On Wednesday, Brown Votes hosted a forum for the upcoming Providence City Council Ward 2 special election. The five candidates in the election — including Axel Brito ’26, the sole Republican candidate — discussed a range of topics, including housing, affordability, education and climate policy.
Over 100 people attended the forum, which was strictly nonpartisan, Brown Votes Civic Engagement Fellow Percy Unger ’26 told The Herald. Candidates gave 90-second opening statements before answering a series of questions. The forum — the first one in the race, according to candidate Jill Davidson ’89 — included questions from both moderators and the audience.
Here’s what candidates had to say on six key policy points.
Providence’s housing crisis
Candidates were divided on using rent stabilization to solve the city’s housing crisis. Davidson and Brito expressed measured support, while candidates Jeff Levy and Dave Caldwell came out in strong opposition. Candidate Matt McDermott, a pollster and political strategist, said the topic required more debate.
“It would be very difficult to find any public policy that has been as thoroughly discredited as rent control,” said Caldwell, pointing to Mayor Brett Smiley’s similar stance. Caldwell has served as a member of the Providence City Plan Commission for the past two years and runs his own business, Caldwell & Johnson Custom Builders.
“I think the way to address (housing affordability) is to build, build, build as much as we can,” said Levy, an attorney with Levy & Blackman LLP who has also served as a volunteer lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island.
In an interview with The Herald after the forum, audience member Jesse Mathis ’27 noted that Davidson “seemed like she had a very good grasp on what kind of institutions and what kind of organizations are already doing housing justice work here in Rhode Island.” Davidson works with an environmental nonprofit and serves as a board member at multiple educational institutions.
When asked about addressing homelessness, Davidson and Brito emphasized the need for increased social welfare services, while Levy, McDermott and Caldwell stressed the need for more housing.
“We need housing stock at every level built. We all agree to that, except, perhaps, the Republican candidate,” said Caldwell. He highlighted the 21 properties Brown plans to redevelop as potential sites for more housing.
PILOT and Brown’s role in the greater community
Multiple candidates called attention to the Payment In Lieu of Taxes agreement signed in October 2023 between Brown, other local universities and the City of Providence — a memorandum that stipulates Brown make voluntary payments to the city to account for the fact that the University does not pay property taxes to Providence as a nonprofit educational institution.
Davidson, Levy and McDermott all said Brown should contribute more to the local community.
Brito went a step further, calling Brown “a parasitic leech to this community” that “should definitely be paying more taxes.”
“I attend this school not willingly,” he added. “They gave me a scholarship. I don’t really care about the school.”
University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald that the PILOT agreements placed Brown and other higher education institutions in Providence “among the nation’s most generous voluntary financial contributors to the city in which they operate.”
A hope for local control over Providence public schools
All five candidates expressed concern about the Providence Public School District’s poor performance.
McDermott referenced an op-ed he published in the Providence Eye last month, outlining his plans for the PPSD. In the piece, he wrote that the city “must codify a governance structure that makes responsibilities clear, fully funds our schools and ties those dollars to student outcomes.”
Levy said Providence must “focus on hiring a really great superintendent who has a bold vision and is looking toward innovation,” in addition to formulating a new governance plan.
Davidson, who is a PPSD parent, underlined the cooperation and public investment that it will take to reform public schools
“We have 20,000 kids who attend the Providence public schools,” Davidson said in an interview with The Herald after the forum. “We can’t prepare for a theoretical future. … We have to make sure that schools are great now.”
Climate policy and transportation
In his opening statement, Caldwell summarized his campaign as “housing first and climate always.” Both Caldwell and Davidson have been endorsed by Climate Action R.I.
“I’m known for building environmentally sustainable construction and decarbonization,” Caldwell said. He highlighted a campaign by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island — of which he is the president — to achieve net-zero emissions in its facilities by 2030.
Davidson touted her work at the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, which she said has made a “tremendous difference.” The strategies implemented by the environmental nonprofit, she said, could also apply to Ward 2.
McDermott noted that transit infrastructure is responsible for nearly 40% of the state’s carbon emissions and voiced support for “more walkable (and) bikeable communities.”
All five candidates pledged not to accept donations from the fossil fuel industry. The industry, Levy joked, does not “seem to (be making) a big play for City Council right now,” prompting laughter from audience members.
Support for Smiley’s re-election campaign
Next year’s mayoral election will likely pit Smiley against Rhode Island State Rep. David Morales MPA’19 (D-Providence), alongside other potential challengers.
McDermott voiced his support for Smiley, crediting the mayor with creating “fiscal stability in this city for the first time in a generation.”
Caldwell also said he would support Smiley, remarking that the current mayor’s administration is “on the right track” and has fulfilled promises to fix “what was ailing Providence.”
Levy and Davidson said that with the race nearly a year away, they both want to learn more about the candidates. Brito said he would support Morales.
Smiley “has been a scourge to the city, he has not improved public education (and) he led the disastrous PILOT program,” Brito said.
Smiley’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration and immigration policy
In his opening statement, Levy took aim at the Trump administration. “We have to acknowledge the fact that the country is in crisis,” he said, pointing to how “critical services to vulnerable residents” have suffered funding cuts during Trump’s second term. Levy’s frustration with the federal government motivated him to run, he said.
Each candidate affirmed their support for an amendment, which is currently moving through City Council, that would strengthen restrictions on Providence Police Department cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Brito, noting that he is the son of immigrant parents, said immigrants “come here and help run our state,” adding that “we need to protect them” and “improve their working conditions.”
Davidson called the amendment “an important way that we can push back against the aggression of the Trump administration.”
Caldwell said he would support the amendment, adding that he thinks the PPD “does an excellent job.” McDermott questioned Caldwell’s sincerity, noting that the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police recently endorsed Caldwell. The FOP is opposed to the ordinance, McDermott claimed.
The White House, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FOP did not respond to requests 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.
