Former East Providence City Councilwoman and School Committee member Chrissy Rossi announced via Facebook on February 21st that she would be seeking to be East Providence's first elected Mayor.
Rossi joins Nicholas Oliver, Roberto Dasilva and James Russo in a so far subdued campaign for the top city office.
Rossi started her political career on the East Providence School Committee representing Ward 4 from 2010 to 2012, during her term on the School Committee, she often clashed with the state appointed Budget Commission, particularly its chair Michael O'Keefe. Rossi was a key supporter of middle school sports in both her School Committee role and in the community.
In 2012, Rossi sought the Ward 4 City Council seat against incumbent Michael DiGoia. DiGoia dropped out of the race before the election. During her tenure on the City Council Rossi often challenged Acting City Manager Paul Lemont as well as then Ward 1 Councilman and Council President Jim Briden. That tenure saw the Budget Commission turn power back over to local leaders. Conflicts between the council resulted in a state police investigation which ultimately did not result in any charges.
In 2014, Rossi narrowly lost her seat to Tim Conley and in 2016 she ran for the at-large School Committee seat held by Joel Monteiro, though she did not actively campaign citing personal family issues.
In the meantime, while out of office, Rossi has been active in the Riverside Middle School and Whitenact PTAs and founded a non-profit called EP Kids. Rossi has been active with the iconic Looff Carousel in Riverside, serving 8 years on the Looff Carousel Preservation and Restoration Committee and serving as the most recent chair of the Carousel Park Commission. Rossi has been active in attempting to revitalize the site in an effort to both bring more recreation to the area and to generate revenue to sustain the historic landmark.
In her announcement on her website, Rossi states:
"Besides working as a licensed and insured realtor, I have a fifteen year collective history working in the construction industry as a cost accountant and project manager. My background, education and career choices provide both the knowledge and experience to qualify me as a candidate for the position of Mayor."
Rossi launched her campaign website www.chrissyrossi.com at the same time she declared her candidacy.