Brett Smiley, who is among a series of candidates running for mayor of Providence in 2022, is the guest this week on Political Roundtable. Smiley, a Democrat, left his post as director of the state Department of Administration earlier this year.
Joining political reporter Ian Donnis on the panel this week are Tim White, investigative reporter at WPRI-TV, Channel 12, and Maureen Moakley, URI emeritus professor of political science.
Here’s an edited transcript of the discussion:
Donnis: Brett Smiley, back in 2014, you were a candidate and you wound up dropping out and throwing your support to Jorge Elorza, because you seemingly did not have a path to victory. Why will things be different this time?
Smiley: 2014 was a unique moment in the city’s history, where we saw the reemergence of Buddy Cianci, and I was deeply concerned that the city would take a giant leap backwards were he to be returned to office. And so I did what a lot of politicians don’t do, which is I put the city’s interests above my own; One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do professionally, which was to suspend my campaign to endorse Jorge Elorza, where we had much more in common than we had apart and then was proud to support him to get elected. This year is an open seat, without that kind of same stark choice, and without that same fear of the city going back to the old ways of doing business,
Donnis: You’ve been touting your government experience having worked for Mayor Elorza and then for Governor Raimondo. At the same time, there are some clear contrasts between yourself and the two other candidates who are already off and running. City Councilor Nirva LaFortune is a Haitian-American, the first member in her family to go to college; Gonzalo Cuervo has worked for the city in the state. He also helped spearhead the victory by the first Latino mayor of Central Falls, James Diossa. So I wonder, do you consider your experience in government more valuable than the lived experience of your two rivals who are people of color in a city where the majority of the residents are people of color?
Smiley: You know, we all bring our lived experience to the table. And I think the field of candidates this year really reflects Providence, which is wonderful. And so what I’m focused on and what I’ve been hearing from people around the city, as I’ve been spending time listening to their concerns, is who can deliver for me, frankly? People hear a lot of promises from politicians? And the residents want to know, how can I trust that you’ll actually get it done? The promises all sound great, but how can I trust that you’ll deliver? And so yes, I think my experience is substantively different than the other people who are considering running this year. And I’m the only person who’s ever negotiated a labor contract, I’m the only person who’s managed a budget or people at this scale. And that’s really what it takes to run an effective government in City Hall. And so I am looking forward to embracing the entire city with a an agenda and a platform that is going to touch every neighborhood in this city. And I think what sets me apart is my track record of actually being able to get things done. And to fulfill some of these promises.
White: Brett, I was just with Col. Hugh Clements of the Providence Police Department, for an upcoming report on Channel 12. And he told me, he thinks the police force should be at 500. Right now it’s at 412 sworn personnel. It would clearly take more resources to get to the number that Col. Clements is talking about. Do you support him on that?
Smiley: I don’t know what the exact right number of sworn officers is. I do support the new class that they’re recruiting and hopefully will be included in the next city budget. And I do support the continued recruitment of diverse candidates into the police force. I know there’s a lot of retirements that are pending. And so we need to keep a steady flow of new recruits coming into the department. And we should continue to make progress as we’ve done over the last, really last three mayors, and last many police academies, have continued to increase diversity. And I would also like to see that diversity work its way up the command structure, so that it’s not just new recruits that reflect the community that they serve, but along with the leadership ranks as well.
White: So a quick follow up on that then, Brett. With that in mind, would you stick with Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare and Col. Hugh Clements if they decided to stick around? Or would you move on from them to try and get somewhat someone more diverse in those positions?
Smiley: So I’m not going to make any personnel commitments as a candidate. I do know that Col. Clements has served with distinction, has the confidence of his officers. And in Colonel Pare as the city’s first public safety commissioner, kind of in the new era of the city, you know, post-Cicilline, have really embraced community policing and modern police tactics and I think have been exceptional leaders both of them.
Moakley: Well, we’d like to talk about your position on the takeover of the Providence schools and the issue with the teachers’ union. The recent vote of no confidence in a Commissioner Infante-Green suggests a really difficult road ahead. Moreover, the debate is splintered out over charter schools in the moratorium — which the governor opposes the moratorium as it stated. And there’s really divisiveness within the minority community about supporting charter schools and or reforming the public school system. How would you handle all of that as mayor?
Smiley: First, with respect to the state takeover, you know, we have had poor results for 30 years, and have let multiple generations of students down and put them on a trajectory in life that has left them having to do remedial education. We have students who graduate with problems from public schools, who have to do remedial work at CCRI, nevertheless at a four-year college. And so we needed to do something different. And I supported the takeover from the governor’s office. You know, this was supposed to be the first year of the implementation of the takeover plan. And of course, it was all COVID and distance learning. My view is that we’ve done something very disruptive to try to get different results. We now need to make sure that it is effective, that the disruption will have been worth it. And then my hope is that we will see a fundamentally new teachers’ union contract. And the first years of the reform proposal implemented and then in the first year of what I hope is my administration and the schools should come back to local control. Ultimately, they should be run at the local level, states intervention should be term limited and brief.
Moakley: So you do support the moratorium on the expansion of charter schools, even the ones that have been had formerly been approved?
Smiley: No, I do not. I think that the Department of Education, the Board of Education, has a rigorous process are ready to evaluate whether the proposed expansions are high-quality charter seats or not. I do support the expansion of high-quality charter seats. And frankly, for me, the only data point that matters is looking at that waitlist. You have families in Providence who want something better for their kids, and I don’t understand how we deny them that opportunity. Not all charter seats are created equal. Some are better and some are others. I have confidence in the Board of Education’s process to only approve those which are high-quality. But I think we have to continue to expand options for families who want what’s best for their kids.
Donnis: Brett Smiley, you had an unforced error even before formally announcing your latest campaign — you returned some campaign contributions from state contractors. This is particularly noteworthy because back around 2007 you established a company that helps candidates to ensure that they’re in compliance with campaign finance regulations. How do you square those two things?
Smiley: I took a voluntary pledge back in November, when I was still a state employee, to try to avoid the appearance of impropriety and hold myself to a higher standard so that there was no concern that I might be using my state position for my campaign’s benefit. And I’m glad that I did that I sought an ethics opinion from an advisory opinion from the Ethics Committee. And it turned out that a couple people that I did not know were state vendors contributed to my campaign. When I was made aware of it, I returned the contributions promptly. And the state GOP decided to file a complaint and make hay with it. And so the complaint was laden with partisan rhetoric and was obviously a target on me and perhaps a way to try to hurt then-Governor Raimondo. But in terms of the substance, there were a few people who should not have donated because of their state business. And those contributions were promptly returned.
White: Brett, you were director of Administration in the waning days of the Raimondo administration. Do you think it was appropriate for Gov. Raimondo to take almost no press questions during the final two and a half months of her administration?
Smiley: You know, the governor’s team was regularly available. Frankly, I was at those press conferences between December and March. And I think we were able to answer the public’s questions about the ongoing public health crisis about vaccinations about the latest restrictions ….
White: …. If I could just interrupt, Brett: but you weren’t elected. Gov. Raimondo was elected. Do you think that is a distinction here with this question?
Smiley: I think the governor’s personal press availabilities, or now the secretary’s, is a question you’re going to have to ask her. I know that my colleagues and I, in state government and the governor’s cabinet, did everything that we could personally to be communicative with the press and the public with the General Assembly and was glad that we were able to be as available as we were.
Moakley: I want to ask you about the federal money that’s going to be coming our way. There’s going to be a lot of money for the state and the city. Many argue for thoughtful long-term transformational projects, and not just more money for more programs that probably can’t be sustained. What are your thoughts on that? Do you have any big ideas about transformational aspects of Providence?
Smiley: So generally speaking, Maureen, I totally agree that we need to be disciplined about using these funds and had an op-ed in the Providence Journal last week to that effect. This is one-time federal money and if it goes to new recurring programs, that will only exacerbate Providence’s structural deficits. And so I think the city should look hard at funding infrastructure projects. The city’s contemplating an over $300 million capital improvement plan. A lot of those projects, I think, should be funded with this stimulus money instead and not borrow for 30 years and burden the city’s taxpayers. We should also look at digital infrastructure. You know, my candidacy and my focus is really based upon improving the quality of life and infrastructure and ease of doing business in Providence. One of the things that never gets done, because they’re expensive, are digital infrastructure. So things like being able to get copies of forms, pay your taxes, pay your bills. I would love a world in which nobody ever needed to go to City Hall ever again. And that’s going to take a little bit of money. That’s a very appropriate use. And then the last thing that I think we should consider is contemplating an additional payment to the city’s pension fund. We have a billion dollar unfunded liability. And I think it is meaningful to be able to say to both our retirees, our active employees, and to state leaders whose help we might need one day that when we could do more, we did do more, because I’m sure there will come a day when we can’t do more. And we’re going to need help.
Donnis: You count Mayor Elorza as a friend and you worked in his administration. What do you consider his greatest success as mayor and his biggest shortcoming?
Smiley: You know, the mayor has run operating surpluses every year up until the pandemic, which is no small feat, managing the city where nearly half of the property on the tax rolls are tax-exempt. There are colleges, universities and hospitals. And still paying 100 percent of the bills on 50 percent of the tax base is not an easy task. And so I think the mayor has done a great job of running operating surpluses and being fiscally responsible over the last six years.
Donnis: How about his biggest shortcoming?
Smiley: You know, I remain focused on these core quality of life issues, the quality of our infrastructure, the you know, streets, they get cut into just after they’ve been repaved. And as a taxpayer and someone in the city like nothing makes me crazier. I still think we can do a better job of holding whether it’s national grid or the other utilities accountable.
Donnis: I’ve saved the most sensitive political question for last — where’s your favorite place to go for pizza?
Smiley: Pizza J on the West Side. I used to be a big Nice Slice guy. But when they when they moved over to Westminster Street, I can’t walk there anymore. So I’ll say Pizza J.
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org. Follow him on Twitter @IanDon. Sign up here for his weekly RI politics and media newsletter.
