Two debates, three candidates and four takeaways from Providence’s mayoral race

After several months of campaigning, it’s obvious Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and his Democratic primary opponent, state Rep. David Morales, disagree about many things.

On the fate of three elephants, however, the two men are more aligned.

The question of whether Roger Williams Park Zoo should replace its three departing African elephants came up during a Tuesday morning debate at WPRO’s studios in East Providence, where radio host and journalist Bill Bartholomew questioned the two Democratic candidates for over an hour.

The elephants — Alice, Ginny and Kate — are getting long in the tooth and will move to a sanctuary in Tennessee next year. The relocation plan, Smiley said, is “humane and just,” noting that elephants are social animals and their new home will allow them to age among a bigger herd.

Bartholomew asked if new elephants should be brought in. Both candidates agreed they shouldn’t.

It would not be the only time Smiley and Morales agreed on Tuesday, nor would it be their only debate that day. That evening, Smiley and Morales met again at South Providence Library, this time joined by Republican mayoral candidate Dave Talan for the third and final round of a debate series jointly organized by the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island and Community Libraries of Providence.

Below, four highlights from Tuesday’s doubleheader.

Time, money and morality

Both debates saw Smiley follow the same orbit of argument, one that characterizes Morales as a redundant problem-solver who ignores the Smiley administration’s existing solutions, realistic timelines or accurate calculations of what certain projects could cost.

Morales, meanwhile, has centered his campaign on addressing housing affordability, frequently citing it as a moral obligation of city government. The unequal impacts of pollution, policing and poor city services are just a few areas where the Smiley administration has fallen short for many residents, Morales argued again Tuesday.

These two approaches are crystallized in the pair’s signature disagreement: A rent stabilization ordinance Smiley vetoed earlier this year — one Morales has promised to resurrect if elected.

“It was also sort of a bad version of what I believe is a bad policy,” Smiley said of the Providence City Council’s failed proposal to cap annual rent increases at 4% and create a new bureaucracy to administer the proposed law.

Morales responded with Zillow-based estimates that Providence rents “have increased by over 40% since 2020, which would have been prevented if we had rent stabilization in place,” and added, “Rent increases are serving as eviction notices for so many working people in the city of Providence.”

At the evening debate, Morales added a personal barb to the policy feud.

“When you’re vetoing rent stabilization while your third home in Tiverton is being built, I don’t blame you for being out of touch with your community,” he said.

Smiley offered his own retort later in the night when Morales floated the idea of a bond-funded home repair program. The city already has one, Smiley said.

“Rep. Morales, you don’t have to worry about doing a bond because it’s in this year’s budget,” Smiley said.

The money-time divide surfaced again over Rhode Island Recycled Metals. Smiley defended the city’s court efforts to shut down the polluting scrapyard on Allens Avenue, which he noted is “unlicensed” and “unpermitted.”

Morales thought eminent domain might be an option for the city to seize the land directly so it could be remediated.

“Eminent domain is a fine idea, but you’ve got to pay for it,” Smiley replied. “And so, if you want $15 million of your taxpayer dollars going into the pocket of the owners of Rhode Island Recycled Metals, then go the eminent domain route.”

Not on the same wavelength

The evening’s forum was not without acrimony, but the morning’s radio debate sans Talan was where the two opponents sparred most directly.

Policing, like housing, continues to provoke some of the duo’s fiercest exchanges.

Smiley confronted Morales over his participation in a 2021 police accountability rally, where Morales made the remarks that Smiley’s campaign has since used as evidence that the state rep wanted to defund the police.

“Did he change his mind right before he declared his candidacy, or did he change his mind years ago?” Smiley said.

Morales clarified Tuesday that he did not want to increase the city police budget after officers had pepper-sprayed a crowd, which included children, during a neighborhood dispute in 2021. He reiterated that he had never advocated for emptying police coffers entirely — then pivoted to the Smiley TV ad which made the defunding claim.

“My opponent has spent over $400,000 on television ads that have darkened the color of my skin, and hundreds of thousands more on mailers with racial undertones designed to make you believe that a young brown man is going to make Providence less safe,” Morales said. “And these are just desperate attacks that one would expect to see from a MAGA Republican during these times.”

“Did your campaign darken Rep. Morales’ skin in that ad?” Bartholomew asked Smiley.

“We did not alter his image,” Smiley replied.

The mayor went back on offense to critique Morales’ public safety platform, arguing it would duplicate much of what Providence already does.

“It would have been helpful if he had learned a little bit about what Providence Police do before publishing that report,” Smiley said.

Morales did, however, give a number for the ideal size of the department under his administration: about 456 officers, roughly the current headcount, with recruitment focused on mitigating an anticipated “wave of retirements.”

Talan offered a third lane — sometimes

The only Republican in Tuesday night’s debate and the only candidate not competing in the Sept. 9 primary is Talan, whose most common refrain is a tune of fiscal conservatism.

He told voters Tuesday, as he has before, that his goal is not to spend more of their money or to spend their money injudiciously.

“As a Republican, you’re almost never going to hear me tonight talk about spending more money on anything,” he said.

But Talan would make one exception for snow removal. The capital city should meet or exceed state payments to contractors with the trucks needed to move behemoth-sized snowpiles, like those that clogged Providence streets and sidewalks during the winter’s historic blizzard.

Talan also gave the most unequivocal answer to a question on which his rivals hedged.

When an audience member asked which of the three candidates would pledge not to raise taxes, Smiley said he “can’t make that commitment.” Morales said his administration would “intend not to.”

Talan answered, “Definite no.”

Providence mayoral candidates debate housing, ICE and their vision for city’s future

His other distinctive proposal concerned school transportation: Talan wants to save Providence taxpayers an estimated $10 million annually, he said, by increasing the number of neighborhood schools and decreasing the number of children bused across the city from about 9,000 to 4,500.

The Republican was not always in his own lane, and agreed with both Democrats that Rhode Island Recycled Metals should be closed. He also thought Smiley was right on rent stabilization and a policy barring municipal cooperation with ICE.

Talan had at least one successful punchline Tuesday night.

Morales rephrased, if not softened, his MAGA remark about Smiley’s campaign from earlier in the day, telling the crowd he feels like he’s “running against a Republican with these types of tactics.”

Talan’s retort had the crowd laughing.

“Running against a Republican is not a bad thing, actually,” he said. “Unfortunately, as a registered Republican, I miss out on getting Mayor Smiley’s daily mailing.”

A not-so-captive audience

The candidates had some problems with brevity Tuesday night. They repeatedly stretched the answers to questions meant to yield only a “yes” or a “no” or a single word.

“You have to only use one word because I am afraid of the audience throwing things at me,” joked moderator Amanda Blount when she asked candidates to use but a single utterance to describe their campaign.

Morales went first.

“Housing affordability,” he said.

Next up was Smiley.

“Forgive me,” he said, “I’m afraid I’m going to do the same: Public schools.”

And Talan, extending the bit: “Education. School choice.”

To Blount’s point, the standing-room crowd had been lively, with both their questions, applause, laughter and the occasional shout or groan of disapproval.

At one point, Morales invoked Smiley’s 2022 campaign pledge to make Providence the “best-run city in America.”

“Does it feel like Providence is the best run city in America?” he asked the crowd.

He received a “No,” then a “Yes,” in quick succession.

A later interruption was different, and the forum stopped for several minutes when a woman repeatedly confronted Smiley over claims and concerns she said city officials had ignored. Both organizers and members of the crowd asked her to wait her turn, and after three or so minutes of back and forth, she left the room.

The next audience member pivoted to mental health, homelessness and other public-safety concerns.

“I’ll just say the disruption I’m sure was hard for a lot of people,” Smiley began in his answer. “When you are the mayor, whoever the mayor is, you become the face of government. And obviously we hope she gets the services that she needs and finds peace.”