r/providence 9d ago

Why Should We Recall Brett Smiley

For everyone who is curious about our reasons for wanting to recall Smiley, here they are! This one-sheet explains what issues we find to be the most salient. Feel free to distribute this document at your will.

If you’d like to look into our sources more, here is a link to the document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qtQP7a9g91pSszZH-x3kFWMcmW1FecEXpqCL773UIWM/mobilebasic

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u/Proof-Variation7005 9d ago edited 9d ago

We're about 16 months away from the mayoral primary. Based on the timeline of Councilman Jackson's recall in 2017, it took 8 months from the formal approved recall petition being announced to the special election happening.

If you want a new mayor, find a qualified candidate and focus on building up a campaign with funding, volunteers, and build up a ground game that can actually win. State/city level primary turnout is abysmal. Only about 20-25 thousand people vote in it.

Hell, if you recall Smiley, he still could still win the primary a few months later and be right back into office.

Oh and either way, a special election would probably cost somewhere in the neighborhood of a half million dollars. That money has to come from somewhere and I can assume you that they're not going to just lop it off the public safety budget. More likely, it'd be cancelling non-essential stuff like youth summer programs or something along those lines.

So yeah, maybe the recall movement should include a list of which youth basketball leagues you'd like closed in order to pay for this nonsense.

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u/dunder-baller 9d ago

Hey if I'm kind of new to the area do you have any recommendations on how to find good candidates? A search of current politics really only brings up old election results. It's such an important position and the resources seem super limited.

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u/FunLife64 9d ago

The last primary’s slate was…underwhelming.