Rachel Miller | President, Providence City Council
1. You identify as a queer woman and are the first LGBTQ council president in city history. What significance does this hold? Attacks on LGBTQ community members are on the rise around the country. There are too many young people and adults who do not feel safe sharing their whole selves in our community. The challenge for me … is how to model what’s possible for young people and ensure that I am not the last, and that we open the door for underrepresented people at every level of city government.
2. You are leading one of the youngest and most diverse city councils. Why is having a diverse group of elected officials important? People bring their lived experience into the decisions they make on the council, and so it is a tremendous opportunity for communities that have long felt that their voices are not at the table to be included. This term, the … majority of the council is focused on equity, and that is a net positive for city residents.
3. How does your background in labor and community organizing affect your opinion of the tax deals the city signs with developers? What, if anything, do you want to see changed about these deals? When private development is supported through public dollars, we can have concrete community benefits that can transform residents’ lives while increasing revenue and the tax base. Last term, the council passed reforms focused on registered apprenticeship programs and setting wages for permanent, and construction, jobs on large projects. Now, we can focus on enforcement strategies and increasing access for city residents and businesses.
4. What more do you think the city can do to promote economic development and support small business? Improving women- and minority-owned business strategies is top of mind for this council. We need to make sure that the city follows its own rules in procurement, revisiting strategies in tax agreements, and ensuring that support is evenly accessible through the city, as well as working with small-business owners to find out their key needs.
5. What are your top three priorities in your first year as council president? I am focusing on housing, schools and public/community safety as top priorities in the next city budget. We need to prioritize funding for school buildings and education. … The council is working together to vet policies that will expand [housing] affordability. And conversations about public safety should also incorporate addressing environmental and behavioral health issues.
