In its first major intervention in Providence City Hall politics, RIWFP backs candidates for Mayor, City Council, who are already on the front lines of the city’s defining fights — over rent control, landlord money in local government, and who City Hall answers to

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Rhode Island Working Families Party (RIWFP) today announced its endorsement of seven candidates across Providence, marking the party’s first major intervention in Providence City Hall. 

The endorsements come as Providence faces an affordability crisis and a defining political fight: after the City Council passed a rent stabilization ordinance capping annual rent hikes at 4%, Mayor Brett Smiley vetoed it, and a council override fell short by a single vote in May. Reporting has since shown that at least one councilor who voted against the override raised the bulk of her campaign funds from landlords, property managers, and real estate investors in the weeks before the vote.

This slate is running directly into that fight — for rent stabilization, for keeping landlord and developer money out of City Hall, for a fair school funding formula as schools return to local control on July 1, and for a city government that answers to working people instead of corporate donors. These endorsements both reflect and fuel a groundswell taking shape in Providence, where everyday residents are organizing, knocking doors, and outmuscling the institutional money that has long called the shots at City Hall.

The endorsement also signals a broader alignment of the left around this vision: Reclaim RI and SEIU have already come out in support of David Morales and Reclaim RI behind the Council slate, building a unified coalition behind a shared agenda and candidates that are committed to being champions for working people. For years, the vision of a City Hall and City Council truly run for and by the people has remained out of focus, blocked by an entrenched political establishment beholden to landlords and developers. This slate is RIWFP’s opportunity to bring that vision into focus: a slate of candidates who not only share that vision but are committed to working together, as a governing bloc and alongside allies in the General Assembly, to actually deliver it.

“Working families in Providence are being squeezed by skyrocketing rents, stagnant wages, and a political establishment that too often answers to corporate landlords and developers before it answers to them,” said  said Anusha Venkataraman, RIWFP State Director. “Every candidate on this slate has shown they will be bold and fight for an affordable, accountable, and people-driven city. This endorsement is RIWFP’s clearest signal yet that we are building power up and down the ballot, fortifying progressive leadership at every level of government, from City Hall to the State House. We’re just getting started.”

Endorsements include:

David Morales — Providence Mayor

State Rep. David Morales, first elected in 2020 as the youngest Latino state legislator in the country, is running for Mayor to fix Providence’s affordability crisis. A lifelong renter, Morales is the only major candidate committed to delivering rent stabilization within his first 100 days in office, after Mayor Smiley vetoed the council’s 4% rent cap. He also backs a public developer model for affordable housing, a higher commercial tax rate on Port of Providence polluters, and stronger protections for immigrant residents facing ICE enforcement.

“As a lifelong renter, I’ve felt the squeeze of this affordability crisis firsthand — and I know I’m not alone,” Morales said. “That’s why I’m proud to stand with the Working Families Party. WFP isn’t bankrolled by landlords or corporate donors; it’s built by working people, for working people, and it’s exactly the kind of political home Providence needs right now.” 

This isn’t just an endorsement — it’s the start of a governing coalition that’s going to deliver rent stabilization, fund our schools fairly, and finally build a City Hall that answers to the people who live here, not the people who can afford to buy influence. When I’m mayor, working families will have a seat at the table, and together with WFP we’re going to build a Providence for all.”

Miguel Martinez Youngs — Providence City Council, Ward 1

Miguel Martinez Youngs, former Deputy Policy Director for the Providence City Council, personally wrote the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance — only to watch landlord-backed opposition organize against it. He’s running to unseat an out-of-touch incumbent, defend the rent stabilization law he authored, and ensure schools returning to local control are funded fairly.

Yulyana Torres — Providence City Council, Ward 3

Yulyana Torres, a Providence native and staff attorney at Sojourner House serving survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, is running on housing affordability, rent stabilization, education advocacy, and defending residents’ rights under attack by the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.

Justin Roias — Providence City Council, Ward 4

Justin Roias, the incumbent Ward 4 Councilor and a licensed therapist, has made rent stabilization the defining fight of his first term, organizing alongside DARE’s Tenant and Homeowner Association and pledging not to support a council president who won’t back it. He has blocked giveaway tax breaks to developers, funded new recreational space for his neighborhood, and built one of the strongest tenant union bases in the city — all while refusing contributions from special interests.

Jackie Goldman — Providence City Council, Ward 5

Jackie Goldman (they/them), a public health researcher and longtime community organizer who came within four points of winning this seat in 2022, would have been the deciding vote on the rent stabilization override had they been on the council this term. Goldman is running on housing density, affordable units, and a more equitable school funding formula as schools return to local control.

Miguel Sanchez — Providence City Council, Ward 6

Miguel Sanchez, the incumbent Ward 6 Councilor and Majority Whip, eliminated exclusionary R1 zoning, added millions to the city’s affordable housing trust fund, and helped advance more than 1,000 affordable units in his first term. After voting for the council’s rent stabilization ordinance, he’s committed to bringing it back the moment the council has the votes to override a future veto.

AnnaJane (AJ) Yolken — Providence City Council, Ward 13

AnnaJane (AJ) Yolken works at Project Weber/RENEW, which operates the country’s only regulated overdose prevention center, and co-founded a statewide coalition for drug policy reform. She’s running on housing affordability, raising the minimum wage, fully funding schools, and keeping ICE out of the community. Her opponent is a landlord who testified against the city’s rent stabilization ordinance.