Rhode Island’s Chafee Speaks on Dilemmas of Campaigning, Governing

Governor Lincoln D. Chafee of Rhode Island began his career as a Republican, switched to become an Independent, and then in 2013 became a Democrat. Describing the trajectory of his political career and his change in party affiliations over the years, he said, simply, “It’s an evolution.”

“I’ve stayed the same, I think,” Chafee said, positing that the Republican Party changed over his years in office. 

Speaking on “Dilemmas of Campaigning and Governing in the United States,” Chafee came to campus October 8 as part of Columbia Voting Week 2014, a joint project of SIPA's Urban and Social Policy concentration and Columbia College. Professor of Political Science David Johnston introduced Chafee and Professor of International and Public Affairs Ester Fuchs moderated the discussion.

Chafee did not begin his career in politics immediately out of college. Instead, after earning a degree in classics from Brown University, he worked as a blacksmith at racetracks for seven years.

Hailing from a politically active family, Chafee remembers his first political memory with clarity. In 1964 he went to the Republican National Convention in San Francisco with his father—and then Rhode Island governor—John Chafee. There he watched as Nelson Rockefeller was booed while on stage. The political infighting and strategy decisions made by the Republican Party over the coming years stuck with him.

Chafee first ran for office to become a delegate to a Rhode Island constitutional convention in the 1980s. He described sitting in his car for 15 minutes gathering his thoughts and enough courage to go knock on the first door during his campaign.

He quickly realized how much he enjoyed local politics and speaking with his neighbors. He served on the Warwick City Council before later becoming that city’s mayor. It was during council meetings that ran until midnight that Chafee said he developed his reputation of “standing up to the machine”—early on his career that meant standing up to developers on zoning regulations.

“The local level is fun,” Chafee said. “It affects your neighborhood to serve on that sewer board.”

When Chafee’s father died in 1999, he was appointed to his seat in the U.S. Senate. While serving as a senator, Chafee worked on many issues still being debated and discussed today, including minimum wage and gun control. He described standing up and voting against issues he believed had not been examined closely enough particularly the Iraq War.

“Republicans just sat in support of the president,” Chafee said recalling the atmosphere of fear and anger that gripped the country. He thinks the United States rushed into war without asking critical questions about issues like whether or not there really were weapons of mass destruction.

After his time in the Senate, Chafee ran for governor of Rhode Island and started his term in 2011. He has decided not to seek reelection.

When asked to give advice to students considering a career in politics, Chafee said, “Have something to fall back on,” that way you can make tough decisions and not worry about reelection.