Mayoral elections in Providence, Rhode Island

Elections are held in Providence, Rhode Island to elect the city's mayor. Such elections are regularly scheduled to be held in United States midterm election years.

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Providence
Mayoral elections

Elections before 1998

1998
1998 Providence mayoral election
November 3, 1998
 
Candidate Buddy Cianci
Party Independent
Popular vote 23,746
Percentage 96.84%
Mayor before election

Buddy Cianci
Independent

 Elected Mayor

Buddy Cianci
Independent

The 1998 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election was held on November 3, 1998. It saw the reelection of Buddy Cianci to sixth overall, and third consecutive, term. Cianci ran unchallenged.

1998 Providence mayoral election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Buddy Cianci 23,746 96.84
Write-in Others 774 3.16
Total votes 24,520 100

2002
2002 Providence mayoral election
November 5, 2002
 
Candidate David Cicilline David Talan
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 29,843 3,453
Percentage 83.83% 9.70%
Mayor before election

John J. Lombardi (acting)
Democratic

 Elected Mayor

David Cicilline
Democratic

The 2002 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election was held on November 5, 2002. It saw the election of Democratic nominee David Cicilline in a landslide victory.

Cicilline was openly gay. After Cicilline took office, Providence became largest city in the United States at the time to have had an openly LGBTQ mayor (a distinction which had, beforehand, belonged to Tempe, Arizona since its election of Neil Giuliano).[2][3]

Democratic primary

The Democratic Party held its primary election on September 10, 2002.[4]

Candidates
Withdrew
  • Thomas O'Connor[5]

Polls
Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin
of error		 David
Cicilline		 David
Igliozzi		 Kevin
McKenna		 Joseph R.
Paolino Jr.		 Undecided
[4] ± 4.5% 50% 10% 4% 32% 4%

Campaigning

David Ciciline and Kevin McKenna launched their campaigns prior to the June conviction of incumbent mayor Buddy Cianci, and criticized the disgraced mayor.[4] Paolino and Igliozzi launched their candidacies after Cianci's conviction, and did not openly criticize Cianci.[4] Igliozzi had once worked in the city's solicitor's office during Cianci's mayoralty.[4]

Paloino pledged to revitalize blighted areas of the city by cleaning up their parks and schools, and by increasing community police officers.[4]

Ciciline also advocated for the arts, and proposed making gallery and studio space available to more residents.[4]

While Ciciline was openly gay, Paolino sought to challenge him for support of the city's gay voters.[4]

Results
2002 Providence Democratic mayoral primary[6][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David N. Cicilline 14,167 52.09
Democratic Joseph R. Paolino, Jr. 9,253 34.02
Democratic David V. Igliozzi 3,047 11.20
Democratic Christopher Young 730 2.68
Turnout 27,197 28.38

Candidates
Withdrew
  • Pat Cortelessa (independent)[5]
  • Robert Farrow (independent)[5]

Campaigning

It was anticipated that the winner of the Democratic Party primary would be the races frontrunner in the strongly Democratic city's mayoral race.[4]

The sexuality of Cecilline, vying to become the city's first openly homosexual mayor, was not a prominent issue in the campaign. Some in the gay community even criticized Cecilline, accusing him of downplaying his sexuality in order to appeal more broadly to voters.[3]

Polls

Throughout the campaign, Cecilline was a strong leader in polls.[3]

Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin
of error		 David
Cicilline (D)		 Greg
Gerritt (G)		 Dave
Talan (R)		 Christopher
Young (i)		 Undecided
Brown University[8] September 14–22, 2002 506 LV ± 4% 70% 2% 4% 1% 23%

Results
2002 Providence mayoral election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David N. Cicilline 29,843 83.83
Republican David B. Talan 3,453 9.70
Green Greg Gerritt 1,371 3.85
Independent Christopher F. Young 931 2.62
Total votes 35,598 100

2006
2006 Providence mayoral election
November 7, 2006
 
Candidate David Cicilline Daniel S. Harrop III
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 30,835 6,119
Percentage 83.44% 16.56%
Mayor before election

David Cicilline
Democratic

 Elected Mayor

David Cicilline
Democratic

The 2006 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election was held on November 7, 2006. It saw the reelection of incumbent Democrat David Cicilline.

Democratic primary

The Democratic Party's primary election was held on September 12, 2006.[10]

Candidates

Results
2006 Providence Democratic mayoral primary[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David N. Cicilline (incumbent) 11,849 73.95
Democratic Christopher F. Young 4,175 26.06
Total votes 16,024 100

General election

Cicilline faced Republican nominee Daniel S. Harrop III, who had previously run for state house in 2002 as a Libertarian and in 2004 as a Republican.

2006 Providence mayoral election[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David N. Cicilline (incumbent) 30,835 83.44
Republican Daniel S. Harrop III 6,119 16.56
Total votes 36,954 100

2010
2010 Providence mayoral election
November 2, 2010
 
Candidate Angel Taveras Jonathan P. Scott
Party Democratic Independent
Popular vote 27,528 6,006
Percentage 82.1% 17.9%
Mayor before election

David Cicilline
Democratic

 Elected Mayor

Angel Taveras
Democratic

The 2010 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election was held on November 2, 2010. The election saw the election of Angel Taveras.

Taveras became the first Hispanic mayor of the city and the third elected and fourth serving Dominican-American mayor in the United States.[12]

Incumbent David Cicilline did not seek reelection, instead opting to run in the coinciding election for Rhode Island's 1st congressional district. Cicilline was eligible to seek reelection to a third consecutive term as mayor, as term limits passed in 2006 (which limited mayors to two consecutive terms) would not go into effect until the following year.[13]

Results
Primary election results[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Angel Taveras 11,897 49.1%
Democratic John J. Lombardi 7,050 29.1%
Democratic Steven M. Costantino 4,867 20.1%
Democratic Christopher Young 392 1.6%

Results
General election results[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Angel Taveras 27,528 82.1%
Independent Jonathan P. Scott 6,006 17.9%

2014
2014 Providence mayoral election
November 4, 2014
 
Candidate Jorge Elorza Buddy Cianci
Party Democratic Independent
Popular vote 20,027 17,306
Percentage 52.1% 45.0%
Mayor before election

Angel Taveras
Democratic

 Elected Mayor

Jorge Elorza
Democratic

The 2014 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election was held on November 4, 2014. The election saw the election of Jorge Elorza.

Incumbent Angel Taveras did not seek reelection, and instead (unsuccessfully) sought the Democratic nomination in the coinciding Rhode Island gubernatorial election.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary was held on September 9, 2014.

Results

Despite still appearing on the ballot, Brett Smiley had withdrawn and endorsed Elorza before the primary was held.[16]

2014 Providence Democratic mayoral primary[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jorge Elorza 11,051 48.7%
Democratic Michael A. Solomon 9,870 43.5%
Democratic Christopher F. Young 1,049 4.6%
Democratic Brett Smiley 745 3.3%

General election

The election pinned Democratic primary winner Jorge Elorza against former mayor Buddy Cianci, who was running as an independent, and Republican Daniel S. Harrop.

Elorza was endorsed by United States President Barack Obama.[18]

On July 14, 2014, businessman Lorne Adrian withdrew his independent candidacy.[19]

Independent candidate Jeffrey E. Lemire failed to get his name on the ballot.[20]

Results
2014 Providence mayoral election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jorge O. Elorza 20,027 52.1%
Independent Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. 17,306 45.0%
Republican Daniel S. Harrop 1,049 2.6%
Write-in Write-in 88 0.2%
Total votes 38,470

2018
2018 Providence mayoral election
November 6, 2018
 
Candidate Jorge Elorza Dianne S. Witman
Party Democratic Independent
Popular vote 26,935 14,016
Percentage 63.6% 33.1%
Mayor before election

Jorge Elorza
Democratic

 Elected Mayor

Jorge Elorza
Democratic

The 2018 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election was held on November 6, 2018. The election saw the reelection of Jorge Elorza.

Democratic primary

On September 12, 2018, incumbent mayor Jorge Elorza won renomination by the Democratic Party, defeating challengers Kobi Dennis and Robert DeRobbio.[22]

Elorza had been endorsed by the party organization ahead of the primary.[23]

Polls
Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin
of error		 Lorne
Adrian		 Kobi
Dennis		 Robert
DeRobbio		 Jorge
Elorza		 John
Lombardi		 Other Undecided
John Zogby Strategies[24] April 4-8, 2019 424 ± 5% 6.5% 8.3% 5.4% 35.9% 18.3% 8.2% 17.3%
– – – 45.8% 33.3% – –

Results
Primary election results[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jorge O. Elorza (incumbent) 13,363 57.4%
Democratic Kobi Jason Dennis 5,425 23.3%
Democratic Robert A. DeRobbio 4,493 19.3%

Results
2018 Providence mayoral election[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jorge O. Elorza (incumbent) 26,935 63.6%
Independent Dianne S. Witman 14,016 33.1%
Independent Jeffrey E. Lemire 1,172 2.8%
Write-in 212 0.5%
Total votes 42,335 100

2022
2022 Providence mayoral election
November 8, 2022
 
Candidate Brett Smiley
Party Democratic
Mayor before election

Jorge Elorza
Democratic

 Elected Mayor

Brett Smiley
Democratic

The 2022 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022.

Since Providence limits mayors to two consecutive terms,[26] incumbent mayor Jorge Elorza, a Democrat, was term-limited and thus could not run for reelection to a third consecutive term in office.[27]

Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Withdrew
  • Michael Solomon, former Providence City Council president and 2014 mayoral candidate[35][27][36] (endorsed Smiley)
Declined

Endorsements
Gonzalo Cuervo
State legislators
Local officials
  • Jorge Elorza, mayor of Providence[45]
  • Mary Kay Harris, member of the Providence city council from Ward 11[46]
  • Kat Kerwin, member of the Providence city council[41]
  • Rachel Miller, member of the Providence city council[41]
  • Angel Taveras, former mayor of Providence (2011–2015)[41]
Organizations
  • Rhode Island Latino PAC[44]
Labor unions
Nirva LaFortune
State legislators
Mayors
Local officials
Organizations
Brett Smiley
Statewide officials
State legislators
Local officials
  • Michael Correia, Providence city councilman[51]
  • JoAnn Ryan, Providence city councilwoman[51]
  • Michael Solomon, former Providence city council president and withdrawn candidate in this election[52]
  • James Taylor, Providence city councilman[51]
  • Oscar Vargas, Providence city councilman from the 15th ward[53]
Organizations

Results
Democratic primary results[55]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Brett Smiley 9,025 41.84
Democratic Gonzalo Cuervo 7,905 35.64
Democratic Nirva LaFortune 4,643 21.52
Total votes 21,573 100.0%
Official campaign websites

Results
2022 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Brett Smiley
Total votes 100.0%

References
  1. "Municipal Results Providence RI GENERAL ELECTION, November 3, 1998". elections.ri.gov. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  2. "2002 - Explore a Year in LGBTQ History | Pride & Progress". www.prideandprogress.org. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  3. "Providence, R.I., elects gay mayor (6882)". www.advocate.com. November 7, 2002. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  4. "Convicted Mayor Out of Favor, Not His Issues". Newspapers.com. Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press. September 5, 2002. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  5. "Seven make ballot for mayoral race". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. July 16, 2002. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  6. "Election Results". Rhode Island Board of Elections. September 10, 2002. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  7. "2002 Primary Turnout". www.elections.state.ri. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Archived from the original on April 6, 2003.
  8. "Providence City Survey, Sept. 2002". www.insidepolitics.org. 2002. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  9. "Rhode Island Election Results". Rhode Island State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on June 23, 2003.
  10. "Rhode Island Election Results". www.elections.ri.gov. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Archived from the original on September 23, 2006.
  11. "Election Results". Rhode Island Board of Elections.
  12. Smith, Michelle R. (January 3, 2011). "New Providence Mayor Angel Taveras sworn in". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  13. Winograd, Max (December 8, 2006). "Providence votes to establish term limits for council members, mayor". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  14. "Mayor CITY OF PROVIDENCE". September 23, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  15. "Mayor CITY OF PROVIDENCE". December 17, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  16. McGowan, Dan (November 10, 2020). "The race for Providence mayor is already underway - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  17. "Mayor CITY OF PROVIDENCE". September 26, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  18. Smith, Michelle R. (October 27, 2014). "Obama endorses Democrat in Providence mayoral race". San Diego Union-Tribune. The Associated Press. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  19. Hill, John (July 14, 2014). "Lorne Adrain drops out of Providence mayoral race". providencejournal.com. Providence Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  20. Hill, John (July 16, 2014). "providencejournal.com". www.providencejournal.com. Providence Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  21. "Mayor CITY OF PROVIDENCE". December 3, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  22. "Elorza wins Democratic nomination for Providence mayor". WPRI. September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  23. "Mayor CITY OF PROVIDENCE". September 19, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  24. Fenton, Josh (April 24, 2018). "EXCLUSIVE: Poll Shows Elorza Vulnerable in Re-Election Bid for Providence Mayor". GoLocalProv. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  25. "Mayor CITY OF PROVIDENCE". November 21, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  26. Winograd, Max (December 8, 2006). "Providence votes to establish term limits for council members, mayor". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  27. McGowan, Dan (November 25, 2019). "Who isn't running for Providence mayor in 2022? - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  28. Machado, Steph (October 21, 2020). "Smiley moves toward Providence mayoral run". WPRI.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  29. Machado, Steph (March 22, 2021). "Pulse of Providence Ep. 10: Brett Smiley". WPRI.com. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  30. Turner, Dominique (February 10, 2021). "Brett Smiley steps down as Department of Administration director". abc6.com. WLNE-TV. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  31. Fenton, Josh (December 21, 2020). "NEW: Top Democratic Staffer Cuervo Makes 2022 Providence Mayoral Bid Official UPDATED". GoLocalProv. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  32. Russo, Amy (August 7, 2021). "Here's how Providence's mayoral contenders say they'd address crime, violence and the police". The Providence Journal. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  33. "Pulse of Providence Ep. 12: Gonzalo Cuervo". WPRI. July 19, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  34. "Nirva LaFortune announces run for Providence mayor". WPRI.com. September 27, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  35. Nagle, Kate (June 10, 2021). "EXCLUSIVE: Solomon to Run for Mayor of Providence in 2022". GoLocalProv. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  36. "Michael Solomon drops out of Providence mayoral race in 'tough decision'".
  37. McGowan, Dan (December 17, 2018). "A way-too-early guide to the 2022 Providence mayoral race". WPRI.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  38. Marrocco, Jacob (November 20, 2020). "Conley discusses lessons from primary run, potential 2022 interests". Johnston Sun Rise.
  39. McGowan, Dan (November 10, 2020). "The race for Providence mayor is already underway - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Boston Gobe. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  40. Machado, Steph (April 13, 2021). "John Igliozzi elected president of Providence City Council". WPRI.com. WPRI-TV. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  41. "RI Political Diary: Cuervo Lands Endorsement, Brown Hires New Field Director".
  42. "RI Political Diary: McKee v. Raimando Approval, Cuervo Endorsed by Bell, Nurses Support McKee". www.golocalprov.com. July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  43. "Cuervo Emerges as the Progressive Candidate for Mayor of Providence". www.golocalprov.com. July 26, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  44. Fitzpatrick, Edward. "Rhode Island political news: August". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  45. "Elorza Stiffs Former Top Staffer Smiley and Endorses Cuervo for Mayor of Providence Instead". www.golocalprov.com. August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  46. "LaFortune Endorsed by Former Boston Mayor and Latest News From Campaigns". www.golocalprov.com. June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  47. Seoane, Michael (April 15, 2022). "Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune runs for mayor of Providence on platform of education reform, affordable housing". www.browndailyherald.com. The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  48. "State Rep. Ranglin-Vassell Endorses LaFortune for Mayor". www.golocalprov.com. March 16, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  49. "RI Political Diary: LaFortune Lands Boston Councilor's Endorsement, But None From Prov and More". June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  50. "Democracy for America : Our Candidates". Democracy for America. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  51. "Cuervo and Smiley Are Piling Up Endorsements for Mayor". www.golocalprov.com. December 15, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  52. Machado, Steph (May 31, 2022). "Solomon backs Smiley after exiting Providence mayoral race". www.wpri.com. WPRI-TV. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  53. "RI Political Diary: Baldelli Hunt Endorses Pryor and Vargas Gives Nod to Smiley". www.golocalprov.com. July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  54. Fenton, Josh (June 28, 2021). "Smiley Receives Endorsement From LGBTQ Victory Fund". GoLocalProv. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  55. "2022 Democratic primary results". Retrieved September 24, 2022.
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