As he stepped up to the microphone to claim victory in the Providence mayor’s race, David Morales spotted a trusted supporter down in the crowd, stage right.
Morales suddenly jumped off the riser like a wrestler leaping from the turnbuckle – not to attack, but to hug a friend. The state representative, now mayor-elect, has moonlighted for years as a championship wrestler.
Known for his bright suits and his progressive politics, Morales represents a new generation of leadership for Rhode Island’s capital, promising to take the city in a new political direction.
The city’s voters enthusiastically gave him a mandate. The democratic socialist won more than 80% of the vote against Republican David Talan.
“Across Rhode Island, and right here in our capital city of Providence, our neighbors voted overwhelmingly for the change that they deserve,” he said in his victory speech.
As Providence’s 40th mayor, he will be the youngest the city has ever elected. Before Morales’s victory Tuesday, that title belonged to Joseph Paolino Jr., elected in 1984 at age 29.
Morales, at 28, is nearly a full year younger. He’s six years younger than the contemporary mayor with whom he is most often compared, New York’s Zohran Mamdani.
“As a young person of color, especially someone who was elected to a legislature at the age of 21, I've gotten used to having quote-unquote extra scrutiny and layers of scrutiny when it comes to decisions,” Morales said in an interview with Ocean State Media.
“For that reason, I've always seen it to be a very significant responsibility to not only represent a generation of young people, to represent Latinos, to represent a progressive ideology when it comes to governing,” he said. “And for that reason, I am prepared to take on that extra scrutiny.”
He’s used to being the youngest, having won his first campaign at 22, shortly after earning his Master of Public Affairs degree at Brown, the youngest graduate in the program’s history.
Morales was the youngest state lawmaker at the statehouse when he took office representing District 7, which covers Providence’s Mount Pleasant, Valley and Elmhurst neighborhoods. Even after three terms in that post, he’s still the state’s youngest legislator.
On Smith Hill, he championed issues that matter to working people, including raising the minimum wage, lowering prescription drug costs, extending health insurance to low-income children regardless of immigration status, and protecting tenants' rights.
They’re the same types of issues he campaigned on for mayor:
Morales recently described his political mission statement this way: “To take on corporate interests and fight for the needs of work and people and families all across Providence.”
“And that’s what I’m prepared to do,” he said.
As mayor, Morales will face several urgent issues. He framed the primary race as a simple choice about affordable housing. He will also inherit a school system in crisis, back under city control after a seven-year takeover by the state.
Within the first 100 days of his administration, Morales has vowed to reintroduce the rent stabilization ordinance his predecessor vetoed.
He has promised to pull the plug on the citywide system of Flock cameras that automatically record the license plates of every car passing by.
He enthusiastically supports Question 7, the Providence ballot initiative requiring the city to “divest from countries and companies profiting from genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and prolonged military occupation.”
His predecessor at City Hall, incumbent Mayor Brett Smiley, is diametrically opposed on all three issues. After losing a bitter primary battle, Smiley broke with tradition and declined to endorse Morales in the general election.
Morales’s campaign drew frequent comparisons with New York’s Mamdani, another young Democratic Socialist. Like Mamdani, Morales wants to stop rents from continuing to climb, says bus service should be free for school children, and hopes to build more affordable housing.
Shortly after Morales clinched the Democratic primary, the two men connected by phone for the first time.
“We spoke about the importance of making sure that when it comes time to govern, that we're delivering for our neighbors,” Morales said. “And he mentioned to me the importance of the transition period.”
Morales said he has also spoken with three out of Rhode Island’s four members of Congress. (Morales didn’t say which member of the state delegation dodged a meeting.)
Morales said he has also connected by phone with governor-elect Helena Foulkes.
“They've all been pleasant conversations on how we make sure we're delivering for our neighbors when it comes to the needs around housing,” Morales said.
In the coming days, Morales must make the transition from being a rebel backbencher to being part of the city’s political establishment, the city’s most prominent advocate.
How prepared is he for that?
“What is the saying? ‘You live long enough to see yourself become the villain,’ quote-unquote?” Morales said with a chuckle.
“No,” he said. “Our neighbors are tired of the status quo; they want to see change. To take on corporate interests and fight for the needs of working families across Providence. And that’s what I’m prepared to do.”
