Providence Councilor Who Led Effort to Defund Police Poised to be Elected Council President
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Providence City Councilor Rachel Miller is poised to be elected to serve as the next President of the Providence City Council.
She has called a caucus of the city council for today — weeks before the general election and months before the swearing in of the Council in January of 2023.
Miller represents Ward 13 (Federal Hill, West End), and over the past two years, she has been the leading advocate to “defund the police.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTMiller and outgoing Councilor Kate Kerwin were the first two members of the City Council to call for the defunding of the Providence Police.
In June of 2020, just weeks after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the Providence Council began to debate police funding.
On June 10, 2020, Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare and Providence Police Chief testified before the Finance Committee on its potential impact.
The goal by advocates and pushed as an initiative of the Providence City Council stated it would be "a gradual process of strategically reallocating resources, funding and responsibilities away from police and towards community-based models of safety, support, and prevention.”
According to multiple sources with firsthand knowledge, Miller has secured nine of the 15 members of the City Council to edge out Councilor Pedro Espanol for the top spot.
If she is able to win the caucus today and hold the coalition until January’s swearing-in of the Council, she will succeed term-limited Council President John Igliozzi.
She is a New York native and received a Bachelor of Arts from Holy Cross and a Bachelor of Science from Rhode Island College.
Miller's voicemail is full, and she could not be reached for comment.
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