married Patricia Hines in 1956. Seven wonderful children. Amen," DiPrete told GoLocal.
DiPrete has remained active in Rhode Island — he turned 89 years old last week.
EDITOR'S NOTE; An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the recently passed former Governor Lincoln Almond had moved full-time to Well Fleet, MA. His family tells GoLocal that his time in MA was only part-time. We apologize for the error.
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