Grade the Governor – How Did Carcieri Do?

Friday, November 12, 2010

GoLocalProv MINDSETTERS™

As Don Carcieri prepares to leave office, GoLocalProv's MINDSETTERS™ grade his performance on the most important issues - from jobs and the state budget to ethics and the environment. Below we list each issue and under it the grades given by individual contributors—Democrats, Republicans, independents, and Carcieri supporters. Scroll to the bottom to find out how they graded Carcieri on his overall performance as governor.

EDUCATION
Overall Grade B-

A He has made a strong effort to make taxpayer money follow the child. Allowing parents to choose where to send their children is basic Americanism. – Republican operative

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

A Truly his swan song! Hiring Gist/ Dooley/Di Pasquale combined with rigorous standards and investment has set a solid foundation for RI youth. Not to mention winning the Race to the Top. – Carcieri supporter

C He tried to be the education governor, but he just couldn’t get along with the unions, Exhibit A being the Central Falls debacle. He did do one really good thing for education: hire Deborah Gist. But for someone who promised to be the education governor, he didn’t achieve a lot. – Independent

D Didn’t make substantive progress on education. Schools are still failing—specifically in Central Falls where a political stunt orchestrated by his appointee backfired in the end with fired teachers retaining their positions. – Democratic operative

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Overall Grade: C

A That could be a B, but he should be graded on a curve because the Democrats get an F. – Republican operative

B- An EDC review panel and regulatory reform task force provided a road map for change, but came too late in the administration to truly implement and have effect. – Carcieri supporter

C Quonset Point has been a success he can point to, but we still have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and the overall economic development landscape remains bleak. – Democratic operative

D It’s not his fault per se, but Rhode Island hasn’t seen much economic development. Bringing in Curt Schilling’s video game company is like tying a rope to a star. It’s a hope and a dream—and it could fail miserably. - Independent

JOB CREATION
Overall Grade: D+

A As above, Carcieri would get a B if he wasn't being graded on a curve. – Republican operative

C RI actually lost more jobs than gained in difficult economy, but he did consolidate government jobs and worked toward reforms to make RI more business friendly. – Carcieri supporter

F What job creation? 11.5 percent unemployment says it all. – Democratic operative

F What jobs did he create? - Independent

BUDGET
Overall Grade: C

A Did his best to cut the budget, but was stymied by the unions. – Republican operative

A Tough decisions helped keep RI afloat. – Carcieri supporter

C He came in promising to clean up the budget with a big audit. But eight years later, nothing came of it. He did try to hold the line on spending, which is why he gets a passing grade. – Independent

F Never established a relationship with the Assembly, but constantly blamed them for disastrous budgets that were crafted on his watch. – Democratic operative

RELATIONSHIP with the LEGISLATURE
Overall Grade: F

D He keeps out of F territory because he was at a disadvantage based on party affiliation. However, he never established a positive working relationship and that was bad for the people of Rhode Island. – Democratic operative

F Acted more like a CEO than a governor. Never understood that you have to work with the General Assembly. That it took him eight years to get major initiatives passed into law is a testament to how poor his relationship was with lawmakers. – Independent

F Which is a good thing. A conservative Republican governor is not supposed to get along with a Democratic General Assembly. – Republican operative

HEALTH CARE
Overall Grade: C+

A Under his leadership, RI became the first recognized Wellness State in the country and turned the health focus with insurance providers toward prevention vs. treatment. He also received national recognition as a best practice model for how RI handled the H1N1 virus. – Carcieri supporter

A Wants to sue the federal government over Obamacare. Automatic A. – Republican operative

B- He has taken some strong stands for consumers against insurance companies and tried to cut rates. - Independent

F On health care, he remains incredibly out of touch with struggles of everyday Rhode Islanders. He continues to push his political agenda against a health care law that bans insurance companies from taking away health insurance when they're sick and expands coverage in the Ocean State, where we currently have a record high number of uninsured. – Democratic operative

ENVIRONMENT
Overall Grade: C+

B Clean, homegrown energy sources—including wind power—are the key for Rhode Island moving forward. He had a strong track record on this front. – Democratic operative

Incomplete He hasn’t done much for the environment, unlike the previous administration, which bought a lot of open space. The wind farm could be great for the environment, but it’s too early to say for sure. – Independent

No Grade Who cares? The air and water are clean and the highways aren’t littered with trash. Enough said. – Republican operative

ENERGY
Overall Grade: B-

A He went around the PUC when they threatened to upend the months of work for wind power. Many alternative energy initiatives were explored creating a solid foundation of options in the future. – Carcieri supporter

B See above – Democratic operative

C Private enterprise, not government should be bringing wind power to Rhode Island. – Republican operative

Incomplete It all comes down to that wind farm. If the wind farm gets built, history will look fondly on the Carcieri administration. We will have to wait and see. - Independent

TAXES
Overall Grade: C+

A++ He initiated the flat tax and cut income taxes for many Rhode Islanders. – Republican operative

C Promised to reform property taxes and the car tax. Have you seen your taxes go down? - Independent

F Lacked the political will-power and courage to aggressively help cities and towns hold the line on property taxes. – Democratic operative

ETHICS
Overall Grade: B-

A+ Genuinely honorable. Started Open Door Thursday with constituents in order to hear first-hand how state government was responding to constituents. – Carcieri supporter

A The more ethics complaints you’re getting from Democrats, the better a job you’re doing. – Republican operative

C For a man who holds himself out as a moral compass, he’s had some ethical slips that got him some slaps on the wrist. So it’s not been all roses for him in that department, but he hasn’t really done anything terribly too egregious either. - Independent

D- He gets a D- just for making it through his tenure without a major corruption scandal. However, things haven’t gotten better on his watch—and if you’re not helping to solve the problem as governor, you’re seemingly part of it. – Democratic operative

PERFORMANCE AS GOVERNOR
Overall Grade: C+

A+ Nothing that’s wrong with the Rhode Island economy is the fault of any Republican, especially Don Carcieri. He’s been the foremost conservative over the last eight years standing up to the big government Democratic machine, reminding everyone of conservative small government principles. It’s easy to blame the Republican governor until you realize that Democrats in the General Assembly are the ones with the real power over the direction of the state. – Republican operative

A He stuck to a plan (which wasn't always popular) made some very hard choices and held us to high standards. He significantly transformed state government...Extra bonus points for his calm during the storm. He has received much deserved acclaim for his handling of the Station Fire, Katrina evacuees, H1N1 and this year's historic floods. Folks felt confident with him at the helm. – Carcieri supporter

D Are you better off now than you were eight years ago? Taxes are higher, the economy’s in the toilet, and home values have collapsed. He came in with high hopes and lofty promises, and Rhode Islanders have been left holding the bag when he didn’t deliver. - Independent

D- For those of you in the dating scene, you’ll appreciate this. Don Carcieri’s administration has been like a match you received on eHarmony. She had a beautiful profile picture, when you spoke on the phone the conversation was easy, and her profile indicated she liked sports! Problem is, when you got to the restaurant to meet her for the first time, turns out her profile picture was from 10 years ago and things had changed a lot since then. You also noticed that she really wasn’t too interested in sports but just put it on her profile to attract guys like you. You left that night kicking yourself, “No more of this blind dating crap for me.”

And that’s how you can summarize the Carcieri years. In 2002, there was much hope, so much expectation that the businessman—who came outta nowhere—was going to storm into the Statehouse, take action, and get names later. Well…not so much. Eight years after telling us what we already knew—there’s a pension problem—we still have a problem with our pension system. Jobs? Rhode Island’s economy is a laughingstock compared to its neighbors. Taxes? You didn’t know your 1995 Ford Escort was worth $3,000, did you? Yeah, well it is! The way to sum up Carcieri’s administration is with one word: Disappointing. – Conservative Republican

D- This isn’t an F because for a few reasons – he served as a leading advocate for the development of Quonset Point, pushed for much needed wind power development in securing the Deepwater project, and was dealt a tough hand with circumstances he couldn’t control (i.e. the economic downturn). However, he remains incredibly out of touch with struggles of everyday Rhode Islanders. He continues to push his political agenda against a health care law that bans insurance companies from taking away health insurance when their sick and expands coverage in the Ocean State, where we currently have a record high number of uninsured. On top of that, more than 11 percent of Rhode Islanders remain out of work and the state has done too little in cracking down on political corruption on Governor Carcieri’s watch – in large part because of his inability to work with the General Assembly. In essence, he has governed much like a northeastern George Bush – authoritarian governance that lacks pragmatism or an ability to get things done. He leaves office with Rhode Island worse off than it was before he entered. – Democratic operative.
 

Related Articles

• Carcieri Accuses Caprio of Meddling in Curt Schilling Deal
• Libertarian Group Praises Carcieri for Tax Cuts
• Crosswinds: Gov., AG Clash over Wind Farm Bill
• Carcieri Accuses Lynch of Playing Politics With Wind Farm
• Lynch Won’t Apologize for Calling Carcieri a Liar
• Gov. Carcieri Proclaims October Arts and Humanities Month
• Carcieri Orders Flag at Half Staff for Fallen RI Soldier
• Robitaille Crosses Former Boss Carcieri on Wind Farm
• Gov. Signs Bill to End Greyhound Racing at Twin River
• Carcieri Signs Wind Farm Bill
• UPDATED Gov. Candidates: Health Insurance Rate Hikes ‘Outrageous’
• Carcieri Urges Support for Wind Farm Bill
• Carcieri Urges Voters Not to Support Union-Backed Candidates
• Caprio Criticizes Carcieri on School Funds
• Carcieri, Lynch Battle Over Health Care Reform
• Caprio Goes After Robitaille Over Work for Carcieri
• Cicilline Urges Carcieri to Reconsider Budget Deficit Plan

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.