PROVIDENCE – Gov. Daniel J. McKee was sworn in Tuesday for his first full term as the state’s chief executive.
Characterizing his new term as a continuation of the state’s recovery after close to three years of a pandemic that affected every facet of social and political life from the economy to education, McKee, who served as lieutenant governor under Gov. Gina M. Raimondo before stepping in midterm in March 2021 after Raimondo became U.S. commerce secretary, said the state was well positioned for economic growth and greater improvements to quality of life.
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“This is our moment. It’s our turn. And I need your help to make sure we make the most of it,” he said. “Each and every Rhode Islander has a role to play in this next chapter. And as Governor, I’m asking you to do the work with us.”
Though short on the budgetary and policy details that will come during his State of the State address, McKee highlighted Tuesday what he viewed as significant achievements during his previous term, such as the new state health lab in Providence, a job training education center in Woonsocket, and state investments in offshore wind initiatives, the Port of Galilee in Narragansett and the Quonset Business Park.
With an affordable housing crisis continuing, declining test scores in public schools, a looming recession, and rising energy prices McKee, the former Cumberland mayor, acknowledged “the challenges before us.”
“But I’ve never believed more strongly in our state’s future,” he said.
For 2023, McKee, who will be submitting his fiscal year budget proposal in the coming weeks, listed as top priorities the shoring up of personal incomes of taxpayers and improving educational outcomes of students in K to 12 public schools, as well as potential tax cuts yet undefined.
“We must be all-in on improving education because that is the key to the long-term economic future of our state,” he said.
Tuesday’s ceremony on the fifth-floor ballroom of the Rhode Island Convention Center was the first time a Rhode Island inauguration has not taken place outside the steps of the Statehouse since 1999.
Attorney General Peter Neronha administered the oath of office to both McKee and Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos. McKee then swore in general officers including Neronha, former Central Falls Mayor and current Treasurer James Diossa, and Secretary of State Gregg Amore, a former Smith Hill lawmaker.
McKee’s speech was immediately followed by an acoustic performance of America the Beautiful by his daughter, Kara.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
Oh goody: more bad appointments and back room deals.