Governors take on public policy and politics in PBN 30th Anniversary roundtable

IN AN UNPRECEDENTED gathering, four of Rhode Island's six living governors met and discussed economic development with PBN Editor Mark S. Murphy and WJAR-TV NBC 10 Anchor Frank Coletta Tuesday as part of PBN's 30th anniversary programming. The governors are, from left, Edward D. DiPrete, Gina M. Raimondo, Lincoln C. Almond and Donald L. Carcieri. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
IN AN UNPRECEDENTED gathering, four of Rhode Island's six living governors met and discussed economic development with PBN Editor Mark S. Murphy and WJAR-TV NBC 10 Anchor Frank Coletta Tuesday as part of PBN's 30th anniversary programming. The governors are, from left, Edward D. DiPrete, Gina M. Raimondo, Lincoln C. Almond and Donald L. Carcieri. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

PROVIDENCE – In an unprecedented forum, four of Rhode Island’s six living governors spoke with one another for an hour about economic development, education, politics and demographics as part of Providence Business News’ 30th anniversary programing.
Produced in conjunction with WJAR-TV NBC 10, the gathering was moderated by PBN Editor Mark S. Murphy, and NBC 10 Sunrise and NBC 10 News at Noon Anchor Frank Coletta and was recorded on Tuesday. Taking part in the discussion were Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, as well as former Govs. Edward D. DiPrete, Lincoln C. Almond and Donald L. Carcieri. Unable to attend were former Govs. Philip W. Noel and Lincoln D. Chafee.
All four governors agreed that it was important for the state to understand its strengths and take economic development opportunities where they might come, whether through large or small efforts.
DiPrete recalled completing Route 99 to Woonsocket as a key component to getting then-CVS Corp. to remain in Rhode Island, while Almond noted he traveled as far as London to convince company executives that Rhode Island was the place to further its expansion from a regional collection of pharmacies to its current incarnation as CVS Health Corp., a national retailer and health care provider. Carcieri pointed to the effort made to keep then-GTECH from leaving Rhode Island, as he convinced the company to build its headquarters in downtown Providence (the company is now International Game Technology PLC). And Raimondo noted that she began talking with Citizens Financial Group Inc. about remaining in Rhode Island even before she was inaugurated as governor, an effort that has culminated in the large regional bank building a new operations campus in Johnston. In all three cases, the governors agreed that their involvement was key to showing the businesses how serious the state takes economic development.
Another area of agreement among the four was the need to improve educational outcomes, especially among the state’s increasingly diverse communities. It isn’t just about spending money they said, given that Rhode Island has among the highest per capita expenditures in the nation for education. It is about reaching and tapping into the potential of all students.
The governors’ roundtable is scheduled to be broadcast on WJAR on Sunday, May 22 at noon, just prior to PBN’s 30th Anniversary Gala, set for Thursday, May 26, at Rosecliff in Newport.
Also recorded on Tuesday at Channel 36 R.I. PBS’ studios in Providence was a forum with six of the region’s business leaders, where the talk also centered on the coming challenge of a diverse workforce and businesses’ responsibility to be engaged in the community. Participants were BankNewport President and CEO Sandra J. Pattie, Gilbane Building Co. President and CEO Michael E. McKelvy, Kahn Litwin, Renza and Co. Managing Director Alan H. Litwin, Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University Director Anna Cano Morales, MojoTech Founder and CEO Nick Kishfy and Rhode Island Foundation President and CEO Neil D. Steinberg.
In addition to the May 22 air date for the governors’ forum, both the governors’ and business leaders’ forums are scheduled to air on May 19 and 21 on Ocean State Networks, a joint venture of WJAR and Cox Communications. Both forums will also be archived on PBN.com and turnto10.com. An edited transcript of both discussions will be included in PBN’s 30th Anniversary book, which will be released at the May 26 gala as well as included in delivered copies of the May 27 edition of the paper.

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  1. To get to the Northern New England vacation states and Cape Cod, thousands of vehicles have to pass through Rhode Island every day. Governor Raimondo and the former Rhode Island governors should be emphasizing tax policy to solve Rhode Island’s funding shortfalls. To entice these vehicles to stop and spend some time and money in Rhode Island, the state sales tax rate should be reduced to 3% on all taxable items and services and its income, corporate and capital gains tax rates should be reduced by 15%. In addition, Rhode Island should increase state funding for education to a point where local communities can reduce their property taxes on homes and businesses by 15% Finally Rhode Island should reduce its fuel tax on gasoline and diesel fuel to 20 cents per gallon. This tax policy would help every resident and business in Rhode Island and entice thousands of vehicle drivers to stop and spend a lot of time and money in Rhode Island.