Rory Smith, who is running for governor.

BY ABBY FOX

Rory Smith, political newcomer, 48-year-old successful businessman, East Greenwich resident of 15 years, and father of three, last Wednesday filed a Notice of Organization with the Rhode Island Board of Elections, making official his desire to run in the 2010 race for Rhode Island governor.

“Everyone’s worried about jobs and the economy; that’s the number-one issue,” Smith said in a brief interview last week after his announcement. “I’ve personally helped small and mid-sized businesses grow and be successful and we need to give business owners a chance in this state. That’s what I want to see happen: putting Rhode Islanders back to work and make Rhode Island a business-friendly state.”

Smith said he moved to Rhode Island from Westwood, Mass. in 1990 with his wife, Betsy, and their first child. His first job here was with Fleet Equity Partners and from there he founded a private equity firm, Nautic Partners, from which he resigned recently to concentrate on his run for office, he said.

“My wife and I had taken a trip to Newport for a small vacation,” he said. “We thought, ‘What a great place this would be to live,’ and eight years later, a job opportunity came up.”

Smith doesn’t play down the fact he has no political experience and says it’s actually an asset. “I’m an outsider to politics and we need more outsiders to get involved,” he said. “We can’t expect people who have created the problems to fix the problems of this state and I think there’s room for a fresh voice, a new perspective. I don’t have to defend the policies of the past, and I can come with an open mind.

“I don’t think we should leave politics to career politicians,” he said. “It’s private citizens who need to get involved.” More personally, “my skills are suited to the problems the state faces. I’ve managed large organizations, managed financial crises and helped businesses grow. My candidacy is about jobs, fiscal restraint and improving education. I think we can get everybody to agree on those things and all other issues are secondary.”

Mentioning his experience racing in the 140-mile IronMan Triathlon, and his success in his career and in school, “I’ve always had a lot of energy,” he said. “The problems of Rhode Island are business and fiscal problems and that’s what I have a lot of experience with. I’ve managed many businesses through economic downturns and fiscal crises.” And, he said, in businesses, “you have to learn how to build consensus and work with other people,” traits that could serve him well in politics.

Asked to elaborate on his game plan, he said, “In business, you look for the best practices in the industry and you bring them to the businesses you’re involved in and that’s clearly what Rhode Island needs to do; we need to be a more favorable regulatory environment for businesses.”

When pressed why he’s ambitious in a specifically political direction, he replied, “I’ve always taken on big challenges. The hardest things in life are also the most meaningful and rewarding.”

Rhode Island isn’t competing with other states, he went on, it’s “one of the few states that has lost population; Rhode Island is not where it needs to be. We have the best and brightest graduate from our local schools, who can’t find jobs here; I’m afraid the advice we’re going to be giving our kids is: ‘Look somewhere else for a job.’”

Rhode Island “is a great place to live,” he said. “My wife and I love it: there are great restaurants, fantastic schools and hospitals. But we don’t have good enough jobs, and if we could get everybody focused on that one thing, I’m sure we could solve it. We don’t have a choice; the party’s over. Our government can’t spend money it doesn’t have; we’re going to have to find the waste. We spend plenty of money; it’s not that we’re not spending enough. Our salaries, pensions and taxes are more than other states and it just doesn’t make sense. Everything’s on the table; we’re going to have to make cuts in every area of government.”

Rory (born Riordan) Smith grew up on Long Island, New York, one of five children. He went to Amherst College, where he majored in political science and met his future wife, and then went on to Harvard Business School. Smith’s family has resided at their home in Queen’s Grant since moving here in 1994. “East Greenwich has been great,” he said. “I love the town and the people.”  Smith said he’s been involved with youth sports such as soccer, basketball and lacrosse leagues and is a member of the Westminster Unitarian Church on Kenyon Avenue. His children, Amanda, Winston and Everett, attend private schools in Providence.

For inspiration, Smith said, he draws on both sides of the political spectrum, respecting both Depression-era four-term President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for managing the United States through “a tremendous crisis,” and fellow Republican Ronald Reagan, “who gave the country confidence and focused on a few things and got them right.”

Smith said he suspects people will be more willing than they’ve been in years, to vote for somebody new. “2010 will be a year when citizens are upset enough about the performance of government,” he said.

Smith can be reached through email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or by office phone at 688-0220.