Governor Raimondo Has 45 Full-time Staffers - Not One Is Black
Friday, June 19, 2020
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has a staff of 45 full-time employees and not one member of her office’s executive team is Black.
As Rhode Island focuses on racial equality and opportunity, Raimondo’s personal staff of nearly 50 has a budget of $5.5 million for salaries and benefits, according to state budget documents.
Raimondo’s spokesperson confirmed the lack of diversity of the executive staff to GoLocal in an email.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Rhode Island has benefited from leaders of color in the Raimondo Administration, including African Americans in high-profile positions on the Governor's cabinet. The office staff has likewise benefited from the input of black Rhode Islanders over the years, but we recognize this is an area in which we can do better,” said Audrey Lucas, Raimondo's press staffer.
Mixed Record
Raimondo has a mixed record. Raimondo has named a number of Black individuals to her cabinet including the Department of Health’s Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott, who has taken on a high profile role in leading the healthcare response to the coronavirus crisis.
Over her five-plus years as Governor, Raimondo has named a limited number of minorities to judgeships, but Rhode Island’s judiciary continues to be comprised of more than 90 percent white judges and magistrates.
Rhode Island has never had a minority judge on the Supreme Court -- and Raimondo has refused to commit to addressing the court's lack of diversity with a seat now open.
Earlier this year, Raimondo’s endorsement of billionaire Michael Bloomberg drew criticism from a number of leaders in Rhode Island.
Raimondo defended her endorsement of the former New York City Mayor for President, following reports of sexist and racist behavior during his time in office and in business.
As Mayor of New York City, Bloomberg greatly expanded a police policy called "stop and frisk."
An analysis by the NY ACLU revealed that "innocent New Yorkers have been subjected to police stops and street interrogations more than 5 million times since 2002, and that Black and Latinx communities continue to be the overwhelming target of these tactics. At the height of stop-and-frisk in 2011 under the Mayor Michael Bloomberg administration, over 685,000 people were stopped. Nearly nine out of 10 stopped-and-frisked New Yorkers have been completely innocent."
Stop and frisk exploded not under New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani -- but under Bloomberg.
After Raimondo’s endorsement, Bloomberg’s 2011 remarks saying that “Black and Latino men don’t know how to behave in the workplace” surfaced — as well as his own alleged sexist and abusive behavior in the workplace, including allegedly telling one pregnant employee to “kill it.”
"Well, first let me say that any allegation of inappropriate conduct, harassment, sexism can’t be tolerated — I have a zero-tolerance policy for it," said Raimondo, when previously asked about her continued support for Bloomberg -- until he dropped out.
"I will say he I think has apologized for many of those comments — I know he’s apologized for his mistaken policy in stop and frisk. He has said that he has learned from this. Frankly, that’s what I want in a leader. Someone who acknowledges mistakes, learns from them, and leads," said Raimondo. "I will say, the person who is most problematic, is the person who is currently in the White House who has a long track record of being terrible to immigrants, terrible to dreamers, and terrible to women, and I’m behind Mike Bloomberg because I think he has the best chance."
According to one lawsuit, when Bloomberg saw certain women, he said, “I’d f--- that in a second,” according to a report in the Washington Post.
When pushed back on some of the comments that Bloomberg reportedly said about women, Raimondo said she believes Bloomberg has "learned from it."
“He’s been extensively covered in the past — he was three-time Mayor of New York — so a lot of it wasn’t a surprise. It’s upsetting, it’s concerning, you never want to see that, but I also believe he’s learned from it, he’s changed, and he has an incredible record of investing in women’s healthcare, women’s empowerment, in the Latino community, in economic development for the African American community," said Raimondo. "I just think we have to be very serious and very practical right now, if you believe as I do that President Trump is taking this country in the wrong direction."
"Has Mike made mistakes? We all have. Has he acknowledged those mistakes and learned from them? Absolutely," said Raimondo. "This President wouldn’t apologize to you if he stepped on your toe."
Raimondo also responded to the head of the Rhode Island Latino PAC — Joseph Molina Flynn — calling her endorsement of Bloomberg “awful.”
"I couldn’t disagree more. Look, President Trump has been terrible for the Latino community, and terrible for the immigrant community. He has been caging children at the border. We all have to everything we can to make sure President Trump is not reelected. I stand by Mike Bloomberg because I believe he is the best candidate in the race — not perfect — but the best candidate to beat Donald Trump and I think we have to keep our eye on the prize in November."
While Raimondo's personal office currently lacks any Black staff, Lucas said the following.
“In the three years I’ve worked here, there have been at least six members of the office staff who identify as black," she said.
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