Governor McKee: What Happens Next
Friday, January 08, 2021
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo is leaving Rhode Island and will serve as Secretary of Commerce for President Joe Biden. It is official.
Raimondo tweeted on Thursday night, “Rhode Island may be small, but our economy is mighty on the strength of our small businesses and innovative technologies. As Secretary of Commerce, I will harness that same American ingenuity to create good-paying union jobs and build our economy back better than ever before.”
Almost simultaneously, however, her press office canceled her weekly press conference on the coronavirus.
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Leaving RI in a Lurch
Raimondo's response to the pandemic has turned into a massive failure. More than one hundred Rhode Islanders have died in each of the last five weeks. Presently. Rhode Island has the second high infection rate in the world and has the 4th highest death rate per capita in the United States.
This public health crisis is now Lt. Governor Dan McKee's problem. And, he must develop a new strategy and create a functional vaccination program. A GoLocal investigation unveiled that at the present pace it will take the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) nearly two years to distribute the vaccine, its plan is riddled with errors and it is months out of date.
Moreover, Raimondo's departure triggers the most significant power shift in Rhode Island in recent political history.
The implications may be more significant as the state is fighting a losing battle against the pandemic, it is facing a massive budget deficit and an underlying economic crisis.
Raimondo is the first Rhode Islander to serve as a member of a presidential cabinet in decades. The last cabinet secretary with a significant Rhode Island connection was G. William Miller who served as Secretary of Treasury under President Jimmy Carter, after he served as CEO of Providence based Textron. He was drawn back to Rhode Island and ran a consulting business with former Governor J. Joseph Garrahy.
The Raimondo departure sets of a series of significant changes:
1. McKee Staff
Mckee will need to move quickly to build a top-tier staff and make critical changes to his cabinet.
Staffing will be critical and while McKee has always had a feisty group of staffers -- that group needs to be transformed now into an execution machine to ensure the vaccine is distributed and the state's fiscal challenges are managed.
It is no secret that there is no love lost between Raimondo and McKee. He has been a relentless advocate for small business owners and his activism forced Raimondo to free up grants and loans for small businesses.
Rhode Island is unlike Massachusetts, where the Governor and Lt. Governor run as a ticket and there is never a press release that comes out of the governor’s office that does not state, “Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito "will" or "announce" -- it is always a team in the Commonwealth. In Rhode Island, it is hard to remember a press conference in which both Raimondo and McKee jointly attended.
Raimondo has frozen McKee out of all coronavirus briefings and decision making, similar to President Donald Trump refusing to assist President-elect Joe Biden. The difference is that Raimondo’s treatment of McKee has gone on for years.
2. Picking a Lt. Governor
One of McKee's first orders of business is to select a Lt. Governor. Name being banded about are former Central Falls Mayor James Diossa, Johnston Mayor Joe Polisena, and State Senator Lou DiPalma, but none of those names makes the McKee tent bigger. Will he select a minority, a woman or a non-politician that expands his base?
3. Vaccination Program Now Biggest Issue
The faster Rhode Islanders get vaccinated, the faster the economy can recover. McKee needs to appoint someone to the now essentially leaderless initiative and involve the cities and towns.
McKee's political future -- and a 2022 gubernatorial race -- is tied to his ability to execute an effective vaccination program, something Raimondo has failed to do. It will prove he can get things done. A lackluster program will be a black mark against his tenure as chief executive.
4. Department Director Changes
The McKee administration would have new leadership in key spots — especially the Department of Administration — where Director Brett Smiley is expected to leave within months to run for Mayor of Providence. McKee is expected to appoint new leadership at Commerce, Administration, and Transportation.
5. Power with Shekarchi and Ruggerio
With a new speaker -- Joe Shekarchi -- replacing the ousted Nick Mattiello, there will be a new tone in the House. Shekarchi is a close political ally and friend to Raimondo. He ran her 2010 campaign for General Treasurer and chaired her transition team. He eats over at the Raimondo house — Mattiello was never invited over.
Raimondo’s departure sets up a new dynamic. McKee needs to establish himself. He needs to put wins on and across the board for a 2022 re-election and there are plenty of potential challengers — SEE BELOW.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, an old school Democrat, has been pushed hard left by progressives in his chamber and his makeover and new agenda could run afoul of McKee’s pro-small business management priorities.
6. Transforms 2022 Governor’s Race
For McKee, two-years as Governor give him and his team the opportunity to lead, be seen as the leader, and raise tremendous amounts of money for a 2022 run.
It also dramatically shifts the leader board. Instead of being in the same breath as General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza, now he is the front-runner and freezes out other potential business conservative Democrats like developer Joe Paolino.
It is now all up to Governor Daniel McKee.
Editor's note - a portion of this article was included in an earlier December story previewing this transition. Miller served as CEO of Texton prior to serving as Secretary of Treasury not after as GoLocal had previously published.
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