Rent control doomed this mayor’s re-election campaign. He has no regrets

Key Points:

• Brett Smiley, elected mayor of Providence in 2022, focused on increasing housing supply through relaxed zoning and streamlined development, resulting in a housing boom with 40% affordable units added in the latest fiscal year.
• Smiley opposed rent control, vetoing a City Council bill capping annual rent hikes at 4%, arguing it would discourage developers and worsen housing shortages; this stance contrasted with the progressive policies popular in Providence.
• Smiley lost the 2023 Democratic primary to David Morales, a 27-year-old democratic socialist who supports rent control and is expected to win the general election, promising to implement rent control within his first 100 days.
• Providence faces a severe housing affordability crisis, with rents rising 40% since 2020 and a shortage exacerbated by an aging housing stock and increased demand from students and higher-income newcomers.
• Rent control policies have mixed impacts in other cities like Portland and St. Paul; Smiley and his team concluded that rent control could worsen affordability in Providence, while Morales believes carefully crafted exemptions will maintain development incentives.