| Stephen Laffey | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island | |
| In office January 6, 2003 – January 6, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | John O'Leary |
| Succeeded by | Michael Napolitano |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1962 Warwick, Rhode Island |
| Political party | Republican |
| Residence | Cranston, Rhode Island |
| Alma mater | Bowdoin College Harvard University |
| Website | Friends of Laffey |
Stephen (Steve) Laffey ( /ˈlæfiː/) was the Republican mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island with his term ending in 2007.
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Laffey was born in 1962 in Warwick, Rhode Island, 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.[1]
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.
Prior to becoming mayor of Cranston, Laffey worked for Morgan Keegan & Company, 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."[2]
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.[3] Laffey credits this to confronting unions and cutting excesses in school spending. One such cut was his firing of unionized crossing guards 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.[4] In 2006, Laffey distinguished Cranston by making it the only city in Rhode Island to cut property taxes that year.[5]
Laffey announced on September 8, 2005 that he would be running for the United States Senate, challenging incumbent Lincoln Chafee in the Republican primary.[6] 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.[7]
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.
Stephen Laffey left office in January 2007. He was believed to be a potential candidate for the Governorship in 2010, 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.[8] 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.