Rhode Island State Rep. David Morales MPA’19 (D-Mount Pleasant, Valley, Elmhurst) announced his candidacy for mayor of Providence in next year’s election cycle. Morales, who became the youngest Latino ever elected to a U.S. state legislature in 2020, highlighted Providence’s affordability and allocation of city resources in his campaign announcement.
The Democratic primary election will be held next September, with the general election to follow on Nov. 3. Morales will likely face Mayor Brett Smiley, who took office in 2023.
A California native, Morales moved to R.I. to pursue a master’s degree in public affairs at Brown. In 2019, he became the youngest graduate in the history of the program at age 20.
On his fundraising website, Morales called Providence “the least affordable city in America for renters” and promised to “deliver housing we can afford.” Providence was rated the least affordable city among 44 of the most populous U.S. cities earlier this year, The Herald previously reported.
Morales also highlighted rising property taxes, underfunded schools and a lack of improvement in city services as key issues.
City Press Secretary Anthony Vega wrote in an email to The Herald that the Smiley administration’s Housing Trust Fund has invested over $55 million “to support the creation and preservation of more than 1,600 affordable units.”
Morales’s announcement also took aim at Brown. As an image of the University’s Quiet Green flashed across the scene, Morales stated that he would “demand that the wealthiest property owners in Providence finally pay their fair share.”
Federal law prohibits Providence from taxing tax-exempt institutions, according to Vega. In 2023, the Smiley administration signed a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with Brown and other Providence colleges, where the University agreed to pay $175 million to Providence over two decades.
This agreement “more than doubled the financial contributions the City will receive over the next 20 years,” Vega wrote.
Morales also targeted “bad city contracts” — such as contracts where private vendors earn “millions” from installing speed-monitoring cameras — under the Smiley administration. In response, Vega wrote that the cameras “increase safety measures for both pedestrians and drivers.”
Smiley holds a significant financial advantage over Morales. Finance filings from the end of June show that Smiley held over $1 million in total cash balance in his campaign account, while Morales had $68,180.
Assistant Professor of Political Science Paul Testa cautioned against reading into early campaign finance information. “Morales just announced his campaign, so comparisons of cash on hand … from June are perhaps less informative than next quarter’s fundraising numbers,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.
Though this quarter’s filings — which cover July through Sept. — aren’t due until Oct. 31, Morales’s campaign manager Henry Perretta wrote in an email to The Herald that the campaign has raised over $35,000 in that span.
Still, “we know that we will be outspent in this race by at least four to one,” Perretta wrote.
Outside of state government, Morales serves as the Director of Community Action at the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council. He moonlights as the commissioner of the Renegade Wrestling Alliance, where he also wrestles.
Testa wrote that an “extensive door-to-door get-out-the-vote effort” would help Morales build “the kind of grassroots campaign necessary to defeat a well-financed incumbent.”
Morales’s campaign has registered over 400 volunteers so far, according to Perretta.
Professor of Political Science Katherine Tate wrote in an email to The Herald that Morales “might be able to generate name recognition by being a persistent critic.”
Morales’s critiques of the Providence public school system have resonated with some local residents.
“Brett Smiley is standing in the way of good public education in Providence,” wrote Gabriel Long, the father of a first grader at Asa Messer Elementary School, in an email to The Herald. “He seems disinterested in public education as a meaningful part of the functioning of the city.”
While Testa doubts that Morales will catch up to or exceed Smiley’s fundraising totals, having “a large number of small donors could help signal the viability of and enthusiasm for his campaign,” he wrote.
In a city like Providence, 10 to 15 thousand votes may make the difference in a primary election, Testa noted. It has been over two decades since Providence was governed by a non-Democratic mayor, making a Democratic victory in the general mayoral election all but certain. In 2022, Smiley defeated two challengers in the Democratic primary, and faced no opposition in the general election.
Smiley’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Lev Kotler-Berkowitz is a senior staff writer covering city and state politics. He is from the Boston area and is a junior concentrating in Political Science and Economics. In his free time, Lev can be found playing baseball or running around with his dog.
