The rent stabilization ordinance proposed by City Council in January 2026 has become a core issue in Providence’s upcoming mayoral election, highlighting disagreements among the Democratic party on how to address housing affordability through policy.
Incumbent Mayor Brett Smiley vetoed the ordinance after it passed City Council, instead opting for limited relief programs called housing stabilization. His opponent, State Representative David Morales, conducted a campaign poll last month that found 74% of Democratic primary voters support capping rent increases at 4% each year. According to a University of Rhode Island poll, 72% of Rhode Islanders support rent stabilization.
Despite the public support indicated by these polls, City Council was one vote shy of the majority vote needed to override Mayor Smiley’s veto. The City Council will vote again Friday, May 15.
Of the votes against the policy, which included Councilors John Goncalves, Ana Vargas, James Taylor, Pedro Espinal and Oscar Vargas, only Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan is term-limited, making the race for her open seat a crucial one for the future of rent stabilization. Three candidates in Ward 5 have already been campaigning to fill Ryan’s open seat for close to six months.
Community activist Jackie Goldman, who is making another push for the Council seat after losing the Democratic primary in 2022, is the only Ward 5 candidate supporting rent stabilization. Former City Council President Michael Solomon is attempting to return to City Hall, and Simon Sarkisian, a former police officer and administrative assistant to the late Judge Frank Caprio, will try to make his political debut.
Ryan’s Exit Makes Ward 5 Key For Housing Votes
Goldman, a healthcare worker and political ally of Morales, was 200 votes shy of winning the Ward 5 seat in 2022. Goldman proposes building low-income units, eliminating tax breaks for luxury developments and rent stabilization to draw down the city’s skyrocketing rents.
“I feel a lot of personal disappointment and sadness and grief about the fact that I was not able to get that 10th, veto-proof majority vote,” said Goldman. “It would’ve had a different outcome that would’ve been massively transformative for the people of Providence and also for Ward 5 residents.”
Ward 5 had one of the higher voter-turnout rates across the city last midterm at 41.64%. The area includes neighborhoods like Mount Pleasant and Manton, where Goldman says renters have seen costs increase “astronomically,” but also includes Elmhurst with many single-family homes.
“The people in my neighborhood, I think they’re more concerned about city services, quality education, keeping our taxes down,” said Solomon, who has a long career in local real estate and owned several restaurants like Wes Rib House and Providence Coal Fire Pizza. He proposes limiting tax raises on seniors who are getting priced out of their homes, but opposes rent increase caps like the one proposed in the rent stabilization ordinance. “It’s not going to reduce anybody’s rents. It’s not going to create any jobs to build housing. It’s not going to produce any new housing. So, I just don’t know what the positives are.”
His campaign site notes that in his past term as City Councilor, he “created a housing fund to help residents get into homes.”
Solomon currently sits on the board of directors for Wiggins Village in Olneyville, which operates hundreds of units limited to low- and moderate-income residents. Solomon’s business ventures did clash with his political career in 2014, when he failed to disclose his position as a partner in a downtown condo development that procured a mortgage from a city agency. He was fined $2,000, and last ran for office in 2022 in a short campaign for mayor.
“Being a landlord is not easy,” said Sarkisian, who said he used to own multiple housing properties but sold them over five years ago. “The only solution is to put in more units, more development.”
Sarkisian was a Providence police officer for 20 years before becoming the administrative assistant to the late Judge Caprio, whose brand of generous courtroom rulings has been seen over 500 million times in his show “Caught in Providence.” Sarkisian still works as the director of operations at the show’s parent company, CityLife Productions, and remains opposed to rent stabilization.
“Every landlord is going to raise the rent 4% every year. You’re guaranteed in five years [a] 20% hike in your rent,” said Sarkisian. “It’s going to scare off the builders. It’s going to scare off the private investors. And once they pull out or they stop building, we’re in another mess.”
Solomon is the clear leader in the Ward 5 race when it comes to campaign finances. After a long career in politics and business ventures, he holds over $125,000 in his campaign account. Goldman is a distant second with around $25,000, while Sarkisian has just over $10,000 on hand.
While Goldman is endorsed by Morales, Solomon said he is being supported by current Ward 5 Councilwoman Ryan as she attempts to secure a seat in the Rhode Island House of Representatives in another pivotal race for the neighborhood.
State Representatives Race Reflects City Debate on Housing
Morales is stepping out of the State House to run for Mayor of Providence, and Ryan is now angling to replace him in District 7. However, she will be challenged by another Morales ally to represent Mount Pleasant, Valley, and Elmhurst neighborhoods, which are included in District 7.
“[Morales] knows I’m up at the state house yelling, screaming, protesting, and for all the right reasons. And [he said] ‘Why is your voice always on the outside of the house? Maybe you should bring your voice inside,’” said Amy Santiago, an outreach worker with over a decade of experience serving homeless individuals through organizations like Crossroads and Better Lives Rhode Island. “[I said] I’m not doing that, I won’t have time for my neighbors. [He said] ‘But this is for your neighbors.’”
Santiago currently works for the state’s Rapid Access Points program in Washington County, which coordinates bringing people into the shelter system. She also helped launch Pete and Andy’s House, a transitional house for women exiting the prison system, located in District 7. Although she’s a professional housing advocate, Santiago said Ryan’s opposition to rent stabilization is personal to her and her neighbors.
“Why isn’t it hurting her the way it’s hurting me? Why isn’t she tossing and turning every night that the families that grew up here alongside her can’t afford to be here anymore?” said Santiago. “I’d love her to work my job for just 24 hours.”
Ryan launched her campaign on May 6 with an event at Triggs Memorial Golf Course. Her host committee includes Mayor Brett Smiley, Michael Solomon and Ward 9 Councilman Pedro Espinal. This will be her second time running for the General Assembly, after losing an attempt to unseat sitting Senator Sam Bell in 2020. Ryan did not respond to a request for comment.
Ryan reported just over $20,000 dollars in campaign funds in April, and Santiago reported just under $10,000.
There is still over a month before candidates can officially put their name on the ballot, but these early races in the northern end of Providence reflect a city fiercely debating how to address the city’s housing crisis.
“I think that 2026 will be an extremely telling moment for the city’s politics,” said Goldman. “It’s one that makes me really hopeful that something better is coming and that there will be people in City Hall that are fighting for affordability.”
Eric Halvarson is a City News Reporter for The Providence Eye.
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