Providence Mayor Brett Smiley is making a bid for a second term this fall. But in the Sept. 9 Democratic primary, Smiley faces a formidable challenge from State Rep. David Morales MPA’19 (D-Providence).
On Friday, The Herald sat down with each candidate to discuss their political background and goals if elected — on issues that have split Rhode Island Democrats in the run-up to the Sept. 9 primary.
A R.I. resident for 20 years, Smiley says he has stayed committed to the power of local government.
“It's been a couple decades now of service here in the community, and I remain passionate about particularly local government as a way to improve people’s lives and solve real problems,” he told The Herald.
After serving as Providence’s chief operating officer, he gained prominence in R.I. political circles when he became then Gov. Gina Raimondo’s chief of staff in 2016. After that, he served as the state’s acting director of administration. In 2022, he won the mayoral seat after a narrow win in a three-way Democratic primary.
This year’s mayoral primary playing field is smaller, but like many Democratic primaries across the nation this election season seeing challenges from progressive office hopefuls, the race has split Democrats on a number of key issues — chief among these being housing.
A supply-side approach to Providence’s housing crisis
According to the Providence City Council Housing Crisis Task Force’s 2025 Report, almost half of renters and more than a third of homeowners in Providence spend beyond their means to stay housed. Rent prices in the city have increased dramatically over the past several years — as has homelessness — while housing development has not matched the pace.
Smiley has consistently opposed rent control policies. In April, Smiley vetoed an ordinance that would have enforced a 4% cap on annual rent increases in Providence.
“The root cause of our housing unaffordability crisis is a shortage of housing,” Smiley told The Herald. “Any solution must center on building more housing.”
This week, Smiley’s office announced progress in the creation of residential units, including units “permanently subsidized affordable.” Should he be elected to serve a second term, he says he will continue focusing on increased housing development.
Smiley believes that rent stabilization and similar proposed solutions to affordable housing are inequitable, as they cover only some of the city’s housing units.
“Rent control also doesn’t lower anybody’s rent,” Smiley said, stating that it actually “guarantees annual rent increases, just at fixed amounts.”
“You are as likely to be a wealthy professional in a rent-controlled apartment as you are a low-income family that might really benefit from the policy,” he added.
As mayor, Smiley has also made efforts to protect tenants from unfair practices, supporting continued funding for free eviction defense programs and housing testing, as well as tenant and landlord education on housing laws and rights. These policies are meant to protect tenants against “bad landlords who might be trying to break the rules.”
As for immediate relief for tenants, Smiley’s emergency rental assistance fund awaits final approval by the City Council.
“Mark my word: as soon as this election is over, that will pass, and that program will be available to help residents in the city, maybe as early as the end of this month, if not by October,” Smiley said.
Building on first-term progress in public education
In his interview with The Herald, he also commented on his hopes to invest further in Providence public schools.
On July 1, governance over the Providence Public School District returned to the local community after seven years of state control. While the takeover had initially been authorized to last until 2024, the Rhode Island Department of Education extended their takeover to 2027. Smiley, and other city officials, successfully advocated ending state intervention into the PPSD by summer 2026 instead.
“As the months went by,” he said, “it became increasingly clear to me that parents’ frustration was very real and that the intervention had accomplished all it was going to accomplish.”
Smiley emphasized that this transition allowed him to provide “accountability” and “direct representation of the families here in the city,” as years of public engagement revealed that “parents felt like they didn’t have a voice in their kids’ education.”
“I think there’s a fresh batch of enthusiasm and optimism now that the intervention has ended,” Smiley added.
Smiley also discussed the “cradle-to-career strategy” he released, which outlines what his educational priorities would be during a potential second term. The plan involves “early childhood education, a community campus model” and expansion of the Eat, Play, Learn initiative.
Smiley found that state officials had added career and technical education pathways for students, but hadn’t implemented employer partnerships for high school students during their intervention. Smiley says his plan for filling that gap can bolster opportunities for internships, externships and career exploration as a whole.
“I don’t need to be micromanaging decisions made by principals,” Smiley said. “I need to think about how the mayor can assist in a way that doesn’t add new challenges, but rather brings new resources and new supports to the table.”
Bolstering safety and protecting immigrants
Over the last 18 months, Smiley has passed three executive orders aimed at protecting immigrants from escalating Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions.
Smiley and his team have “taken best practices and lessons learned from other communities” about how they can protect Providence’s immigrants from this time of “horrible, lawless action from ICE.”
ICE did not immediately respond to The Herald’s request for comment.
The first executive order Smiley passed declared that “Providence police will not act as civil immigration enforcement officers” or “cooperate with ICE for anything less than a judicial warrant.”
The Providence Police Department is “there to protect the community, and that means every member of the community,” he added.
His second executive order made public spaces such as city hall, city property, parks and parking lots “off limits” to ICE. The order also made it feasible for schools, churches and community-based organizations — which are not subject to city control — to implement similar restrictions.
Smiley’s most recent immigration-related executive order established a voting hotline in order to ensure election safety and security and protect the voting rights of all Providence residents.
Smiley and his team are preparing to have both attorneys and Providence police officers available at all polling locations during the upcoming primary election as well as November’s general election.
“I’ll keep taking further action and signing as many executive orders as I need to protect our neighbors” and “to continue to establish Providence as a welcoming community,” Smiley said.
While opponent Morales has criticized the Providence Police Department’s network of 60 Flock cameras — which the city uses as license plate readers and links with their Real Time Crime Center — Smiley emphasized the technology’s importance to public safety.
“The license plate reader technology that we have in the city has made the city safer,” he said. “But with any technology, both Real Time Crime Center and LPRs, you have to have proper and rigorous safeguards and policies in place.”
Smiley noted that Providence only shares its LPR data with other Rhode Island agencies, and not with any federal agency. He also cited the city’s auditing protocol to “see who does access the data to make sure that it's not misused.”
“With those safeguards and protections, we believe we've adequately protected against the risks,” he said. “At least right now, we continue to use the technology because we believe that it's a net benefit to public safety.”
Smiley and Morales are the only two Democratic mayoral candidates on the ballot this Wednesday. The winner will face off against Republican nominee Dave Talan in the Nov. 3 general election.
“There’s a track record over the first term that we’re really proud of,” Smiley said. “There's a lot of good work in the pipeline, and breaking that momentum would be a shame.”
Annika Melwani is a metro senior staff writer covering state politics and justice. She is from New York City and plans on concentrating in English and International and Public Affairs. In her free time, she can be found reading or drinking an iced vanilla latte.
Michelle Bi is a metro editor covering City Hall & Crime and State Politics & Justice. She is a sophomore from Oak Park, CA and studies English and IAPA. In her free time, you can find her playing guitar, the LA Times crossword or one of her 115 Spotify playlists.
