Governor Raimondo celebrates 1000 days in office

By: Rebecca Turco

rturco@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Monday was a big day for Governor Gina Raimondo.

Rhode Island’s first female governor celebrated 1000 days in office. She toured the state, from Woonsocket to Westerly, meeting with officials and constituents. She spoke at the opening of T.F. Green Airport’s runway expansion and met with the boots on the ground implementing her RhodeWorks plan.

"We’re fixing bridges that were falling apart," she said. "Rhode Islanders deserve good roads, Rhode Islanders deserve good jobs, and Rhode Works does both."

Raimondo tells ABC6 News along with RhodeWorks, the state’s economic growth has been one of her proudest achievements. "We’re on the move," she said. "There’s a lot more work to do, but I feel great about the progress we’ve made." In the last 18 months, she helped bring 18 companies to Rhode Island and bring jobs to 17,000 people, she said.

RI GOP Chair Brandon Bell and RI GOP National Committeewoman Lee Ann Sennick hosted their own tour for the governor, called 1000 Days of Stagnation. They pointed to the botched UHIP rollout and the "Cooler and Warmer" tourism debacle as some of the reasons why she should not be re-elected. They want a conservative budget, not tax breaks for big businesses to come here, like the recent multi-million dollar Wexford deal.

"There are so many things we could be doing as a state if we had the right leadership," said Sennick. "That’s what’s sorely lacking."

Raimondo and Bell each said the other’s "tours" Monday were political posturing.

(c) WLNE-TV 2017