His friends and colleagues call him “one of the unsung heroes of state government.” Now, after more than two decades working in various aspects of state government, and to the disappointment of those he worked with along the way, Leonard Clingham has decided to retire.
As clocks chime behind him, Clingham, glances down at the mahogany coffee table in the living room of his East Side home. One book sits atop the table, “Liberty and Justice: The History of Law and Lawyers in Rhode Island.”
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Clingham looks up from the book, pauses a moment and says, “nothing in my career has been planned; it seems that things just kept developing and every one was as interesting if not more interesting than the last.”
That is why the father of two, who will turn 62 this month, has chosen once again to try something new. In December, he retired as the deputy director for the Department of Transportation, a position that he held for more than two years.
”Like everything else, I didn’t plan my retirement,” he laughed. “I love Providence, and I love its redevelopment. It was very difficult because I enjoy going to work. But once I made my decision, there was no looking back.”
For more than three decades, Clingham worked “behind the scenes” in many areas of state government, including the Attorney General’s office, the Department of Administration, and the Secretary of State’s office.
Still, Clingham said, he never thought he would spend his life in state government. Influenced by his uncle, former Rhode Island Governor, J. Howard McGrath, Clingham said as a young law student at Catholic University in Washington D.C., he imagined he would be on the front lines of politics.
”I was president of the Democratic Association on campus, worked with Jack Kennedy, and learned a lot from my uncle,” he said. “And it was because of that I thought I would be involved with government. But I thought it would be for a term, and I would be elected.”
After making one attempt for the city council, and losing, Clingham decided to go at it from the other side. In 1979 he was asked by then Secretary of State August LeFrance to work part time in the office. He accepted.
Since then, he said, “almost by accident” he has held positions as legal counsel to the secretary of state and the department of administration, executive director for planning and finance marketing for the Department of Transportation, and most recently as deputy director at DOT. Along the way Clingham has represented the state on various boards and commissions, including the Solid Waste Management Corporation, the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation, and the State Planning Council. He continues to serve on the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority and as commissioner of the Rhode Island State Investment Council.
”I think that law is a good background for anything,” he said. “And though I might not have planned my career, I have enjoyed everything that I have done.”
It’s Clingham’s love for what he does that has earned him the respect of his colleagues.
“Len has served the state well for many years in several capacities,” said Governor Lincoln Almond. “The state could use more employees like Len. He will be missed and we wish him well in his retirement.”
Former Lieutenant Governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Richard Licht said he and Clingham used to joke about both being the nephews of former Rhode Island governors. But, he said, the jokes never lasted too long, as Clingham was always anxious to get back to what he was working on.
”Len was a very thoughtful and committed public servant, and a dear friend,” he said. “He has an institutional knowledge of state government, and loved everything that he did.”
Former Rhode Island Governor J. Joseph Garrahy said it was Clingham’s “love of state government” that made him so good at what he did.
”This is a big loss for the state,” Garrahy said. “Whenever anyone was looking for the answer to a question about the state they were told to ask Lenny. He knew everything about everything in state government, and always had a demeanor that made him easy to work with.”
“Len has 35 years of significant contributions to the state of Rhode Island,” said William Anker, head of the Department of Transportation. “We will miss that knowledge and the capabilities he could bring to the job. He was very helpful to this department.”
And though Clingham no longer works in the office, Anker said, his expertise will still be called upon.
As for other plans, Clingham said he enjoyed his retirement until the first of the year. Now he is looking for something different to do.
Top on his list: volunteering and spending time at his Cape Cod vacation home.
“I have worked all of my life in government and now I think it’s time to give back to the community.”
