Providence Lacks Leadership in Face of Growing Challenges, Says Sasse

Providence Lacks Leadership in Face of Growing Challenges, Says Sasse

Gary Sasse, who over the past three decades has advised Providence Mayors, the City Council and Democratic and Republican Governors in Rhode Island, says Providence is facing a significant leadership void.

“It's speaking out when things go wrong. It's taking leadership and proposing solutions to problems -- and now, you don't see a dynamic, vibrant leadership that's trying to stay out ahead of the curve,” said Sasse, who previously served as Director of Administration for the state. 

During this weekend’s ongoing violence or in the aftermath, neither Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza nor Providence City Council President Sabina Matos issued any public statement.

Presently, the State of Rhode Island is in the process of taking over Providence schools due to the underperformance of the system and the city has been hit with a series of violent crimes.

“The fundamentals that what a city exists for -- to make life better for the people that live in the cities and the schools -- are terrible,” said Sasse in his appearance on GoLocal LIVE’s Business Monday.

“If you look at the municipal budget and what they spend their money on, [Providence] spends 25 percent on public safety and another 50 or 60 percent on schools, so four-fifths of the budget fund the two functions that were doing poorly at,” said Sasse.

As GoLocal recently reported, police numbers -- at those levels -- are severely understaffed.

Crime Realities and Perceptions

“I haven't looked at the most recent FBI crime statistics, so I can't tell you... in a kind of scientific way what our crime situation is -- [but] I could certainly tell you from a perception viewpoint, it's a terrible year and from a perception viewpoint that becomes the reality,” said Sasse who heads the Hassenfeld Institute at Bryant University. 

Providence has been suffering through a series of high profile crimes.

The brutal Federal Hill attack by a gang of men on Stephen Cabral, 28, of North Providence captured on video shocked the city and the country.

Groups of youth on hi-jacked Jump Bikes, terrorizing neighborhoods and assaulting bystanders. Last week, it was announced the use of the bikes have been suspended.

This past weekend there were a series of violent attacks.

- Three men were stabbed outside a club on Broad Street Saturday morning. All three men were taken to the hospital. The Noah Lounge has been closed by the Board of Licenses -- the Board will hold a show-cause hearing on Monday.

- A 32-year-old man reported that he was shot in the hand on early Saturday. He told police that he was wounded in a robbery attempt on Oxford Street. He was hospitalized.

- On Saturday, Berta Hudson, 48 was shot and killed by her estranged husband on Charles Street. He ran to a neighboring house and when police surrounded him, Oscar Hudson killed himself.

- A stabbing occurred at the G Pub garage in the Financial District on Sunday morning at approximately 2:00 AM. The Board of Licenses has ordered the club on Orange Street to be closed.