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| Affiliation | Independent |
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2016-01-01 |
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| Name | Stephen Laffey |
| Address | 1001 E. Harmony Rd
Fort Collins, Colorado , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
00, 1962
(62 years)
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| Contributor | COSDem |
| Last Modifed | Politicoomer
Oct 06, 2023 01:06pm |
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| Info | Stephen Laffey was born in 1962, one of five children of toolmaker/small businessman John Laffey and Mary Laffey.
Mayor Laffey grew up in the Edgewood section of Cranston, excelling both academically and athletically in the Cranston public school system. After graduation in 1980, he attended Bowdoin College graduating magna cum laude, with a BA in Economics in 1984, the only member of his family to receive a college degree. He received his MBA in General Management in 1986 from the Harvard Business School, one of the youngest members of his graduating class.
In 2000, at the age of 38, Steve was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Keegan and Co., a Memphis based, publicly traded investment banking/brokerage firm with $500 million revenues. After the firm was successfully sold to Regions Financial, a $4 billion regional bank, Mayor Laffey moved back to the city he loved and missed.
Upon becoming aware of its deep fiscal problems, he decided to run for Mayor, and in November of 2002, he was elected to be Mayor of the City for which he has so much passion. When he stepped into office in January, 2003 the City had the lowest bond rating in the country and was near bankruptcy with large debt and access only to outrageous interest rates to pay the debt. The City was borrowing at 8 1/4% , triple tax free for 3 month notes (a tax equivalent rate of 15%).
Left to Right - Pete, Steve, Goldie (family dog), Sam, Kelly, Audrey Elizabeth and Sarah Grace
The Market has taken note of Mayor Laffey’s actions to restore financial stability to the City, and in under 6 months after the Mayor took office, the rates were reduced to less than 1% - an 85% decrease saving taxpayers $1 million in borrowing costs.
In the nearly two years since his election, Mayor Laffey has led Cranston forward by leaps and bounds. He had his proposed 2003/2004 budget approved unanimously and the 2004/2005 budget approved with an 8-1 vote by the City Council. The fruits of his efforts include a pension fund that is finally, after decades, being properly funded and changes in ordinances saving the citizens millions of dollars per year.
The Mayor has also actively worked toward social reform through an executive order insisting that the City of Cranston make every effort to ensure equal employment opportunities to minority candidates – including the active recruitment through local groups and agencies. He also has showed his compassion for those less fortunate by donating a rescue squad, a fire truck, and five transvans no longer used in Cranston’s fleet to a poor village in Guatemala where the people have been transported from emergencies in the back of pick-up trucks. He since has visited the country.
The Mayor is a compassionate person and reformer who wants every child in Cranston to have the same opportunities that he did growing up, and he wants to see senior citizens feel safe and secure in the city in which many of them have lived for decades.
In 2004, Mayor Laffey was re-elected for a second term. He won 75% of the vote in a September primary and subsequently won the general election by 65%.
Additionally, since returning home, Mayor Laffey has taught the top Finance course at the University of Rhode Island. He is married to Kelly, and has four children: Peter,16; Samuel 9, and Sarah Grace 8 who both attend Cranston Public Schools; and almost two-year old, Audrey Elizabeth.
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