Jorge Elorza

Early life and education

Elorza's parents immigrated from Guatemala in 1975. Jorge Elorza was born and raised in the West End of Providence, Rhode Island. He attended local public schools, including Asa Messer elementary, Bridgham middle school, and Classical High School. The first of his family to attend college, he enrolled at the Community College of Rhode Island before transferring to the University of Rhode Island. He worked as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York, and then attended Harvard Law School, where he graduated with a Juris Doctor.

After the death of a hometown friend, Elorza left Wall Street and returned to Rhode Island. Elorza teaches law at the Roger Williams University School of Law. In 2010 he was appointed to the Providence Housing Court, where he replaced Angel Taveras.

Mayor of Providence (2015–present)

The Providence mayoral race in 2014 was Elorza's first try at elective office. He was sworn in as mayor on 5 January 2015 on the steps of Providence City Hall. In his inaugural speech, Elorza promised to deliver "a city that works".

Early in his first term, Elorza was credited for working closely with the City Council and Governor's office. Within his first 100 days he appointed an "innovation officer" to streamline operations and coordinate city activities. He appointed a representative to the city ethics commission for the first time in nine years. He also reached out to constituents with a "Twitter Town Hall."

During his first year in office, Elorza implemented a complaint response system which generated responses to a backlog of thousands of unanswered complaints to the city. City Hall employees have been required to take customer-service training. New contracts were reached with the City Hall and Public Works and Parks Department unions. A program was set up to take control of abandoned houses, and turn them over to buyers who will fix them. Elorza also created an anti-prostitution effort known as "Operation Backpage", which has arrested several dozen men for solicitation.

Budget

Elorza's government faced a budget shortfall during his first year. However, in October 2016, Elorza announced a $9.5 million budget surplus for the 2015-2016 budget year. This was Providence's largest surplus in at least 20 years. Critics claimed the surplus was partly due to not hiring needed police and firefighters.

Firefighters union

Elorza faced a long fight with the city's firefighters union over schedule changes. In September 2016, after 13 months of lawsuits, arbitration, and sometimes nasty public exchanges, Elorza and the president of the union finally came to an agreement.

Parking meters

Elorza presided over an expansion of new, high-tech parking meters in Providence. Between January 2015 and September 2016, Elorza's administration increased the number of metered parking spaces by 50 percent, from 1,400 to 2,100. Critics of the plan say that the meters hurt local business, and that the reduced tax revenue from businesses hurt by the meters is greater than the increased revenue from the parking fees.

"One Providence" initiative

Following the November 2016 Presidential election, Elorza established the "One Providence" initiative to respond to reports of increased hate crimes against Muslims, LGBTQ people, and minorities in Providence. The initiative includes a new "hotline" to report crime, and the establishment of a Muslim-American advisory board. The initiative was established to "protect and serve every resident of the city" without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion or disability. While the mayor vowed to protect undocumented immigrants from attempts at unfair deportation by the Trump administration, he said he has no plans to establish Providence as a "sanctuary city."

Environmental initiatives

In 2016, Elorza set a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Elorza is a supporter of improving the city’s biking infrastructure, and in 2017 a new greenway opened in Roger Williams Park. Elorza leads a quarterly bicycle ride though Providence called "Bike the Night" to highlight the city's cycling infrastructure.

Personal life

Elorza is an avid cyclist and fitness enthusiast. He frequently commutes by bicycle from his home in Olneyville to City Hall.