{"id":5149,"date":"2026-07-17T21:36:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5149"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:36:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:36:04","slug":"socialism-or-pragmatism-providence-mayoral-candidates-present-different-visions-in-tv-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5149","title":{"rendered":"Socialism or pragmatism? Providence mayoral candidates present different visions in TV debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>PROVIDENCE \u2014 The two Democrats running for Providence mayor presented divergent visions for the city in a television debate taped Friday morning, as Mayor Brett Smiley defends his back-to-basics governing style against a left-wing challenger, state Representative David Morales, who wants to bring more-socialist ideas to the city.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5147\">Wu, facing blistering criticism from advocates in wake of cyclist\u2019s death, tearfully vows to make Boston streets safer<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The 30-minute debate, taped at WPRI 12\u2019s East Providence studios, is slated to air Friday at 6:30 p.m. on WNAC-TV. It was moderated by reporters Tim White, Ted Nesi, and Alexandra Leslie.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It was the second head-to-head debate for the two primary candidates, who debated in the Globe\u2019s Providence podcast studio in June. It was also the first time the candidates faced each other since Smiley aired an attack ad last week claiming Morales was going to defund the police, a position the 27-year-old state representative has abandoned.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Rhode Map<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Morales\u2019s campaign also raised eyebrows in recent days after a fundraiser at a Brooklyn bar last week where one of his biggest progressive backers, Dan Denvir, said \u201cDavid is going to turn Providence, Rhode Island into a laboratory for municipal socialism.\u201d Morales was seen in a video clapping and nodding at the remark as supporters cheered. The fundraiser included politicians tied to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Smiley, Morales spar in first Democratic primary debate of Providence mayor\u2019s race<\/div>\n<p><span>Smiley slammed Morales on social media, claiming he was going to \u201crun experiments\u201d with Providence residents as a \u201ctest case for a national movement to prove a point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In Friday\u2019s debate, Morales downplayed the \u201claboratory\u201d part of the remarks, but not the socialism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe will not be a laboratory of any sort,\u201d Morales said. \u201cWe will not be conducting experiments. We\u2019ll be making sure that we are delivering on the needs of working people all across our city.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Afterwards, he told the Globe he thinks of socialism as \u201cbasic principles of fairness,\u201d including preventing \u201cprice gouging\u201d in the housing rental market, making improvements to public schools, and \u201chaving a city that all of our neighbors feel welcomed and safe in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMr. Morales is clearly the kind of politician who says one thing behind closed doors when he\u2019s raising money out of state than he does to the people in the community that he\u2019s hoping to serve,\u201d Smiley said during the debate. \u201cHe is part of a national movement and not interested in actually solving problems for Providence residents, which is what I\u2019m focused on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Nesi pointed out that a Gallup poll last year found support for socialism on the rise among Democrats, with 66 percent having a positive view of the ideology.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI try to stay focused on pragmatic, real solutions for people in the city,\u201d Smiley said, including public safety, improving schools, and building more housing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMost of those things are not ideological, they\u2019re not part of the spectrum of socialism to capitalism,\u201d he said. \u201cMost of my constituents, what they want is for their trash to get picked up on time, their kid to be able to walk safely to school, things to not be quite so difficult.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5145\">Mullin pushes states to comply with election demands, echoing Trump\u2019s claims about midterm risks<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Denvir, who made the laboratory comment, pointed to \u201csocialist upsets\u201d in New York and elsewhere as evidence that the left-wing movement is growing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIf Providence elects David Morales mayor and maintains the socialist progressive majority on City Council, they will have the opportunity and the mandate to explore the best, most innovative policies and programs for our municipal government to address urgent crises that working-class people in this city face,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Smiley defended his attack ad about Morales, which is airing on local stations and streaming services. In it, a narrator says: \u201cDavid Morales\u2019s plan to defund the police will turn back the clock to a time when crime kept us up at night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI stand behind everything in that ad,\u201d Smiley said, noting that Morales was \u201cactive\u201d at several rallies calling to defund the police.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHe\u2019s been a state representative for six years and has had ample opportunities to correct the record,\u201d Smiley said. \u201cIt\u2019s only now that he\u2019s running for mayor that he\u2019s decided that he no longer believes that.\u201d He said Morales should apologize to Providence police officers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Morales said he made the comments about defunding police in 2021, after Providence police pepper sprayed children while breaking up a fight on Sayles Street. He didn\u2019t specify exactly when his view on the matter changed, but said he has not called for defunding the police since 2021. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI find it absolutely shameful that the mayor is resorting to desperate attacks that accuse me of wanting to defund the police, despite the fact that our comprehensive public safety plan does not make reference to that,\u201d Morales said. \u201cI\u2019m committed to making sure that we have social services and case management readily available to all of our neighbors, especially those that are dealing with chronic homelessness, in addition to mental health distress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Smiley said Morales\u2019s new public safety plan, which calls for restoring the job of public safety commissioner, teaming up with social service agencies, and prioritizing hiring police from Providence, is a \u201clist of partnerships that we already have, programs we already do.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Providence already gives priority to police officer candidates who live in the city. Smiley opted not to hire a public safety commissioner during his first term after the 2023 retirement of former commissioner Steven Par\u00e9 (Smiley currently also serves as acting commissioner). Smiley did appoint a fire chief for the first time in eight years, a job that had been vacant during Par\u00e9\u2019s tenure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhat\u2019s not in his public safety plan is any mention of getting illegal guns off the street,\u201d Smiley said. \u201cThe only place that there\u2019s a difference in that plan &#8230; is calling for the creation of a new six-figure publicly funded bureaucrat.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5143\">What to know about the latest federal fundraising data from N.H. candidates<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The candidates also debated education, rent control, and other topics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Early voting starts Aug. 20, and the primary election is on Sept. 9.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mayor Brett Smiley is seeking a second term leading Rhode Island\u2019s largest city, but faces a spirited primary challenge from the left in former state Representative David Morales<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Socialism or pragmatism? 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