PROVIDENCE – Former Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty has agreed to serve as director of the Department of Labor and Training, Gov.-elect Lincoln D. Chafee announced on Friday.
Fogarty, who served as lieutenant governor from 1999 to 2007, is currently the policy director for government-relations firm the Mayforth Group.
“Charlie will lead the charge to make [the] DLT more of a resource for economic development, and, as such, he will be heavily involved in my efforts to bring job creation and economic growth to our state,” said Chafee in a news release.
“He will also work to strengthen and streamline DLT’s relationship with the Department of Education and the Board of Governors for Higher Education to ensure that Rhode Island’s work force is prepared to meet the challenges of the new economy,” Chafee added.
The Department of Labor and Training is responsible for the distribution of Unemployment Insurance, Temporary Disability Insurance Benefits, Workers’ Compensation Benefits and labor-market information, among other services.
Fogarty’s experience includes eight years in the state Senate, serving as both a majority whip and Senate president pro tempore; approved legislation sponsored by Fogarty during his term included the Health Care Quality Reporting Act, the Rhode Island College Savings Program and the Government Accountability and Reform Act.
He chaired the National Lieutenant Governors Association from 2002-2003 and the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association from 2005-2006 and was a charter member of the National Legislative Commission on Prescription Drug Pricing.
Fogarty served on the board of directors of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Senate Presidents’ Forum; additionally, he was a member of the executive committee of the Council of State Governments at both the national and regional levels.
Fogarty has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Rhode Island and earned his bachelor’s from Providence College; he is also on the faculty of Johnson & Wales University.
