6 out of 15 City Councilors in Providence are Latino, and The Providence Eye is interviewing them to get to know each one better, as well as better understanding their views on the intersection between identity and governance. Previous interviews can be found at these links: Ana Vargas, Miguel Sanchez, and Shelley Peterson.
City Councilmember Juan Manuel Pichardo represents Ward 9, which includes the Elmwood, South Elmwood, and Roger Williams Park neighborhoods. Providence is divided into 15 wards, and each ward receives one elected councilmember to represent them on City Council. To find your councilor, search your address with this online tool.
Before Councilman Pichardo was serving as President Pro Tempore of Providence City Council, he was the first Dominican American elected to a state Senate seat in the United States.
Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, he was raised by his grandparents in a crowded house without running water or electricity until he reunited with his immigrant mother in Washington Heights at nine years old.
Not long after, his family settled in Providence, where he’s lived ever since. He went to Gilbert Stuart Middle School and Mount Pleasant High School, later attending Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, becoming a first generation college graduate.
He served in the Air Force and got involved with Quisqueya En Acción, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Dominican heritage. Professionally, he went on to work for 14 years at Rhode Island Hospital as a Patient Financial Advocate, helping people access insurance coverage benefits like Medicaid and Social Security. Pichardo became the immigrant kid who gave back.
That story of giving back framed Pichardo’s political rise for years. As a state senator from 2003 to 2017, Pichardo carved out a reputation as a staunch advocate for veterans. He supported legislation to increase veterans services in the city of Providence, citing the increased property tax breaks that veterans receive elsewhere. In Pichardo’s words, “In the city of Providence, the only benefit to property tax relief or break was only about $153 compared to, let’s say, South Kingstown, North Kingstown, where they get a break of close to $10,000.”
He devoted efforts toward “Bring[ing] that pride within our families and within veterans.” His focus on tax relief was not limited to veterans. His most difficult decision has been to raise taxes for homeowners, especially as a homeowner himself. He justified it as a matter of responsibility; services for constituents require revenue.
This kind of pragmatism defined his most recent campaign, this time for City Council. He promised cleaner streets and safer neighborhoods, and he was elected. But, just months later, Pichardo’s decisive win and his compelling story was clouded by a sudden public revelation. The State of Rhode Island Board of Elections initiated an audit of Pichardo’s campaign bank account due to a large reporting discrepancy from the period between May 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. They found that Pichardo had failed to properly disclose $25,000 in contributions and expenses to his campaign.
He was fined $3,000 for this violation and has since accepted responsibility for it. Now, three years after the fact, Pichardo claims that complying “with regulations and laws has always been on top of [his] responsibilities.” He continues to characterize these 2022 violations as “mistakes,” and expresses a clear desire to move on, saying, “At the end of the day, you realize that you’ve made a mistake, you own up to it, you take care of it, and you move on.”
Pichardo has retained a seat on the Providence City Council since 2023 and today, holds several influential positions: President Pro Tempore of the Council, chair of the Special Commission on Veterans Affairs, and chair of the Health, Opportunity, Prosperity, and Education Committee.
Using his leadership roles to advantages, Pichardo has turned his focus to what he sees as the city’s two most pressing issues: education and housing. He believes “It is time we get our schools back,” and the city is well placed to move forward in the best interest of its students. On housing, Pichardo fundamentally believes that there is not enough housing to meet the need. He has worked with the City Council to allocate more money for home repairs and encouraged more development in the city. He and his colleagues have urged, though unsuccessfully, the governor to declare a state of emergency related to the housing crisis in the city, especially during periods of extreme cold.
Most recently, he has spoken out on City Council’s initiative to mail “Know Your Rights” information cards to all city residents by speaking on local Spanish-language radio stations 102.1 FM PODER 1110 and Latina 100.3 FM, along with other City Council initiatives. In April of this year, he also supported a unanimous City Council resolution endorsing legislation proposed by Representative David Morales implementing Ethnic Studies coursework in Providence Public Schools. Pichardo, along with his fellow Councilpeople of Ward 10 and 11, has made some of his post-Covid ARPA funds available to help beautify Broad Street. He’s a strong advocate for his strong roots in the veteran, Dominican, and Ward 10 communities.
Pichardo is positioning himself for a strong re-election campaign, having supported and endorsed much legislation for Latinos in Providence. All eyes are on the City Council now, especially in light of Helen Anthony’s resignation and the upcoming special election to fill her seat. We here at The Providence Eye encourage readers to attend public City Council meetings, or follow ward representatives on social media to learn about their special meetings and events.
To learn more about Councilman Pichardo and other City Council members, visit council.providenceri.gov. To get in touch with your representative, find contact information for City Council members here.
Michelle Alas Molina is a Salvadoran immigrant and a lifelong multilingual learner. She currently studies Latin American and Caribbean Studies and International and Public Affairs at Brown University in the class of 2025, where she is Editor-in-Chief of the Brown Journal of World Affairs and a Bonner Community Fellow at Progreso Latino. She is passionate about equitable education, immigration justice, and democratic institutions.
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