Gina Raimondo Quotes

Before I was State Treasurer, my Rhode Island business helped create over 1,000 jobs, including here at Nabsys, a biomedical company. As governor, I’ll use this as a model for how we create manufacturing jobs.

I’m going to ask one question for everything that comes across my desk, which is, ‘How is this going to create jobs?’

I’ll bring colleges and industry together to develop new products in marine science, green technology, and medical devices, and to train our workers to fill those jobs… We need to get Rhode Islanders back to work.

People deserve to see a governor who is hustling every day.

People talk about Social Security. There is no parallel between Rhode Island’s pension and Social Security.

We know businesses can’t compete without reliable infrastructure.

My own rhetoric is not so ‘us versus them.’ I don’t like fighting.

I am a mother with kids in the public schools. People should know that. I’m not just some policy maker who’s totally detached from the rest of the community.

You can’t be a progressive and be opposed to pension reform.

The governor’s not allowed to drive. That’s part of the life you accept.

I respect public employees and school teachers. They deserve a secure retirement.

The public library is where I studied. It’s where my grandfather taught himself English.

What we have to do is support business, but also support our workers with job training programs and with reasonable wages.

Those diplomas on my wall would not be there without the GI Bill that educated my father, without the public library, without the RIPTA bus.

My vision for a better Rhode Island starts with a simple idea – we are all in this together.

A government that doesn’t work is in no one’s interest.

If we could find a way to totally empower half of the brains in America, imagine how much more productive we could be.

Programs like ACE’s Bootstrap Summer Camp teach our kids important computer coding skills that will allow them to design their own futures.

Almost every day, people will say to me some version of, ‘You’re so much nicer in real life.’ I guess I come across as not nice.

I want to hold government accountable and help create a more efficient and effective government.

I care about buses and libraries and schools and roads and education.

We can just keep doing it the way we’re doing it. We can attack everybody for small-minded things and crush everybody with a new idea. And where are we going to be? Where we are now – behind. Or we can embrace new things and try to be positive and let everybody play a role.

In many cases, Rhode Island is just not on the radar of a lot of companies. But once companies or people take the time to look at our high quality of life, low cost of living, great talent, good business environment, often people see it’s an excellent place, and they want to take a harder look.

Fixing the pension system was one of the biggest problems Rhode Island faced.

I’ve done a lot of deals, and I’m skilled at negotiating, managing personalities, and getting parties to the table.

During my four years as treasurer, we restructured our pension system, cutting the state’s unfunded liability almost by half and putting our retirement system on stronger footing.

I’m committed to structural changes.

Businesses want to be in places where there is a deep talent pool.

I am a proponent of investing in infrastructure… and, if we can use state resources to make ProvPort more prosperous and successful, then that will benefit the whole state.

If you have the talent, you should have the opportunity.

Democrats and all public servants just need to be honest. If we have schools that aren’t working … we need to face the facts and fix them.

Maybe you think, ‘I’m not college material.’ Maybe you worry that you don’t have the money. Then you take the SAT. You see that colleges are getting in touch with you. You begin to think maybe you are ready for college.

People deserve to see progress.

There’s lots of people driving on the roads who don’t have licenses. They’re still going to work, still going to school. I want them to get a license and insurance so they’re driving safely.

The single greatest under-utilized resource we have as a nation is women and girls.