Photo courtesy of WJAR
By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com
Jorge Elorza secured his seat at City Hall as the next Mayor of Providence after beating his opponent, independent Buddy Cianci, by nearly 2,000 votes.
Elorza pushed through an excited crowd at the Biltmore shouting his name and chanting “Si se puede” (Yes we can) and delivered his acceptance speech. Elorza said he looks forward to delivering his vision for Providence, and thanked Cianci for the spirited debate.
“Today we showed our readiness to move forward together and to close the book on Providence’s past and start a new chapter of prosperity and opportunity in our city,” said Elorza.
Early in the evening, Elorza trailed by margin of hundreds of votes, but when the East Side precincts began reporting, the former housing court judge pulled away by well over one thousand votes.
Elorza inherits a Providence with a citizenry dissatisfied with a perceived increase in street violence and a failing schools and infrastructure.
“I listened when you said that you believed that Providence is at a critical crossroads, that we need strong leadership to grow our economy, to fix our schools, to reduce violence, and to provide high quality city services,” said Elorza.
