Staff changes announced in Raimondo administration

GOV. GINA M. RAIMONDO announced changes to two key positions within her team on Tuesday.  / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
GOV. GINA M. RAIMONDO announced changes to two key positions within her team on Tuesday. / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

PROVIDENCE – Two key members of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s team are leaving to pursue new opportunities.

Chief of Staff Stephen S. Neuman is leaving his position Friday to join Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Neuman will serve as senior adviser to the Michigan Democratic Party, according to a news release from Raimondo’s office. Neuman began working with Raimondo in January 2015.

Communications Director Joy Fox will leave in early July to work with former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin as his senior adviser, supporting projects related to economic policy and growth. Fox has been working with Raimondo since 2011.

“Steve served as our tireless leader through the passage of two successful budgets, the implementation of Medicaid reform, and the creation of new economic development tools to get our state back in the game,” Raimondo said in a statement. “He has been a dedicated public servant to the people of Rhode Island, and we were lucky to have him as our chief. I have no doubt the Clinton campaign and Democrats up and down the ballot will be served well by having him on the team.”

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Neuman said he is honored that Raimondo gave him the opportunity to work alongside her.

David Cruise, the governor’s legislative director, will serve as acting chief of staff.

Raimondo said Cruise’s experience with local, state and federal government, as well as his knowledge of Rhode Island, makes him the right person to ensure a smooth transition.

Raimondo said she is grateful for Fox’s “tireless work on behalf of the people of Rhode Island.”

“On a personal level, as my longest serving team member, I will miss having her good counsel every day, but I know no matter where the world takes her, she loves Rhode Island, and will continue to keep her eye on the work we are doing to create opportunities for all Rhode Islanders,” Raimondo said.
Fox said she is excited for her new opportunity and the chance to work on some of the same issues on a national level.

Fox was Raimondo’s communications director in Treasury and also served as Raimondo’s transition director after she won election as Rhode Island’s first female governor.

Michael Raia, who has been leading communications for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services since March 2015, will replace Fox. He will start his new job July 11.

Raimondo said Raia played a “vital role in our successful work to reinvent Medicaid and has been a forceful, behind-the-scenes leader in the important work to drive attention, awareness and understanding of Rhode Island’s overdose crisis.”

The governor, during a media lunch with reporters on Wednesday, did not mention whether Neuman and Fox were leaving of their own accord or not.

Concerning the nature of government work she added: “There’s turnover in these jobs … most young people have lots of options and these are tough jobs. Most governors and presidents go through lots of people and I attract people who have lots of opportunities.”
Staff writer Emily Gowdey-Backus contributed to this report.

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