Lancia mulls run for Lt. Governor, would work to eliminate post

Robert Lancia, who represents Cranston as a member of the state House of Representatives, is considering a Republican run for lieutenant governor. If elected, he would work to eliminate the office of the lieutenant governor, which he said doesn’t really have a purpose.

“The major platform I’d be running on is the elimination of the lieutenant governor’s office,” Lancia said. “It’s a nice to have, but there really isn’t a purpose to it.”

He said that instead of using state funds for the office of the lieutenant governor, the money should be used for an inspector general, an idea he’s been pushing in recent months. The inspector general’s job would be to oversee the budget items for the state and make sure money is being used efficiently.

He said he may not enter the race if he doesn’t think he can raise enough campaign funds to embark on it, and if he doesn’t he will be running for re-election as the District 26 state representative. The deadline for declarations is June 27.

For either position, he said his platform would continue to be focused on financials.

“Zero-based budgeting, a line item that could veto the governor,” he said. “We’ve doubled the budget in ten years. There’s something wrong there, and we need to change the dynamics. People have had enough. I don’t know anybody that wants fifty percent of their paycheck going to taxes.”

His idea for inspector general comes from 12 other states that have the position, including Florida where they have 26 of them. He said that the national tax bite average per resident is $6,700, whereas in Rhode Island it’s $8,700. He said that nine of the 12 states with inspectors general have tax bites lower than the national average.

He also said that in states with more residents, like New Hampshire and Delaware, their yearly budgets are billions of dollars lower than Rhode Island, and he wants to see that change drastically.

“I’m looking for support right now to make a run,” he said about running for either position. “I’m not on a cathartic journey, I’m trying to do something of substance. Being out of office is not helpful to anyone. I’ve proven my worth.”

He said that for the lieutenant governor position to be eliminated there would have to be a vote and amendment to the Constitution. And if he finds he doesn’t have the financial support to run for lieutenant governor, he said if re-elected state representative he’ll continue to focus on other issues, like veteran affairs, schools and adequate funding for nursing homes/disabled people, in addition to the emphasis on the budget.

On the Democrat side, incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan McKee and State Rep. Aaron Regunberg have announced their candidacies for lieutenant governor, and Republican Paul Pence has also said he will be running for the position.