Steve Laffey
Encyclopedia
Stephen Laffey (icon) was the Republican
mayor
of Cranston, Rhode Island
with his term ending in 2007.
, one of five children born to John and Mary Laffey. When he was four years old, his family moved to Cranston, where his father worked as a toolmaker and his mother as a nurse. Laffey's family suffered from problems with mental illness as one of his brothers was committed to a mental institution and one of his sisters suffered from schizophrenia
. Nevertheless, Laffey describes his childhood as being similar to the TV sitcom Leave it to Beaver
.
Laffey attended Bowdoin College
in Brunswick, Maine
from 1980–1984, majoring in economics
. Laffey is also a graduate of Harvard Business School
.
His first marriage produced son Peter Andrew; his second, to Kelly Laffey, has given him Samuel, Sarah Grace, Audrey Elizabeth, Jessica, & in 2008 Steven Patrick Jr.
, a Memphis, Tennessee
-based financial institution. In 2000, Laffey was appointed president of Morgan Keegan. Laffey left the firm in 2001, with Morgan Keegan enjoying record profits. His strategic vision apparently clashed with members of the old guard. According to the Memphis Business Journal, his departure from Morgan Keegan was a "palace coup" after "a group of longtime producers from the Memphis-based securities firm's investment banking and retail sides demanded Laffey's removal."
Laffey and his supporters argue that he has saved Cranston from financial ruin. They cite the change in Cranston's bond rating which had gone from the lowest in America to "investment grade" under his tenure, increasing an unprecedented 8 steps in three and a half years. Laffey credits this to confronting unions and cutting excesses in school spending. One such cut was his firing of unionized crossing guard
s who were being paid over $100 a day and benefits for one daily hour of work. This is estimated to have saved the City of Cranston approximately $500,000 a year. In 2006, Laffey distinguished Cranston by making it the only city in Rhode Island to cut property taxes that year.
, challenging incumbent Lincoln Chafee
in the Republican primary
. Main points of Laffey's campaign include eliminating what he calls pork barrel
spending, simplifying the tax code
, and reducing prescription drug costs.
Laffey ran as the conservative alternative to Chafee. He is pro-life
, and supported both the Central American Free Trade Agreement and Samuel Alito
's appointment to the Supreme Court
.
Chafee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee
attacked Laffey for calling for the city of Cranston to accept consular ID cards from Mexico
and Guatemala
. Mailers sent out by the Chafee campaign called the cards "illegal immigration cards" and said accepting them poses a security risk. However, others contended that the cards help police and immigrants.
The national Republican establishment was somewhat cool toward Laffey, believing he was too conservative for heavily Democratic Rhode Island. Polls showed Laffey losing badly to the Democratic frontrunner, State Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse
. Laffey was defeated by Chafee in the primary election on September 12, 2006.
, where incumbent Republican Donald Carcieri
was unable to run for a third term due to Rhode Island's two term limit. He later announced he would not run. Ultimately, Laffey's Republican primary opponent in the 2006 Senate race, Lincoln Chafee
won the governorship as an independent.
He has since left the state of Rhode Island and settled in Colorado.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Cranston, Rhode Island
Cranston, Rhode Island
Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. With a population of 80,387 at the 2010 census, it is the third largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston...
with his term ending in 2007.
Background
Laffey was born in 1962 in Warwick, Rhode IslandWarwick, Rhode Island
Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...
, one of five children born to John and Mary Laffey. When he was four years old, his family moved to Cranston, where his father worked as a toolmaker and his mother as a nurse. Laffey's family suffered from problems with mental illness as one of his brothers was committed to a mental institution and one of his sisters suffered from schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. Nevertheless, Laffey describes his childhood as being similar to the TV sitcom Leave it to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
.
Laffey attended Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
in Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
from 1980–1984, majoring in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. Laffey is also a graduate of Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
.
His first marriage produced son Peter Andrew; his second, to Kelly Laffey, has given him Samuel, Sarah Grace, Audrey Elizabeth, Jessica, & in 2008 Steven Patrick Jr.
Business career
Prior to becoming mayor of Cranston, Laffey worked for Morgan Keegan & CompanyMorgan Keegan & Company
Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. is the investment banking, securities brokerage, trust, and asset management division of Regions Financial Corporation. The company was founded in 1969 in Memphis, Tennessee and has over 450 offices in 20 states, over 4,000 employees, and over $890 million in equity...
, a Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
-based financial institution. In 2000, Laffey was appointed president of Morgan Keegan. Laffey left the firm in 2001, with Morgan Keegan enjoying record profits. His strategic vision apparently clashed with members of the old guard. According to the Memphis Business Journal, his departure from Morgan Keegan was a "palace coup" after "a group of longtime producers from the Memphis-based securities firm's investment banking and retail sides demanded Laffey's removal."
Mayor
Upon his departure from Morgan Keegan, Laffey left Tennessee, returned to Cranston, and successfully ran for mayor in 2002, taking office in January 2003. He was subsequently re-elected in 2004.Laffey and his supporters argue that he has saved Cranston from financial ruin. They cite the change in Cranston's bond rating which had gone from the lowest in America to "investment grade" under his tenure, increasing an unprecedented 8 steps in three and a half years. Laffey credits this to confronting unions and cutting excesses in school spending. One such cut was his firing of unionized crossing guard
Crossing guard
A crossing guard , a school crossing patrol officer , school crossing supervisor or school road patrol is a traffic management specialist who is normally stationed on busy roadways to aid pedestrians...
s who were being paid over $100 a day and benefits for one daily hour of work. This is estimated to have saved the City of Cranston approximately $500,000 a year. In 2006, Laffey distinguished Cranston by making it the only city in Rhode Island to cut property taxes that year.
2006 Senate race
Laffey announced on September 8, 2005 that he would be running for the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, challenging incumbent Lincoln Chafee
Lincoln Chafee
Lincoln Davenport Chafee is an American politician who has been the 74th Governor of Rhode Island since January 2011. Prior to his election as governor, Chafee served in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1999 until losing his Senate re-election bid in 2006 to Democrat Sheldon...
in the Republican primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
. Main points of Laffey's campaign include eliminating what he calls pork barrel
Pork barrel
Pork barrel is a derogatory term referring to appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district...
spending, simplifying the tax code
Tax code
In the UK, every person paid under the PAYE scheme is allocated a tax code by HM Revenue and Customs. This is usually in the form of a number followed by a letter suffix, though other 'non-standard' codes are also used. This code describes to employers how much tax to deduct from an employee. The...
, and reducing prescription drug costs.
Laffey ran as the conservative alternative to Chafee. He is pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
, and supported both the Central American Free Trade Agreement and Samuel Alito
Samuel Alito
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
's appointment to the Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
.
Chafee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee
National Republican Senatorial Committee
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to that body. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee...
attacked Laffey for calling for the city of Cranston to accept consular ID cards from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. Mailers sent out by the Chafee campaign called the cards "illegal immigration cards" and said accepting them poses a security risk. However, others contended that the cards help police and immigrants.
The national Republican establishment was somewhat cool toward Laffey, believing he was too conservative for heavily Democratic Rhode Island. Polls showed Laffey losing badly to the Democratic frontrunner, State Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse
Sheldon Whitehouse
Sheldon Whitehouse is the junior U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
. Laffey was defeated by Chafee in the primary election on September 12, 2006.
Future
Stephen Laffey left office in January 2007. He was believed to be a potential candidate for the Governorship in 2010Rhode Island gubernatorial election, 2010
The Rhode Island gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010. It was preceded by the primary election on September 14, 2010. Incumbent Republican Governor Donald Carcieri was term-limited in 2010...
, where incumbent Republican Donald Carcieri
Donald Carcieri
Donald L. "Don" Carcieri was the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Carcieri has had a varied vocational background, having worked as a manufacturing company executive, aid relief worker, bank executive and teacher.-Personal background:...
was unable to run for a third term due to Rhode Island's two term limit. He later announced he would not run. Ultimately, Laffey's Republican primary opponent in the 2006 Senate race, Lincoln Chafee
Lincoln Chafee
Lincoln Davenport Chafee is an American politician who has been the 74th Governor of Rhode Island since January 2011. Prior to his election as governor, Chafee served in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1999 until losing his Senate re-election bid in 2006 to Democrat Sheldon...
won the governorship as an independent.
He has since left the state of Rhode Island and settled in Colorado.
External links
- Laffey's official campaign site
- OnTheIssues
- They Shot the Wrong Lincoln Ann CoulterAnn CoulterAnn Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
endorses Laffey for Senate, 2006 - Article in The Bowdoin Orient on Laffey's writings in college
- Audio interview with National Review Online