Newly instated term limits have shaken up the Providence City Council. Seven of the fifteen members, sworn in Monday to four-year terms, are new, and all are Democrats. Rachel Miller, who has been representing Ward 13 since 2019, was elected council president, becoming the first member of the LGBTQ community to hold the position. President Miller has brains and integrity; the city is in good hands. More at WPRI.
I haven’t been inside City Hall in a while; there have been some changes on the third floor outside council chambers, including this statue of the goddess Echo. The wall text informs us:
This statue was commissioned during the 1880s and has spent most of its history in the City Clerk’s Office. She is a metaphorical representation of the clerk’s duty to record the voice of the City Council and its members and committees under their auspices.
There is also a new (to me) array of exhibits, one interactive, relating the history of Providence (see below).
Meet your 2023 Providence City Council!
Ward 1: John Goncalves/ Ward 2: Helen Anthony/ Ward 3: Sue AnderBois
Ward 4: Justin Roias/ Ward 5: Jo-Ann Ryan/ Ward 6: Miguel Sanchez
Ward 7: Ana Vargas/ Ward 8: James Taylor/ Ward 9: Juan Pichardo/ Ward 10: Pedro Espinal
Ward 11: Mary Kay Harris/ Ward 12: Althea Graves/ Ward 13: Rachel Miller
Ward 14: Shelley Tracee Peterson/ Ward 15: Oscar Vargas
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