Gina Raimondo

We offered highlights this morning from the new Brown poll. Here’s some additional analysis:

Highlights from a just-released Brown University poll:

– Providence Mayor Angel Taveras is the most popular elected official in Rhode Island, with an impressive 65.6 percent approval rating, up from 59.8 percent in February.

– State Treasurer Gina Raimondo placed second with a 58.7 percent approval rating, up from 57.7 percent earlier this year. (Statewide findings are based on results from 496 registered voters; the margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.)

A Channel 12 poll this week reaffirmed the status of Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and state Treasurer Gina Raimondo as the most popular elected officials of the moment. Their high marks seem to be a reflection of how voters think Raimondo and Taveras are facing tough issues head-on.

Another outburst of Raimondomania flared when state Treasurer Gina Raimondo was a guest last week on Greater Boston, a Hub-centric public affairs show on WGBH-TV. Getting the attention of Bostonians is no small accomplishment.

TIAA-CREF, the financial services firm selected as the state vendor for Rhode Island’s new defined contribution plan (following last year’s pension overhaul), is set for a grand opening in Providence tomorrow.

Details:

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and state Treasurer Gina Raimondo could be headed for a seismic clash in the 2014 Democratic primary for governor. If that happens, who will be in the hunt to suceeed Taveras at City Hall?

To stand a shot, candidates will need to build a strong East Side base while develping crosstown support. Being a solid fundraiser is important, although not necessarily decisive, considering how Taveras was outspent by Steven Costantino in 2010.

State Treasurer Gina Raimondo’s impressive fundraising prowess will be among her assets if — as many expect – she runs for governor in 2014. Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, another prospective contender for the post,lagged behind Raimondo ($258,155) in Q2 even though he had solid numbers ($114,810).

But money isn’t everything in some contests, and there’s no guarantee the candidate with the biggest war chest will win the next gubernatorial election.

Although state Treasurer Gina Raimondo predictably downplayed talk during a recent interview about a possible run for governor in 2014, her fundraising machine just keeps humming along.

The former venture capitalist raised an impressive $258,155 during the quarter that ended June 30, leaving her with a $857,903 war chest.

As might be expected for an elected official, state Treasurer Gina Raimondo isn’t making any bold predictions about the outcome of a court case challenging last year’s pension overhaul.

Here’s a link to the audio for my Q+A with Robert Walsh, executive director of the National Education Association Rhode Island, on the lawsuit by a series of unions against the state’s 2011 pension overhaul.

Robert Walsh, executive director of the National Education Association Rhode Island, has never been shy with his opinions. And he’s confident that unions will succeed in legally overturning the state’s much-ballyhooed pension overhaul of 2011.

Even with what often seems like a tepid recovery, the United States is working its way back toward a muscular economy — if you believe the Economist.

The sharp-eyed British newsmagazine points to a number of factors: under-valued homes, increasing exports, the growing “app economy,” and more. So if the nation can do it, what about the perennial sick man of the New England states?

State Treasurer Gina Raimondo has offered the following statement in response to lawsuits filed today challenging the state’s pension overhaul:

Every newspaper has sacred cows. The Providence Journal’s latest is State Treasurer Gina Raimondo. The mordant newsroom joke is that Raimondo is so sacred that she `moos’. Raimondo is a favorite of publisher Howard Sutton; the two served together on the board of Crossroads, which does much good work in our community to help the homeless get back on their feet.