The past ten days have not been kind to Governor Gina Raimondo.
They should have been the best of times, as the Raimondo recovery should be taking hold, but instead the numbers that came in may be the worst of times.
SLIDES: Seven Significant Issues for Raimondo Now BELOW
It kicked off with news that Rhode Island’s revenue numbers were going to fall far short of target numbers and be off by $100 million or more.
Then, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training released the jobs numbers and those numbers too were disappointing — Rhode Island lost jobs for the second consecutive month.
For Raimondo, the numbers are disappointing, but the ramifications for her agenda and momentum may be more pronounced. Can she garner support from legislators for her $30 million college program? Can she justify $23 million in state funds for the billionaire owners of the PawSox to build a new stadium?
The following are the seven issues that are significant problems for the Raimondo Administration.
Related Slideshow: 7 Issues that Are Significant Problems for the Raimondo Administration
The numbers came in last Wednesday night and they showed that revenue was off by off by $99.6 million.
Raimondo was quick to blame President Donald Trump.
Raimondo said, “Across the nation, President Trump’s policies have created a lot of uncertainty for businesses and state fiscal officers. At least two-thirds of states, including our neighbors in Massachusetts and Connecticut, have seen revenues fall short of projections as individuals and businesses look to Washington for a signal of what’s to come. The General Assembly has some tough choices ahead of them, and Governor Raimondo’s ready to roll up her sleeves and work with them to pass a balanced budget that protects the progress we’ve made in recent years to strengthen our economy and invest in job training and workforce development.”
It is unclear how the Trump policies were having such an immediate impact on the Rhode Island budget, when none of his proposed legislation has passed - and the stock market is up more than 2,384 points in his first 100 days.
And while Raimondo was blaming Trump, Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello and former Governor Lincoln Chafee both blasted Raimondo for her inability to manage a budget.
Mattiello issued a very tough statement pointed directly at the Raimondo administration:
“I can understand that certain economic projections have been revised to reflect lower growth, but it is frustrating to me that a lot of the budget problems are due to not achieving budget savings or revenue initiatives the Administration proposed last year. State government must be managed better so that it works more cost effectively for the taxpayers. My budget priorities have not changed. We will continue our diligence and make sure we cover this gap. We will look at everything.”
The Rhode Island ACLU is claiming that the Department of Human Services (DHS) has shown no improvement in April regarding the timely processing of SNAP (food stamp) applications.
This includes for people who the Department acknowledges are entitled to emergency relief.
The claims follow a new report sent by DHS to the ACLU of RI and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice.
“This most recent report indicates that the state clearly needs to take stronger and immediate action to achieve compliance. Our organizations will also be considering the steps we must take to make sure that hungry Rhode Island families and individuals receive in a timely manner the food stamps to which they are entitled as a matter of federal law,” said Lynette Labinger, volunteer attorney for the ACLU.
Raimondo’s Commerce Brokers PawSox Billionaires $38M - Plus
Raimondo’s Commerce Secretary negotiated the newest PawSox deal — a deal in which Pawtucket and the State of Rhode Island would combine to subsidies with at least $38 million of funding (before bond costs) for the billionaire owners of the minor league team.
Is 38 a good number to use?
Now, Raimondo won’t say if she supports the deal, but her top economic staffer - Stefan Pryor - negotiated it.
While most Rhode Islanders would love to see the PawSox stay in Rhode Island, many question the public financing of a second minor league stadium for an ownership group that has a collective net worth of $8 to $10 billion — roughly an amount equal to the entire state budget.
The PawSox are turning into a nightmare for Raimondo. The ownership group is comprised by some of her closest campaign supporters, but how can she say she picked a new stadium over college funding.
Rhode Island small business printers are furious that the State of Rhode Island is giving Vistaprint $2.2 million in tax credits to open a sales office in Rhode Island and hire up to 125 employees.
"Why they didn't they give me $2.2 million? I could use an addition on my building. I could hire another five people," said Pat Welch at Sir Speedy in Cranston. "All the state's ever done for me is take my money."
On Wednesday, Governor Gina Raimondo, Commerce Secretary Stephan Pryor and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza celebrated the announcement of the deal to bring the company to Providence, but for many small businesses who are printers here, the deal is an insult to them.
“So I saw this announcement, and saw that these incentive dollars come after the employment," said Barry Couto with Barrington Printing. "And I'm not saying this in regard to just printers, but to small businesses that are in Rhode Island, there just doesn't seem to be much help to us in general."
The announcement of 125 new jobs should be a slam dunk for good PR, but when public subsidies are involved, nothing is black and white.
Rhode Island lost 200 jobs in the month of March, according to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training data released on Thursday.
Rhode Island totaled 494,600 jobs in April, down from the revised March estimate of 494,800.
The loss marks the second consecutive month in which Rhode Island-based jobs declined. This coupled with last week's revenue numbers raise questions about the performance of the Rhode Island economy.
Governor Gina Raimondo's office said the economy is performing well and the Governor believes the state is going in the right direction.
Raimondo did trumpet that Rhode Island produced 900 new manufacturing jobs, but those new jobs could not rescue the month’s jobs numbers.
Raimondo got more bad news when Judge Alice Gibney ruled against her - and for Attorney General Peter Kilmartin - regarding the release of the 38 Studios grand jury records
Raimondo promised to push for an independent investigate into 38 Studios when she was a candidate for Governor, but once-elected she refused to press for an independent review, and Kilmartin pushed to block the grand jury docs.
Then for months, she refused to order the Rhode Island State Police to release the interview documents. GoLocal sues the Governor and the documents were released six-months later.
What is next?
"While I respect the court's decision, I am disappointed with today's ruling. I have asked my legal team to review our options," said Raimondo.
In January of 2017, Raimondo announced her proposal to expand the RI Promise program to provide two years of college tuition free at the state's public colleges.
The program looked like a political winner.
It picked up on the progressive messaging of Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, but flaws in the legislation like no means testing, low academic standards required, and other flaws were criticized.
But, what may sink her initiative is an inability to work with Speaker Mattiello.
