Brett Smiley to be New Mayor of Providence

Brett Smiley to be New Mayor of Providence

Brett Smiley, the former top aide to outgoing Mayor Jorge Elorza and former Governor Gina Raimondo, is going to be elected Mayor of Providence.

During his campaign, Smiley tied his political fortunes to now U.S Commerce Secretary Raimondo, mentioning her endorsement in his ads.

Elorza had rejected Smiley's candidacy and endorsed rival Gonzalo Cuervo instead. 

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On Tuesday Smiley beat Cuervo and City Councilwoman Nirva La Fortune.

 

City in Focus

Smiley won off the support of the affluent East Side of Providence.

With 95% of Providence votes in at 9:45 PM, Smiley leads by more than 1,000 votes, good for 41.7% to Cuervo’s 36%.

Nirva LaFortune garnered nearly 22% of the vote. 

Now, Smiley will need to govern a city with an overwhelmingly progressive city council.

He promised in his campaign that Providence "can be the best-run city in the country by supporting quality schools, building safer streets, and improving city services for residents in every neighborhood."

But, presently, Providence schools are being run by the state of Rhode Island after a study by Johns Hopkins University deemed the schools among the worst in the country.