Elections are held in
Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
,
Rhode Island to elect
the city's mayor. Such elections are regularly scheduled to be held in
United States midterm election years.
Elections before 1998
1998
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.
2002
The 2002 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election was held on November 5, 2002. It saw the election of
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
nominee
David Cicilline in a
landslide victory
A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...
.
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).
Democratic primary
The
Democratic Party held its
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
on September 10, 2002.
Candidates
*
David Cicilline, member of the
Rhode Island House of Representatives since 1995
*
Joseph R. Paolino Jr., former mayor of Providence (1984–1991) and former
United States ambassador to Malta (1994–1996)
*David V. Igliozzi,
Rhode Island state senator and former Providence city councilor
*Kevin McKenna,
attorney
Attorney may refer to:
* Lawyer
** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions
* Attorney, one who has power of attorney
* ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film
See also
* Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
;Withdrew
*Thomas O'Connor
Polls
Campaigning
David Ciciline and Kevin McKenna launched their campaigns prior to the June conviction of incumbent mayor
Buddy Cianci, and criticized the disgraced mayor.
Paolino and Igliozzi launched their candidacies after Cianci's conviction, and did not openly criticize Cianci.
Igliozzi had once worked in the city's solicitor's office during Cianci's mayoralty.
Paloino pledged to revitalize
blighted areas of the city by cleaning up their parks and schools, and by increasing community
police officers.
Ciciline also advocated for the arts, and proposed making gallery and studio space available to more residents.
While Ciciline was openly gay, Paolino sought to challenge him for support of the city's gay voters.
Results
General election
Candidates
*
David Cicilline (Democrat), member of the
Rhode Island House of Representatives since 1995
*Greg Gerritt (
Green)
*David Talin (
Republican)
*Christopher Young (independent)
;Withdrew
*Pat Cortelessa (independent)
*Robert Farrow (independent)
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.
The sexuality of Cecilline, vying to become the city's first openly
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
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.
Polls
Throughout the campaign, Cecilline was a strong leader in polls.
Results
2006
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
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
was held on September 12, 2006.
Candidates
*
David Cicilline, incumbent mayor since 2003
*Christopher F. Young,
perennial candidate (including as the
Reform nominee for United States Senate in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
and as a candidate for mayor in 2002)
Results
General election
Cicilline faced Republican nominee Daniel S. Harrop III, who had previously run for state house in 2002 as a
Libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
and in 2004 as a Republican.
2010
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
Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United St ...
mayor in the United States.
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.
Democratic primary
Results
General election
Results
2014
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.
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.
On July 14, 2014, businessman Lorne Adrian withdrew his independent candidacy.
Independent candidate Jeffrey E. Lemire failed to get his name on the ballot.
Results
2018
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.
Elorza had been endorsed by the party organization ahead of the primary.
[
]
Polls
Results
General election
Results
2022
The 2022 Providence, Rhode Island mayoral election will be held on November 8, 2022.
Since Providence limits mayors to two consecutive terms, incumbent mayor Jorge Elorza, a Democrat, was term-limited and thus could not run for reelection to a third consecutive term in office.
Democratic primary
Candidates
=Nominee
=
* Brett Smiley, former Rhode Island director of administration and 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
mayoral candidate
=Eliminated in primary
=
*Gonzalo Cuervo, former deputy secretary of state and former chief of staff to Secretary of State of Rhode Island Nellie Gorbea
=Withdrew
=
*Michael Solomon, former Providence City Council president and 2014 mayoral candidate
=Declined
=
*Lorne Adrian, businessman and 2014 independent mayoral candidate2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
*Kobi Dennis, community activist and 2018 mayoral candidateJohn J. Lombardi
John J. Lombardi (born April 30, 1952) is an American Democratic politician from Providence, Rhode Island. As President of the Providence City Council, he served as acting mayor for four months between the conviction of Buddy Cianci and the ele ...
, Rhode Island state representative, former acting mayor, and 2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
mayoral candidate
Endorsements
Results
External links
;Official campaign websites
Gonzalo Cuervo (D) for Mayor
Nirva LaFortune (D) for Mayor
Brett Smiley (D) for Mayor
General election
Results
References
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