For Governor: Gina Raimondo

I believe that Gina Raimondo could become a great Governor because of her vision, skill and character.

We start with vision.  People have been talking about the unsustainability of Rhode Island’s pension system for years, but Gina showed incredible vision in addressing it from the normally quiet position of General Treasurer.  She devised and executed a plan (beginning with the Retirement Board’s decision to lower the assumed rate of return) that helped transform a complex problem into more manageable pieces, and showed great vision in not only defining a problem and a solution, but discovering a path to resolve it.

While it took great vision to identify a way for the General Treasurer to address the pension issue, the implementation of that vision required an equally formidable array of skills on her part.  More specifically, the General Assembly is a complex institution with competing power centers and agendas, including powerful interests that have blocked pension reform in previous years.  Gina succeeded in building both an “outside” movement and an “inside” coalition that offers a promising suggestion of her potential, as Governor, to promote the necessary legislation to support major improvements in our State.

Finally, I have great confidence in Gina’s character and commitment to public service.  I first got to know Gina more than twenty years ago as a college senior, and back then she was already focused on her personal mission to serve her community.  We have stayed in touch over the years that followed, and her commitment to public service has never wavered.  It has been convenient for her opponents to try to attach the “Wall Street” label to Gina, but I firmly believe that she always viewed her time in business a step on the path to public service, and that her character is every bit as valuable as her vision and skills in making her a promising future Governor of our State.