2025 Year in Review

Hello Friends & Neighbors,

What a year 2025 has been.  This community continues to inspire me in all the ways you care for and support each other. It is such an honor to work on your behalf every day! Since I am accountable to each of you, I want to some of the major highlights of what I worked on and accomplished as City Councilor this year.  It was a busy year -- so grab a holiday beverage and read on!

Legislative Leadership & Budget Oversight:

• FY25 budget: Provided thorough and transparent vetting of the FY26 budget as member of the Finance Committee

• FY 26 Budget: Prevented the cut of an effective staff person in the Sustainability Department

• Equitable taxes: Helped negotiate more equitable tax increases that would not disproportionately affect small-scale owner-occupied multifamily housing;

• Oversight on Government Spending: As a member of finance committee, reviewed and provided oversight on contracts and spending for countless city projects, including school buildings; tax stabilization agreements; city grants; infrastructure investments, and more;

• Benefit Street:  Co-sponsored and supported a $6.2 million special bond for pedestrian and safety infrastructure along historic Benefit Street (first passage complete);

• Waterfire: Vetted and supported the approval of a bond to purchase & lease the Waterfire Arts building and help rescue a valuable community and economic asset.

• Gas Leaf Blowers:  Sponsored and passed gas leaf blower phase out legislation, which included input from many members of our community;

• Zone Changes: Sponsored and passed legislation for a zone change that allowed the new Paper Crown to open on Hope Street and build out an outdoor play space on what used to be unused parking spaces

• Rodenticides: Sponsored a unanimous resolution to support Rep. Rebecca Kislak's state level legislation to ban toxic rodenticides that are killing our bird population without solving our rodent infestations;

• Rental Algorithm Bans:  Supported the ban on the use of rental algorithms by large landlords, which can drive up rents and reduce occupancy, affecting our housing crisis.

• Community Safety Act: Supported changes to the Community Safety Act that would better clarify and prohibit  police collaboration with ICE.  

• Pedestrian and Traffic Safety: Led on the Council's commitment to pedestrian and traffic safety -- and participated in both AARP's Walk-tober and the World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Traffic Violence.

  
  

Infrastructure:

• Nathan Bishop Courts:  Construction finally began on the Nathan Bishop courts -- which I am fully funding through a combination of federal and neighborhood infrastructure funds!  The courts will be finalized when construction season restarts in spring, and I cannot wait to celebrate with you all!

• Billy Taylor Park: The bridge connecting Billy Taylor Park to the community was completed this year with  fantastic artwork created by Ward 3 resident Brendan R & a team at Parks and the Steelyard! (I was glad to help support with my Neighborhood Improvement Funds and also co-hosting community engagement sessions with the Parks Department). (We celebrated the ribbon cutting on my birthday - which was the best gift I could have asked for!)

• North Main Street:  It was a busy year for change on North Main (with more to come!):

  • In partnership with the Streets Coalition, updated the intersection of North Main and Benefit to not only increase safety but also beautify with planters! Thank you to Bloom RI for supporting this work!

  • Updated all intersections to be "No Turn on Red" in partnership with RIDOT

  • Invested in $500,000 in increased lighting across the corridor - including pedestrian level lighting near the University Heights Marketplace - for increased safety and visibility

  • Sponsored and supported the unanimous passage of a resolution to allow the City to go out to bid using State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funds for larger scale design/engineering for longer-term structural change on North Main.

  • Helped Miriam Hospital partner with RIPTA on the Wave to Work program -- enrolling nearly 200 employees to more regularly take public transit to work!

Community Engagement & Celebration:

Communicating with and hearing input from across the community is incredibly important to me as a councilor. To do so, I have:

• Provided updates on policy, events, and meetings via this newsletter every 2-3 weeks

• Held regular community meetings on a variety of topics including (but not limited to):

  • Updates and input on school construction in Ward 3 (MLK, Nathan Bishop, Hope High)

    • Town Hall co-hosted with Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (also broadcast on Capitol TV)

    • Questions/Answers/Concerns on the Mayor's new 311 system

    • Student Housing legislation introduced by my colleagues

    • Updates on infrastructure investments

    • Parking Challenges near Morris and Olney

• Co-Hosted Earth Day work-day celebrations with North Burial Ground to support the pollinator garden and remove litter from across the grounds.

• Celebrated our 3rd Annual Halloween Trunk or Treat with Rep. Rebecca Kislak and Sen. Tiara Mack at Billy Taylor Park

• Co-Hosted Light up Hope for Democracy with our neighbor Darlene Allen to demonstrate our neighborhood's support for democracy during these challenging times

• Co-Hosted 2nd Annual Holiday Lights Celebration at Lippitt Park featuring the Extraordinary Rendition Band - this year in partnership with the Friends of Lippitt Park, the Jewish Alliance, the Parks Department, and the Arts Culture and Tourism Department (this is tonight at 7pm!)

• Councilman Danny Lopes Way: Was proud to sponsor and support the resolution that ceremonially renames Camp Street after Councilman Danny Lopes, who dedicated so much of his life and energy to Providence.

• Presented on the Comprehensive Plan & zoning to community members at Laurelmeade

• Supported the SEIU at the Butler Strike on Blackstone Blvd

• Presented on my work in government on many panels/events, including with URI Extension; the New England Women in Energy and the Environment; the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships Spring Forum; and the "Why Nothing Works" panel hosted by Neighbors Welcome and Grow Smart RI (and local author Marc Dunkelman)

• Spoke at several rallies and forums -- ensuring neighbors know that elected leaders stand with them during these challenging times

• Visited several schools as part of Read across America's reading week, as well as to talk about Civic Engagement with students at the high school and college levels.

• Responded to countless emails, calls, and other outreach from constituents and Rhode Islanders

Committees:

I am an active member of many Council & City Committees including:

• Chair, Special Committee on the Environment & Resiliency

• Chair, North Main Street Task Force

• Member, Finance Committee

• Member, Committee on Health Opportunity Prosperity and Education (HOPE)

• Vice Chair, Public Property Committee

• Commissioner, Providence Parks Commission

Phew!! What a year!! And while this list is far from comprehensive - it's hard to show the behind the scenes, late-night calls and negotiations; the budget documents spread across dining room tables; the hours of edits and rewrites to get an ordinance as close to perfect as possible; and much more. Thank you for entrusting me to represent you. It continues to be the honor of my life to serve our community.

2026 & Beyond:

Friends, we have some big challenges and opportunities ahead of us in the coming years.  We need & deserve leaders who will recognize the challenges we face and not waste time finger pointing or blaming -- leaders with a backbone who lead with heart and who roll up our sleeves and work together collaboratively to get things done.

As I have shared, I am running to be our next Lt. Governor in 2026. I will bring purpose and vision to the Office of Lieutenant Governor and a can-do spirit of what government can accomplish. You can check out my launch video here to hear more about my vision for the work ahead!

I can't do it alone. Please sign up to volunteer here, and if you are so able, contribute anything from $1 up to an annual $2000 by December 31 either via this link or by sending a check to Friends of Sue AnderBois at 166 5th St, Providence 02906.

I look forward to all the ways I can work to support our communities in 2026 & beyond! As always reach out to me anytime by replying to this email or attending an upcoming community meeting!

With Deep Gratitude,

Councilor Sue AnderBois