EDITORIAL: Grades for Raimondo’s First 100 Days
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL: Grades for Raimondo’s First 100 Days
To date, she has had to appoint a team to her staff and cabinet, deal with a particularly difficult winter, set an agenda for her first four years, and try and make a visible impact.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTFor a Governor who won neither a majority of the votes cast in the Democratic primary or the General Election, Raimondo has had some initial challenges.
Here are the issues and the grades:
Team Appointments:
By all accounts, the Raimondo administration is smart, experienced and committed to public service. It has a nice blend of talented insiders, like Legislative Director David Cruise, and outsiders with new ideas and different experiences, including Commerce head Stephen Pryor and Stephen Neuman
The only blemish is the pay inequity of her own staff in which women make nearly 14% less than their male counterparts – for comparable positions.
GRADE: B (Would have been an A if she paid women when the same as men on her team)
Snow Removal:
The non-stop winter storms served as a potential trap for the brand-new Governor Raimondo and her team. While Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and his staff looked very much the novices in dealing with the storms, Raimondo acted quickly and professionally – which the public and pundits swiftly pointed out.
GRADE: A
Pension Reform:
Raimondo made her bones on pension reform while General Treasurer. The looming court battle looked to be a quagmire politically, constantly pitting the Democratic governor at odds with a core element of the Democratic party – public unions.
Enter former Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, Frank Williams who used reportedly both carrot and stick to drive a conclusion.
The result of the settlement is the end of the pension litigation era (for now) and the avoidance of a difficult period for Raimondo.
GRADE: B+
Economic Development:
Big ideas – not so much. Professionalism and recruiting talent – much improved.
Raimondo has lured in some markedly talented professionals and appointed a number of strong Rhode Islanders to the Commerce RI, 195 Commission and Quonset boards. Most of the Governor’s choices are representative of Rhode Island’s best and brightest, but the fact remains that there are three different boards all intertwined in economic development. The lines of demarcation are blurred and are in a number of ways redundant.
Moreover, Raimondo has yet to offer any significant ideas. Rhode Island cannot endure another four years of steady as she goes – as we are looking like we are headed for the rocks.
GRADE: B-
Pawtucket Red Sox:
This is turning into a nightmare for Raimondo. The new ownership group of ten very prominent Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Florida-based businessmen who have a collective net worth in the billions are now holding a proverbial gun to the new Governor’s head. New PawSox President Jim Skeffington is the master manipulator who is now demanding more than $120 million in subsidies for less than 30 full-time jobs.
To date, she has played her baseball cards close to the vest.
GRADE: Incomplete
Overall, Raimondo’s first 100 days have proven to be highly competent leadership and the potential for a strong term as Governor. Rhode Island’s hope is she leverages her early moves into strong reform and economic revival.
Overall Grade: B+
Inauguration 2015: Ten Issues Raimondo Can't Hide From
Pensions
The fate of the historic 2011 pension reform is back in the courts -- for now. After a mediated settlement was rejected last year, it was back to the drawing board for the challenge to the legality of the state's landmark pension reform. And while that decision hangs in the balance -- will it be decided in the courts, or will a new settlement be reached -- some, including GoLocalProv Mindsetter Michael Riley, have predicted that Providence's municipal pension system to be on the verge of collapse. Raimondo has to not only deal with the potential ramifications of alterations to pension reform at the state level, but the viability of municipalities themselves -- and none as important as the Capital City. As goes Providence, goes the state.
Providence
The potential for the City of Providence to declare bankruptcy was subject of debate during the Mayoral campaign, and some question whether it is on the table. "We will always struggle with half of our tax base untaxable. We will always have to manage intensely our budget. We're not going to cut our way, or tax our way, out of the doldrums," said newly elected Council President Luis Aponte in December. "I would say that everything should be on the table." Raimondo has warned against the state's cities and towns "teetering" on the brink of bankuptcy. With Providence in a precarious position, Raimondo can't hide from acknowledging the city's fiscal health and future.
Investigation
Raimondo was already the subject of one investigation by former Securities and Exchange Council (SEC) lawyer and Forbes contributor Edward Siedle in 2013 -- and is now poised to be under scrutiny for another. Siedle first confirmed with GoLocal in late November that he plans on a follow-up look at the state's pension investment strategy, and has the funding to do so. Raimondo can't hide from the fact that she is still under scrutiny for her hedge fund strategy, despite moving up the food chain from being the state's General Treasurer.
HealthSource RI
Now that former HealthSource RI head Christy Ferguson is out, and Anya Rader Wallack is in, the question still remains -- what is the future for Rhode Island's Obamacare vehicle? Federal subsidies to assist states with their exchanges are scheduled to stop at the end of this year. Raimondo's opponent Allan Fung ran on a staunchly anti-Obamacare platform, arguing the costs to businesses, program costs itself, were unsustainable. A close look (or possibly battle) at the General Assembly will put the program under scrutiny for its cost-effectiveness -- and the new Governor will be expected to provide leadership and guidance on the question of viability.
General Assembly
In a state with a legislature that is inarguably more powerful that the executive branch, who the Governor opts to serve as his --or her -- top government relations staffers is critical. Governor Chafee had several -- Steve Hartford headed up policy before replacing Richard Licht at the Department of Administration and Stephen Kavanagh was head of Legislative Affairs. Raimondo's choice of who will be her key conduit(s) in the State House chambers is a key decision that should be made known shortly, as the General Assembly convenes just after official inauguration ceremonies for the Governor on Tuesday.
More Staffing
While Raimondo has filled a number of key positions with hires and nominations -- Chief of Staff, Director of Administration, Commerce Secretary, Directors of Labor and Training, Human Services -- there are still high-level decisions that need to be made, and soon. DCYF. Transporation. DBR. Legal counsel. Raimondo has opted to retain several high ranking posts (AT Wall at the Department of Corrections; Janet Coit at DEM). Some very important staffing calls will need to take place in the coming weeks for Raimondo.
Education Commissioner
The fate of the Deborah Gist, Commissioner of the Rhode Island Department of Education, is in the air. The deadline to extend Gist's contract was supposed to occur six months prior to its end date in June, but as that has now come and gone, the future of Gist, who has been the helm since being appointed in 2009, is uncertain. The Board of Education could still address Gist's contract in the coming months, but ultimately Raimondo will have to weigh in who she wants to be RI's education leader -- Gist, or someone else.
195's Future
Raimondo during her campaign made a public showing of support to develop the 195 land in Providence into a manufacturing hub. Touting the establishment of an "innovation institute" as an anchor for the corridor, Raimondo will need to realize how to make her proposal a reality -- especially given as the first purchase and sales agreement on the land has been for a student dormitory, providing little indication of the interested parties -- and potential business interest in the land moving forward.
Outsiders, Insiders
Raimondo has put together a team of individuals who happen to have achieved most of their professional accomplishments -- outside of Rhode Island. Her Chief of Staff. Nominations for Secretary of Commerce. Director of Labor and Training. While the Administration has a number of high-profile Democrats, they are not from Rhode Island. While some question how well they could know the inner-workings of RI state government, others have lauded that new perspectives offer a fresh change from insider politics. How well will the new guard in the Administration square up with the old guard In General Assembly -- Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed and House Majority Leader Nicholas Mattiello, among others?
Budget..and Bankruptcies
With the embattled Coventry Fire District declaring bankruptcy in December, the issues with the cash-strapped department are far from over. After Central Falls declared bankruptcy in 2011, now another state-appointed receiver has opted to go with the option of last resort. Raimondo will no doubt have to address the ongoing situation in Coventry, but also the precedent moving forward for other municipalities considering the big "B". The state is already facing a possible $200 million budget deficit, with further issues ahead with gaming receipt shorthalls looming, not to mention the impact of a possible pension reform settlement. How much more can cash-strapped cities and towns take?
