Election 2018: Governor's Race Preview

PROVIDENCE, RI — Five candidates are hoping to oust Gov. Gina Raimondo on Nov. 6. Cranston Mayor Allan Fung is the Republican opponent. Moderate Party Candidate William Gilbert, Compassion Party Candidate Anne Armstrong, former state Rep. Joe Trillo, running as an Independent and Dr. Luis-Daniel Munoz, also running as an Independent, round out the field.

Raimondo has peppered voters with a list of her accomplishments since taking office. Among her claims, she's added jobs, improved the economy, rebuilt bridges, started a free college tuition program, made all-day kindergarten statewide and boosted early childhood education. Her opponents say in some cases, she's taking credit for achievements that should be credited to Washington, D.C. In other cases, her innovations are a waste of money.

Raimondo spent $1.1 million on the race in October, which was more than any of her opponents, according to the campaign finance report. Fung, who came in second, spent about $300,000 less. Her spending, reported to have topped $6 million so far, including the money to beat Matt Brown in the Primary, has been a target of criticism, but it was a $100,000 contribution from the Democratic Party that caused the most controversy last week. The money, which went in part for a mailer sent to likely Republican voters and linking Trillo and President Trump, was jumped on as proof Raimondo and Trillo were "in cahoots."

Both Raimondo and Trillo have denied they have cut a deal.

Raimondo has argued the numbers all show Rhode Island is making strides on unemployment and on economic development. She's asking for four more years because she wants to keep going, she's said. Her campaign has sometimes focused on the positives, with ads that show someone pouring a glass of beer, and other ads that show someone pouring a glass of milk for a child, then revealing the governor and her son. But she's also gone negative, accusing Fung of corruption over a past Cranston police scandal.

Fung, who narrowly lost to Raimondo four years ago, has also gone positive and negative. He's criticized the governor for her role in a health and human services fiasco, due to a botched computer rollout. The problems cost taxpayers about $600,000, he claims, not to mention the harm done to needy people left without resources. He's also faulted her for problems at the Training School and at the Department of Children Youth and Families.

Overall, he's insisted Rhode Island has been going in the wrong direction. Raimondo has increased taxes and fees during the four years she's been in office. He's also objected to the incentives she's offered companies to move into the state, as well as her "sanctuary state" policy, which, he says, has prevented local and state police from cooperating with the Department of Justice and deporting undocumented people who commit crimes.

Trillo has maintained he will be the winner on Nov. 6. He has come up in the polls, according to a WPRI poll which shows him at nine percent. But he has been dogged by past controversies about his temper. Trillo was accused years ago of assaulting future House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello. Mattiello was a teen at the time. Trillo was a neighbor. Trillo was acquitted. He later alluded to the controversy in his campaign ads, assuring voters he's a fighter and will fight for them.

During last week's televised debate, Gilbert said he would beef up vocational education, so when businesses do relocate here, they can find tradespeople to support them. He'd also focus on tourism and would promote a new slogan: "Summer belongs to Rhode Island." He ran in 2014 for lieutenant governor and collected about 8 percent of the vote.

The Compassion Party's Anne Armstrong and Dr. Munoz have run progressive campaigns.

Armstrong would like to see access to cannabis for food, clothing, medicine, fuel and building materials. She also favors expanding Rhode Island's role as a sanctuary state because undocumented people have nowhere to turn if they're being exploited. Armstrong is a graduate of Lincoln School, a former math teacher at the Met School, a former roofer, and head of The Healing Church. She was arrested at her home earlier for possession and manufacture of marijuana but has pleaded not guilty.

Munoz is a medical doctor and businessman. He has proposed using technology to improve community medicine. He also advocates for education, job retraining, and honest government. He is married and a father.

Photo by Damir Sencar via Shutterstock