After Mismanaging State Budget, Dem Gov Gina Raimondo Forced To Scale Back Signature Proposal In Rhode Island

May 17, 2017

In the wake of news that Rhode Island will be forced to deal with a budget shortfall of nearly $100 million, Gina Raimondo is scaling back the program that was supposed to be the hallmark accomplishment of her reelection bid in 2018. Despite the Democratic Governors Association propping up Raimondo with early 2018 campaign ads touting the proposal, even Democrat House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello has indicated that her plan may not be possible.

WPRI-TV reports:

“Asked about her tuition plan – which would cost an estimated $10 million in 2017-18, and $30 million once it’s fully phased in – Raimondo said she’s open to changes, including phasing it in more slowly or limiting it by income. But she said she still wants to see it included in the next budget.

‘I know the budget is tighter so we have to get more realistic, but I’d like to try to find a way to maintain the investments we’ve created and continue to make investments,’ she said.

Larry Berman, a spokesman for Mattiello, downplayed the tuition plan’s prospects on Tuesday.

‘With the $100 million revenue shortfall and the large caseload increase, Speaker Mattiello does not believe it is the time to create new government programs,” Berman said. ‘All proposals are still being reviewed by the House Finance Committee,’ he added.”

As Gina Raimondo’s failures continue to pile up, the failed governor refuses to accept any blame for the issues that continue to plague Rhode Islanders under her watch. Since she has been governor, Rhode Island has remained behind peak employment with a shrinking labor force while business rankings show the state continuing to slide further back, becoming one of the worst places in America to do business.

Now forced to scale back her signature proposal after failing to manage her state’s budget, Gina Raimondo’s path to reelection just got bumpier. No matter how much she tries to shift the blame or how hard the DGA works to promote her stalled agenda, Raimondo will not be able to hide her failures from the people of Rhode Island in 2018.