Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
People deserve to see progress.
I'm committed to structural changes.
The difference between a dream and a goal is a deadline.
People deserve to see a governor who is hustling every day.
You can't be a progressive and be opposed to pension reform.
We know businesses can't compete without reliable infrastructure.
If I'm a CEO, I want to be in a place where the government works.
Businesses want to be in places where there is a deep talent pool.
My own rhetoric is not so 'us versus them.' I don't like fighting.
I care about buses and libraries and schools and roads and education.
The governor's not allowed to drive. That's part of the life you accept.
We have to slowly, carefully, and thoughtfully align all of our interests.
I fall into the camp that income inequality is the biggest problem we face.
Fixing the pension system was one of the biggest problems Rhode Island faced.
We need a collective moment where we commit ourselves to long-term solutions.
I respect public employees and school teachers. They deserve a secure retirement.
The single greatest under-utilized resource we have as a nation is women and girls.
The public library is where I studied. It's where my grandfather taught himself English.
Don't ignore big problems, and don't try to pretend that problems are smaller than they are.
My vision for a better Rhode Island starts with a simple idea - we are all in this together.
I want to hold government accountable and help create a more efficient and effective government.
We have to get past this persistent negativity. The negativity has held Rhode Island back for a long time.
People talk about Social Security. There is no parallel between Rhode Island's pension and Social Security.
I've done a lot of deals, and I'm skilled at negotiating, managing personalities, and getting parties to the table.
If you want to have a big impact, government is the way to do it. Just think of the number of people you can touch.
I'm going to ask one question for everything that comes across my desk, which is, 'How is this going to create jobs?'
If we could find a way to totally empower half of the brains in America, imagine how much more productive we could be.
What we have to do is support business, but also support our workers with job training programs and with reasonable wages.
The combination of funding for our ports, airports, and highways is a really significant investment in our infrastructure.
In business, we use certain principles to measure performance, and I envision applying those principles in the public sector.
You can raise taxes on the rich in America! We should raise taxes on the rich in America. But we can't do that in Rhode Island.
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.
Every single day I've been governor, I hear from a little girl who thinks it's the greatest thing ever that we have a woman governor.
Programs like ACE's Bootstrap Summer Camp teach our kids important computer coding skills that will allow them to design their own futures.
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.
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.
I guess whenever I'm in the paper, it's dealing with bridges falling apart, budget problems, pension crises - and saying we have to tackle these problems.
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.
Budgets that don't balance, public programs that aren't funded, pension funds that are running out of money, schools that aren't funded - How does that help anyone?
I want to be able to look my daughter's teacher in the eye and say, 'Your pension will be there.' I need to know that her pension will match up with a promise we can keep.
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.
I think the Founding Fathers probably knew what they were doing in setting up the government to have a healthy tension between the executive branch and the legislative branch.
It's all about the choices we make as a society. We can choose to have poor schools and parks and higher tuition at Rhode Island's colleges. But we should make an active choice.
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.
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.
I don't really care if you're a Republican or Democrat or you want to fight about the size of government. How about a government that just works? Put your tax dollar in and get a return out the other end.
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'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.
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.
I want to show two things. One, that Democrats can solve big problems and get things done. And two, that as a public official, you can make tough choices, do the right things for the right reasons, and upset some people. And still get elected.