Roberto DaSilva won his third-consecutive term and remains the first and only mayor of East Providence following a convincing victory at the polls on Tuesday evening, Nov. 3, 2026.

DaSilva defeated his opponent, political newcomer Patricio Pinto, by a vote count of 11,074 to 4,752 as of press time. DaSilva did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his victory.

Elsewhere in the city, significant changes will be coming to both the city council and the school committee, as incumbents lost or willingly surrendered seats to new blood through the decision not to seek re-election.

Two new faces coming to city council

A significant change will occur in January when the new iteration of the East Providence City Council is seated, with two new members incoming.

The at-large seat held since 2018 by Bob Rodericks (who is also currently the council’s president) was captured convincingly by challenger and political newcomer, Jason Medeiros, who won by a vote count of 7,788 to 6,862 as of press time.

“I guess I could say I didn’t work hard enough,” said Rodericks in the immediate aftermath of the results becoming apparent. “I tried to work hard. My opponent wouldn’t debate, didn’t attend any council meetings, didn’t attend any budget workshops. I thought that was telling, but I guess people don’t see that and were looking for a change.”

Asked if he could quantify the outcome, Rodericks — who first got involved in East Providence politics as a young man back in 1976 on the school committee — said that he had received multiple calls from disgruntled residents telling him that he had voted too many times in alignment with Mayor DaSilva. But considering the mayor’s huge victory over his own opponent, the ultimate outcome of his city-wide race still left him puzzled.

“I knew it would be tight. Close,” he said. “I have to just blame myself. I know I could have maybe done more work. I thought I did, but evidently not. So it is what it is.”

Medeiros, meanwhile, was in celebration mode on Tuesday night.
“I just can't explain how grateful I am for all these people. I didn't win…The City of East Providence won. And that's how I feel right now,” he said. “I will make everybody proud and every decision I make will be for the citizens and residents of East Providence. Not one decision will be made without thinking about every single resident of the city.”

Asked how he felt about the results city-wide, where a mix of incumbents and challengers won, Medeiros said that the onus was on the newly-elected bodies to work together.

“I think the people spoke,” he said. “So we have two choices. We can gridlock it or we can all work together and make this city a better place.”

As to the other seats on the council, Ward 1 will remain the same, as challenger Bethany White lost to incumbent and current council vice president, Frank Rego, by a count of 2,719 to 1,450.

Anna Sousa retained control of the Ward 2 seat, garnering nearly double the votes to her challenger, Kevin Pereira, with a final count of 1,665 to 944 in Sousa’s favor.

Frank Fogarty earned re-election to the Ward 3 seat, beating challenger Chris Teixeira by a count of 2,082 votes to 1,506.

Change will come for Riverside residents, however, as the Ward 4 seat left vacant by incumbent, Rick Lawson (who opted not to run again), will go to Jason Botelho, who beat out former East Providence police detective Michael Spremulli by a count of 2,782 votes to 1,897.

Wards 2 and 4 flip on school committee

With two members running unopposed (at-large incumbent Anthony Ferreira and Ward 1 representative Ryan Queenan), three seats up for grabs on the school committee resulted in three new members to be seated come the New Year.

In Ward 2, incumbent and current vice chair, Tony deSimas, lost an unexpectedly lopsided race to John Medeiros (the father of new the newly elected at-large member of the East Providence City Council, Jay Medeiros), by a vote count of 1,496 to 998. Both Jay and John Medeiros declined to participate in League of Women Voters forums in the lead-up to the election.

In Ward 3, in the seat vacated by current school committee chair David Luiz (who opted not to run for any office), Libby Merrill scored a convincing victory over challenger, Renee Ignacio, with 2,154 votes to 1,240.

The representative for Ward 4 (Riverside), a seat vacated by long-time school committee representative Jessica Beauchaine, was handily won by Chrissy Rossi over Anthony Pedulla by a count of 2,504 to 2,097.
“YESSSSSSSSS is my official quote,” said Rossi on Tuesday night via text message. She later added:

“I am honored and humbled that Riverside put their faith in me to elevate education across our district for EVERY child. I can’t wait to rip into the budget and get this deficit under control.”

Lawson retains Senate District 14

Rhode Island Senate President Valarie Lawson scored a convincing victory over Independent challenger and outspoken online critic, Brian Coogan, for the District 14 seat, winning re-election with 5,470 votes to Coogan’s 2,942.