Op Ed: The Primary Is the Election

Ronald Reagan famously said that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

The primary election between Mayor Brett Smiley and State Representative David Morales is coming into focus, and the stark differences between the candidates are dramatic. This election, your vote counts!

The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city. Their primary job is to oversee the management of the daily city operations, including the police and fire departments, public works, parks, planning, etc. They are also the chief spokesman and salesman for new business and economic development, chief budget officer, and they have limited responsibility for the schools, despite the fact that schools account for almost half of the budget.

On the precarious financial side, the majority of the city’s budget is committed to salaries, union contracts, pensions, and debt service. There is very little room for change as all of the city’s labor contracts and financial commitments have annual escalator clauses. And Providence is projecting its structural deficit to rise to $25 million by 2029.

Brett Smiley entered office with the goal of making Providence “the best-run city in America.” He’s had a wild ride between the Brown shooting, a record snowstorm, and a new payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program with the colleges and hospitals. Smiley has aggressively sought new housing development, and he just announced 200 more affordable apartments in three developments across the city. He has made major quality-of-life improvements to parks, sidewalk repairs, and flood mitigation.

Crime is down, community policing has been expanded, and guns are being aggressively taken off the streets; ATVs have been crushed, and three new police academies have kept up with retirements. WaterFire was saved, and tourism is up, backed by the very successful World Cup PVD FanZone. And grants were given to improve 24 home-based and center-based childcare providers to accommodate more children. The city is stable. And a Helena Foulkes win in the gubernatorial race would be a big win for Smiley as they share similar ideologies.

David Morales, 28, is a Democratic Socialist who has served three terms in the legislature. The majority of the legislation that he has introduced has died in committee. He has touted getting increased state aid for the city as part of his campaign, something that as a legislator he was unable to deliver. His work experience, aside from being a part-time legislator, is as the director of community action for the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, which has overseen the revitalization of the Woonasquatucket River, its Greenway, and its communities. He also competes as a professional wrestler with the Renegade Wrestling Alliance,​ where he is a two-time champion.

He is personable and engaging and makes a good impression, but his responses to questions are often vague and tread lightly on specifics. At a protest rally at the Providence Public Safety Complex in July 2021, Morales, pandering to the crowd, said he would “fight to keep our tax dollars away from Providence Police to ensure that we don’t continue to fund these places of brutality.” He has since walked back that statement, saying that he was referring to the following year’s budget and that he would not defund the police department.

One of the policies that Morales has floated is freezing property taxes for owner-occupied homes worth less than $2 million. While it sounds good, it begs the question of where the lost revenue will be recouped. Morales is trying to capitalize on the national progressive energy with his platform that includes rent control, overhauling the property tax system, and making public transportation free for Providence residents.

Morales backed rent control, which the socialist majority city council passed but was vetoed by Smiley, who countered with a $25 million bond proposal for new housing. This issue will continue, but a solution that isn’t one-sided will be hard to find. Landlords have struggled with years of high interest rates, surging utility costs, rising insurance expenses, and laws that greatly tightened housing regulations.

Even more frightening than Reagan’s pronouncement and closer to home was the statement at a David Morales fundraiser. “We are going to have full control over Providence government and David is going to turn Providence into a laboratory for municipal socialism,” offered by one of his strongest local supporters, the progressive podcaster Daniel Denvir. Providence residents can’t afford to be the “rats” in this laboratory.