Rent stabilization clash heats up after Smiley follows through with the veto he warned would come

By: Alexander Castro

Outlets: Rhode Island Current

Published: April 20, 2026

Words: 1,652

Last Updated: 2 months, 2 weeks ago

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No one was surprised after the Providence City Council voted 9-6 last Thursday night to pass a rent stabilization ordinance, sending the measure to the mayor’s desk.

On Friday morning, Mayor Brett Smiley vetoed it. Then came his Democratic rival’s rebuke.

“I recognize that rent stabilization is a policy that resonates with many neighbors who are facing real and immediate housing pressures,” Smiley wrote in his veto letter to the council. “It is …

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