Bell on matters of resource allocation, civil and criminal priorities, and federal legislation priorities. Almond oversaw significant drug prosecutions and drug forfeitures that received national attention. During Almond's tenure, Providence, Rhode Island, served as the base of the Patriarca crime family, leading to several high level prosecutions by the New England U.S. Attorneys, including Almond. He supervised a number of political corruption cases primarily in Providence and Pawtucket. Tenure as governor Almond ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Congress in 1968, and he was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for governor in 1978, when he was defeated by incumbent Governor J. Joseph Garrahy. In what was considered an upset in the 1994 Republican primary for governor, Almond marked his political comeback by defeating the heavily favored Republican candidate, U.S. Rep. Ron Machtley. He went on to defeat Democratic State Sen. Myrth York, who had scored her own upset by defeating incumbent Gov. Bruce Sundlun in the Democratic primary. He was the first governor to serve a four-year term under changes to the Rhode Island Constitution, and was the first to be bound by a two-term limit. Previous statewide terms of office were two years, with no term limits. Health care Health care and human services was an emphasis during the Almond administration. RIte Care, the state public health care program for children was significantly expanded during his administration, he instituted an aggressive childhood immunization program, and expanded state funded prenatal care programs, resulting in lowered rates of low-weight births. Almond greatly increased the number of state-subsidized child care slots, standards for child care providers were raised, and health care through the state also was offered to child care providers. During the Almond administration, Rhode Island was among the states with the highest percentage of its residents with health insurance coverage. Education In the realm of higher education, Almond advocated strongly for passage of a 2000 bond referendum that included funding for a new Newport campus of the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI). With CCRI an affordable entryway to college for many lower income students, Almond was successful in having the tuition frozen there for most of his years in office. Almond directed funds to improve the buildings and dormitories at Rhode Island College (RIC), and promoted the building of the Nazarian Performing Arts Center at RIC. As the first University of Rhode Island (URI) graduate to be elected governor, Almond made