Like the rest of Rhode Island, Cranston was hit hard by the recession. While Raimondo’s role as general treasurer might constitute more obvious experience - she spearheaded key reform agreements regarding pensions in 2011 and unions in 2013 - Fung is not lacking in experience either. Both candidates have first-hand experience attempting to stimulate Rhode Island’s economy. Unsurprisingly, Fung and Raimondo have made economic policy the central issue of their campaigns. The future governor is, then, tasked with not only revving up economic activity, but also rekindling state pride.Īt the core of this malaise are the poor economic prospects for Rhode Islanders today and the state government’s inability to initiate effective reform. A recent Gallup poll showed that Rhode Island residents are the least enthusiastic Americans when it comes to their home state: Almost one in five Rhode Islanders says that their state is the worst place to live. Residents are understandably frustrated with the current state of affairs, but it seems that negativity has taken on a special character in Rhode Island. Moreover, the 2014 ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index ranked Rhode Island 41st in the nation in terms of positive economic outlook. One in five children in Rhode Island lives in poverty. While the rate has since declined to 7.7 percent, that only brings the state down to the third-highest spot nationally, just outpacing Georgia and Mississippi. Until August 2014, Rhode Island had an 8 percent unemployment rate - the highest in the country.
#Venture towns mansion cracked
Whether you’re traversing the cracked streets of Olneyville or passing one of the foreclosed houses that litter the state, it’s clear that the recession’s lingering stagnation still claims a tight grip on the state. Rhode Island never really recovered from the 2008 financial crisis. The true concern revolves around who possesses the vision and political gravitas to make waves in the Ocean State. They have distinguished public service backgrounds and records to draw upon. In either case, their experience leaves both Raimondo and Fung eminently qualified to serve as governor of Rhode Island - at least on paper. In this fight, the partisan tropes are flipped: The venture capitalist candidate is the Democrat, while the Republican candidate has spent his life in the public sector. Fung comes into the race carrying belts from smaller prizefights, having served as one of Cranston’s three city-wide councilmen for four years before becoming mayor of Cranston.
Fung, however, is an experienced fighter who can parry blows on the legal front - his stint as a special assistant attorney general preceded his tenure as lobbyist for the Government Relations Counsel at MetLife. She is backed by the solid credential of founding Rhode Island’s first venture capitalist firm. Raimondo is known for her strong uppercut: legal experience in the district courts and a corporate background. In the other, Fung - the loyal son - who remained in the state to study political science at Rhode Island College before earning a law degree from Suffolk University. In one corner stands Raimondo, the favorite, with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard and a law degree from Yale. However, these two distinctly 21st-century politicians are facing age-old questions: Who has the more coherent vision for the state? Which candidate is better suited to handle education policy and fight poverty? And who can better propel Rhode Island into a position of economic progress and growth after years of post-recession stagnation? Regardless of who wins this year’s gubernatorial race, Rhode Island’s government will uncontestably be moving forwards in terms of diversity: Fung would be the state’s first Asian-American governor and Raimondo its first female one. Both candidates - Republican Allan Fung, mayor of Cranston, and Democrat Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island’s General Treasurer - are members of politically underrepresented groups as well as native Rhode Islanders. If a win-win situation ever existed in politics, the Rhode Island governor’s race might be it.
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