Smiley Attends Conference in DC While Providence Digs Out of Snow Storm

Smiley Attends Conference in DC While Providence Digs Out of Snow Storm

While Providence is struggling to dig out of the weekend storm that has left streets poorly plowed, schoolchildren forced to walk in the street, and business owners complaining, Mayor Brett Smiley flew out of town to attend a conference in Washington, DC, for the week.

The conference — the 94th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C. — has run from Tuesday through today.

Smiley’s office says he will be flying back to Providence tonight and that he attended the full conference.

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While Smiley was in Washington, he appeared on the “Culture Show” on a Boston public radio show from a hotel room while attending the Mayor’s conference.

The cleanup of the storm has been widely criticized by city residents and business owners. 

GoLocal reported about the complaints and that the city's 311 technology failed during the storm.

 

Third Tier

Smiley serves on the third tier of the leadership of the organization. He is not one of the officers nor is he one of the organization’s trustees, but Smiley serves as one of 31 members of the board of advisors.

The Smiley administration defended the decision.

"At a moment where many Providence residents and many mayors are asking, who is next, it’s important that Mayor Smiley have an opportunity to learn from colleagues like Mayor Frey that have and are being subjected to the reckless actions by federal officers. Mayor Smiley’s 48 hours in Washington DC will help better prepare and protect our community in this very unpredictable and unstable time. The Department of Public Works have remained hard and work and he’ll back in their garage tomorrow morning," said Smiley spokesperson Josh Estrella.

 

According to the organization:

On January 28-30, 2026, in Washington, DC, the United States Conference of Mayors will convene our 94th Winter Meeting under the leadership of Conference President Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.

Hundreds of mayors – from cities of all sizes and all regions of the nation – are expected to be in attendance, along with members of the Administration, Congress, business leaders, and traditional and non-traditional domestic and international media. 

Sponsorship opportunities are available at the Winter Meeting to raise your organization’s visibility, to position your top executives as thought leaders, and to provide forums to share innovations and best practices during the largest convening of the nation’s mayors in the nation.