Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, who championed the state law that changed the pension system for public employees, received the 2011 Urban Innovator Award from the Manhattan Institute for Public Research.
Raimondo, who became treasurer last year, received the award in New York on Thursday.
"At the end of the day, no one could criticize the process. It was long, it was thorough, it was open, and it was transparent," Raimondo said in her acceptance speech. "People wanted to talk about pensions no matter where we went — the beach, my daughter's soccer game, the school, or parking my car."
