Roberto DaSilva
Roberto 'Bob' DaSilva is an American politician currently serving as the first Mayor of the City of East Providence, Rhode Island. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served a State Representative for District 63 in the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 2009 to 2013.
DaSilva is the first Mayor in the history of the City of East Providence as a result of the passing of a 2017 referendum that changed the city's governance from a city manager and city council form of government to a "strong" mayor and city council form of government. Previously, the title of "Mayor" in the city of East Providence was bestowed upon one of the city councillors that was selected by the councillors themselves, and was a purely ceremonial role. In contrast, the current mayor is elected by the citizens of East Providence and is the chief executive of city government. According to The Providence Journal, this new system mirrors that of other Rhode Island cities such as Providence, Cranston and Warwick.
Personal life
DaSilva is married to Karina DaSilva, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic. Together they have two sons, Donovan and Dorian. Upon his election to the mayorship of East Providence, he retired as a Captain of the Pawtucket Police Department. DaSilva holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Roger Williams University. He is also the founder of the East Providence Youth Soccer Association and served as its inaugural president.Rhode Island Legislature
DaSilva was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives from District 63 in 2008, serving from 2009 to 2013. During his first term, he served on the House Labor and House Municipal Government committees. In his second term, DaSilva served on the House Judiciary Committee. During his time in the legislature, DaSilva championed tougher , closing the indoor and . DaSilva was often at odds with his own party's leadership during his tenure. DaSilva was one of only a few Democratic legislators that voted against pension reforms pushed by Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and future political rival Senator Daniel Da Ponte. This move was wide criticized as being too close to the state labor unions.Reform of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families
Representative DaSilva was a strong advocate of reform at the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families. He worked with lobbyist and political scientist Nicholas Alahverdian to introduce several bills that would stop the practice of sending children and adolescents in Rhode Island state care to out of state facilities.DaSilva was featured in a Politifact article about the legislation inspired by Alahverdian, gauging the truthfulness of his claim that "We’re paying out-of-state residential facilities hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more," to house children in state custody." His claim was judged 'mostly true' as the amount was actually millions, not hundreds of thousands. Alahverdian suffered severe torture in several out-of-state placements, and DaSilva stood with him in the Rhode Island State House Rotunda as Alahverdian described what occurred within the DCYF. DaSilva remarked in a press conference that "I was very moved by Nicholas Alahverdian’s story and felt compelled to do something to eliminate the interstate transfer of young people in DCYF care. We have the resources in-state to provide children with the treatments they need, so I see no reason to send them hundreds, even thousands, of miles away from home. This makes an already traumatic experience even worse for a child."
DaSilva and Alahverdian's advocacy for DCYF reform received national coverage in August 2011. DaSilva's financial and ethical concerns were noted in an article published by the Associated Press and published worldwide. Alahverdian noted that "It's an inhumane approach to a human problem. These are the most vulnerable people in Rhode Island. We have the ability to provide for them here. And we're spending all this money to ship them across the country." DaSilva agreed, stating: "The amount of money we're spending here is huge. There are facilities here in Rhode Island that could provide these services. And who does the oversight on these out-of-state facilities? Are they being watched as closely as the ones right here?"
Alahverdian worked with DaSilva to reintroduce the legislation during the 2012 legislative session. The 2012 version of the legislation also included the rights for each child to contact a physician, attorney, and other child welfare officials to help ensure checks and balances on a child's right to be safe and know their rights. DaSilva said that "millions of tax dollars will be saved from outsourcing services to contractors, and more Rhode Islanders will keep their jobs"
Senate race
DaSilva did not seek another term in the House of Representatives in the 2012 election cycle. Instead, he declared his candidacy for the District 14 State Senate seat held by incumbent Sen. Daniel Da Ponte, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. By less than 80 votes, DaSilva narrowly lost to Da Ponte in the primary election.Time out of office
After the 2012 election, DaSilva went on a six year hiatus from politics. During that time, he volunteered in the community, advanced to the rank of Captain in the police department of the city of Pawtucket, and founded the East Providence Youth Soccer Association and served as its inaugural President.Election 2018
In August 2017, DaSilva announced his candidacy for Mayor of East Providence. His first campaign event occurred the following month. In April 2018, DaSilva was endorsed by the East Providence Democratic City Committee.DaSilva's opponent in the general election was James Russo, a former assistant city solicitor and an ex-Chief of Staff to former Rhode Island congressman Robert Weygand.
In the November 2018 general election, DaSilva defeated Russo with 52.2% of the vote. The Providence Journal remarked that the race for the office of the Mayor was "cordial" and stated that the "two candidates on many of the major issues facing the city, including a need to step up development of the waterfront, as well as to lower taxes and repair roads."
Mayor of East Providence
Transition and inauguration
During the transition from election to inauguration, DaSilva announced his nominees for the city's Municipal and Probate Courts. He also announced his selection for the offices of City Solicitor and Assistant City Solicitor. Each appointment required and was subsequently granted approval by the City Council. DaSilva's City Solicitor is Michael Marcello, both having known each other from their time serving in the House of Representatives.DaSilva was sworn into office and inaugurated on January 8, 2019.
Work as Mayor
DaSilva's first city budget as Mayor was proposed in September 2019. The $165.8 million budget included a tax increase that would assist in financing the construction of the city's new high school. The tax increase would add, on average, $104 to each homeowner's property tax bill. DaSilva submitted the budget to the East Providence City Council for review.The City Council ultimately voted against the Mayor's budget. In October 2019, the City Council's budget was passed by the City Council without the signature of Mayor DaSilva, and became the official city budget. He stated at the time that he did not support the budget because of its inclusion of drastic cuts to the human resources budget and no increase in the homestead exemption. DaSilva remarked that "While I have the utmost respect for the City Council and the budget process, I could not in good conscience approve this budget." DaSilva outlined his concerns with the City Council's decision to deny portions of his proposed budget, stating that it was unwise to make cuts in the human resources budget as this omitted funding for training, recruitment and retention, and office supplies. DaSilva also proposed a.5 percent increase in the homestead tax exemption, and this was also denied by the Council.
In November 2019, Mayor DaSilva created the Mayor's Council on Veterans' Affairs through an executive order, his first as mayor. DaSilva stated that "My administration saw there was great need to bring together residents who are dedicated to veterans' affairs and others in the community who represent organizations focus on the betterment of veterans' lives."