Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Being the mayor of Rhode Island’s largest city is a demanding job. Providence has a lot going for it, but the city remains bedeviled by a lackluster tax base. Other long-standing challenges include underperforming schools and an underfunded pension system. The man responsible for tackling these issues is Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, a veteran of state and city government.
After first winning the election in 2022, he’s gearing up to run again in 2026. Smiley remains the favorite, although he faces a challenge from state Representative David Morales, a young progressive hoping to channel the insurgent energy wielded by Zohran Mamdani in New York City. So does Smiley have bold ideas to meet the moment? What does he consider the way forward for Democrats during the Trump era? And how much progress can his back-to-basics approach deliver on Providence’s most nettlesome issues? Ian Donnis sat down with Mayor Smiley to ask him these questions and more in this in-depth conversation.
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Being the mayor of Rhode Island’s largest city is a demanding job. Providence has a lot going for it, but the city remains bedeviled by a lackluster tax base. Other long-standing challenges include underperforming schools and an underfunded pension system. The man responsible for tackling these issues is Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, a veteran of state and city government.
After first winning the election in 2022, he’s gearing up to run again in 2026. Smiley remains the favorite, although he faces a challenge from state Representative David Morales, a young progressive hoping to channel the insurgent energy wielded by Zohran Mamdani in New York City. So does Smiley have bold ideas to meet the moment? What does he consider the way forward for Democrats during the Trump era? And how much progress can his back-to-basics approach deliver on Providence’s most nettlesome issues? Ian Donnis sat down with Mayor Smiley to ask him these questions and more in this in-depth conversation.
Subscribe to the Ocean State Media YouTube channel: @oceanstatemediari
Subscribe to The Rundown newsletter: https://app.getresponse.com/site2/bf8...
Follow Ocean State Media on Instagram: instagram.com/ocean.state.media
Like Ocean State Media on Facebook: facebook.com/RhodeIslandPBS
Follow Ocean State Media on X: https://x.com/OSMediaRI
Follow Ocean State Media on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/oceanstatemedia.bsky.social
Visit our website: oceanstatemedia.org
