Five-time State Sen. Elizabeth Roberts '78, who plans to run for the office of lieutenant governor in November, secured an endorsement in December 2005 from the political network EMILY's List, an organization that supports pro-choice Democratic women running for office.
Though she has not formally announced her candidacy, Roberts has filed papers to fundraise for her lieutenant governor campaign. Roberts has chosen to wait to announce her candidacy publicly in late spring, when her legislative responsibilities wind down, she said.
She will be the running mate of current Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty, who will challenge Republican incumbent Gov. Donald Carcieri '65.
However, Rhode Island is one of 18 states in which the governor and lieutenant governor run separately, so one might lose even if the other wins. Roberts faces no serious opposition in the Democratic primary and will face Republican businessman Kernan King in the fall.
From Virginia to College HillRoberts, 48, grew up in McLean, Va., about eight miles from CIA headquarters in neighboring Langley, where she went to high school.
Roberts said watching the Watergate hearings in high school government class and taking field trips to attend the hearings on Capitol Hill gave her an opportunity to see how government works. In spite of her early interest in government, Roberts did not really consider becoming a politician while growing up, in part because there were very few women in office at the time, she said.
Roberts, who was a human biology concentrator at Brown, was not involved in student government, instead choosing to focus on her schoolwork. She cited two classes as particularly influential during her time at Brown: a huge introductory biology lecture and a colonial American history class taught by Professor of History Gordon Wood.
"One reason I love government is you are always analyzing and tackling new problems and trying to find solutions. I think a lot of my enjoyment and skill at those things I learned at Brown," Roberts said.
After Brown, Roberts went to work at Pawtucket Memorial Hospital and commuted to Boston at night to work toward her MBA from Boston University.
At 39, Roberts ran in her first election, and was elected to the state Senate. She cited Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who was at one point the state senator from her district, as a significant influence.
"I really respect and admire (Reed's) willingness to work very hard to do two things: understand issues and propose solutions, and work hard to ... bring people together around the solution," she said.
Roberts said she is excited for the chance to become lieutenant governor of her adopted state.
"I'm looking forward to being able to look at my (daughters) and say, 'You know, you can do this too,'" she said. "We've never had a lieutenant governor (or governor) before who was a woman."
A woman in politicsSince announcing its endorsement of Roberts, EMILY'S List has her with candidate training, covering everything from field organization to dealing with the media. EMILY's List also sent a staffer to the Rhode Island Democratic Party to assist Roberts as she got her campaign started, she said.
While EMILY's List does not fundraise directly for lieutenant governor candidates, the endorsement is a vote of confidence in Roberts.
"Getting the endorsement so early in the campaign cycle is a big boost to my campaign, in terms of their recognition that I'm ready to go and I'm organized," she said.
Roberts said she has not felt daunted in the male-dominated state Senate, but said she dislikes how the Senate works largely in the evenings, preventing her from spending time at home with her children. But being a female politician can work to her advantage on the campaign trail.
"People are very open and when a woman knocks on their door - there isn't a hesitation to open the door and talk to you," Roberts said.
Roberts said most of the money she has raised so far has come from individual donors rather than political action committees. According to reports filed with the Rhode Island Board of Elections, as of the fourth quarter of 2005, Roberts has a cash balance of $216,636.16 in her state Senate campaign fund. Her potential opponent in the lieutenant governor race, King, has a balance of $59,219.19.
King pointed out that he is off to a very good start, having only started fundraising in November 2005.
"(Roberts) has been at it a lot longer than I have," he said.
Impetus for runningMuch of Roberts' attention in the Senate has been focused on health care issues, such as affordable health insurance, youth obesity and smoking. She led the charge to reform Blue Cross and Blue Shield two years ago and has worked on reforming the nursing home industry in Rhode Island.
"I think figuring out how we stay as healthy as we can is a huge part of dealing with the health issues that we face," Roberts said.
Roberts said her decision to run for lieutenant governor was based on two things: the desire to address issues on a statewide platform and the greater independence the position has to offer, as the lieutenant governor does not need to deal with fellow legislators in the Senate.
"I sometimes think about it as being almost like a think tank where you can be an advocate for Rhode Islanders and the problems that they face and the problems that politicians often don't want to take on, because they're complicated," Roberts said.
