Pulse of Providence

Col. Oscar Perez is the first Latino police chief in the city of Providence.

The 195 Redevelopment District Commission has a new leader, following the resignation of its former chairman last month. Marc Crisafulli was named chair of the commission by Gov. Dan McKee last week, replacing Robert Davis at the helm.

As the commission continues to try and sell off parcels of the land that used to be Interstate 195, Crisafulli says he wants to refocus on commercial and life sciences developments.

In this exclusive interview on Pulse of Providence, Crisafulli answers questions about affordable housing, parking requirements, and whether the Fane Tower is going to be built.

Mayor Jorge Elorza is leaving office after eight years, wrapping up two terms leading the capital city that have been marked by a pandemic, crisis in education and ongoing pension problem.

Perhaps nothing loomed larger over Elorza's second term than the state takeover of the Providence public school system.

Elorza contends he didn't lose control of the schools -- he gave them away. But now, extremely critical of the way the turnaround has gone, does the mayor regret anything?

In this episode of Pulse of Providence, hear what the outgoing mayor has to say about the city schools, his signature achievements and unfinished businesses as he prepares to hand the keys to City Hall over to Mayor-elect Brett Smiley in January.

Rachel Miller is expected to be the next president of the Providence City Council.

Coming off a stint as Rhode Island's director of administration, Brett Smiley says his experience sets him apart in from his two rivals in the race for mayor.

Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune has represented Ward 3 on the Providence City Council for five years, and is now hoping to be elected mayor of the capital city.

There’s just about a month left until the first votes are cast in the race for Providence mayor, and former deputy secretary of state Gonzalo Cuervo is up against Nirva LaFortune and Brett Smiley for the open seat.

Pulse of Providence interviewed all three mayoral candidates in the past week, the second appearance for each of the the Democrats on the program.

With the August campaign rush ahead, can Cuervo and LaFortune catch up to the financial leader that is Brett Smiley? Where do the candidates stand on the plan to create a partly elected school board, or the new license plate cameras going up in Providence? Will they pull the trigger to borrow $515 million for pension system? And why hasn’t Mayor Elorza endorsed anyone yet?

The only thing we do know is that the winner will be determined on Sept. 13; there are no Republicans or independents who qualified for the November ballot.

Listen to the interview with Gonzalo Cuervo above. And stay tuned this week for more mayoral candidate interviews.

It’s been nine months since Mayor Jorge Elorza’s decision to appoint his recreation director to a new high-level police major job sparked backlash, leading to a political controversy and monthslong stalemate between Elorza and the City Council.

The dispute was finally solved this spring, and Michael Stephens is now in a reworked civilian role at the Police Department, making $137,000 a year as the administrator of community relations and diversion services.

In the above episode of Pulse of Providence, Stephens sits down for an exclusive interview about the controversy and the work he hopes to do to improve relationships between the community and the police in Providence.

Also joining Stephens for the interview is Major Kevin Lanni, leader of the newly created community operation and engagement bureau.

At age 19, fresh out of Juanita Sanchez High School, Ty'Relle Stephens became the youngest member of the Providence School Board. Now he's trying to shake things up amid a state takeover of the school department that he doesn't think is working.

John Igliozzi has been on the Providence City Council since Bill Clinton was president, but one year from now he will finally step down due to term limits enacted during his tenure.

Now the council's president, Igliozzi has a lot of plans for his final year, including leading the once-per-decade process to amend the city charter, redrawing the city's ward boundaries and figuring out how to spend a cascade of one-time cash from federal COVID relief.