Poli-ticks

Lt. Governor Dan McKee makes it happen

By Arlene Violet
Posted 2/24/18

If you want to take the measure of the man, R.I. Lieutenant Governor, Dan McKee, you would observe at least 2 common threads in his life, namely, that kids come first and he improves whatever posts …

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Poli-ticks

Lt. Governor Dan McKee makes it happen

Posted

If you want to take the measure of the man, R.I. Lieutenant Governor, Dan McKee, you would observe at least 2 common threads in his life, namely, that kids come first and he improves whatever posts he has filled. He got his gumption from his dad, James, who along with John Partington and their friends were Founders of the Cumberland Boys Club. Dan McKee eventually became president and integrated all the teams. He had a “traveling United Nations” on wheels as kids that he coached got so good in basketball that they were regional and national tournament contenders.

Some players came from the so-called wrong side of the tracks, but McKee stuck with them. While some took a detour through prison, he would visit and encourage them to get back on the right track. His efforts paid off and these boys to men are productive citizens today. In fact, McKee and his wife, Susan, were recent guests of honor at the destination wedding of one of them. McKee was also truly inclusive since he was one of the first executive directors of a boys club to admit females.
His “kids first” approach led him into some serious battles with the status quo school system in Cumberland. During his 12 year tenure as mayor (interrupted by one interim loss) he focused on the quality of Cumberland’s educational system.

Initially, two elementary schools were failing, a middle school was on the brink of being educationally downgraded and the high school was tottering. As mayor he had no direct control over the school system but he tried to engage the School Committee and the educational leaders in reform efforts. He was about as popular as a skunk at a lawn party. He was barraged with insults and attacks on his character. Nonetheless, he plunged ahead to ensure children got a leg up through education. He founded the second mayor-led public school in the United States. This school, which is a mini- United Nations in its own right, consistently scores in the top quadrant of educational accomplishments.

Some educational honchos paint him as anti-public school. "Nothing could be farther from the truth," he says. He sees his public Mayoral Charter School as a place to try innovative teaching and methods which, in turn, can be tested in the public schools. His commitment is to all students. He was willing to take the heat to improve education and, today, Cumberland schools are faring well academically as well as with the expenditures he spearheaded for capital improvements of schools.
As mayor, he improved the town’s bond rating. By the time he finished his terms, including the final implementation of his initiatives most recently, the bond rating went up 8 levels. His reform of the municipal police contract and the successful merger of the towns four independent fire departments into one independent fire district has saved the town millions of dollars.

He disagrees with those who advocated terminating the office. He points to his intervention at the RI PUC to keep rates manageable for subscribers and small businesses. He pointed out the tax break given to National Grid and the arbitrage calculation necessary for a broader time period to reduce their recent rate increase request. He is proposing legislation to hold national grid accountable in cases of outages.

He is running for reelection to continue these initiatives along with his 20 plus other efforts from A (Alzheimer’s) to V (veterans) his office is working on.

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.





















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Arlene Violet

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