Raimondo’s first 100 days

Nine executive orders, 72.3 inches of snow, a jobs plan and 101 names submitted to boards, commissions and cabinets.

These are some statistics Gov. Gina M. Raimondo has used to highlight her first 100 days in office, which she celebrated April 16 by visiting others also recognizing the No. 100.

The governor first held a press event at the state’s 100th farm put into preservation – Lial Acres in Warren. She later stopped in North Providence for an event with Yacht Club Soda and Navigant Credit Union, each celebrating 100 years of business.

“The first 100 days is a combination of doing the job and building your team at the same time,” Raimondo told Providence Business News. “There is no silver bullet, but I believe we are working to plant the seeds now to set us on a path of sustainability and opportunity and we will see improvement over time.”

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Politicians reflecting on their first 100 days in office isn’t a new concept. President Barack H. Obama did the same after taking office in 2009.

But for some, a politician’s first 100 days is hardly enough time to judge governing prowess.

“It’s easy to put forth programs [but] we need to judge our political leaders by results,” said Gary S. Sasse, director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University.

The first-term governor has largely been lauded for her handling of the Jan. 26-28 snowstorm that blanketed the state with 2 feet of snow. Her signing of a travel ban during the storm and its subsequent repeal were two of her nine executive orders signed during her first 100 days.

Raimondo has spent much of her focus on economic development, signed an executive order to improve the state’s regulatory climate and another to eliminate waste and increase efficiency in government. The governor’s push to spur economic activity has caught the favorable attention of business leaders.

“She has spoken and acted with a sense of urgency,” said Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. “The team she’s brought in, led by [Commerce Secretary] Stefan Pryor, is unmatched in how they’ve been working to rearm Rhode Island [economically].”

Looking forward, however, the governor faces some challenges with her fiscal 2016 budget moving its way through the General Assembly and her working group to “reinvent Medicaid” is poised to produce its first report. The governor has tasked the group to reduce the state’s Medicaid spending by nearly $91 million in fiscal 2016.

Sasse praises Raimondo for her aggressive jobs package and her ability to communicate effectively, along with some key appointments, but says July 1 – after the budget process ends – will give the state a better indication of what kind of leader she truly is.

“It comes with [how she] negotiates with the legislature and how effectively she stands by her guns,” he said. •

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