Jorge Elorza

Jorge O. Elorza (born November 24, 1976) is an American law professor who served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island from 2015 until 2023. He defeated former mayor Buddy Cianci in the 2014 mayoral election and on January 5, 2015, was sworn in as mayor of the city.

Early life and education Elorza's parents immigrated from Guatemala in 1975. He worked as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York, and then attended Harvard Law School, where he graduated with a Juris Doctor. In 2010 he was appointed to the Providence Housing Court, where he replaced Angel Taveras. In his inaugural speech, Elorza promised to deliver "a city that works". He subsequently won the general election.

Budget Elorza's government faced a budget shortfall during his first year. This was Providence's largest surplus in at least 20 years.

Parking meters Elorza presided over an expansion of new, high-tech parking meters in Providence. The initiative includes a new "hotline" to report crime,

Environmental initiatives Mayor Elorza addresses riders before the start of his quarterly "Bike the Night" ride through Providence. In 2016, Elorza set a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Elorza is a supporter of improving the city's biking infrastructure, and in 2017 a new greenway opened in Roger Williams Park. Elorza leads a quarterly bicycle ride through Providence called "Bike the Night" to highlight the city's cycling infrastructure. Despite the system being popular enough to expand in April 2019, in summer 2019 a new model of bike was introduced with a less secure lock and the price of a ride increased 450%. This led to the bicycles becoming associated with a "wave of vandalism and criminal activity" including widespread thefts of bicycles, bikes tossed into the Providence river, and even a company tech held at gunpoint. The plan includes establishing an "Urban Trail Network" which includes 60 miles of bicycle paths, bike lanes, and greenways within Providence.

Unified Vision plan Elorza's Providence Unified Vision public space project was introduced in July 2021.

Reparations In July 2020, in response to the Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd, Mayor Elorza signed an executive order meant to start a city truth commission, intending to atone for Providence's role in Black slavery, institutional racism, and the mistreatment of Native Americans. In June 2021, Elorza was one of 11 U.S. mayors who formed Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE), a coalition of municipal leaders dedicated to starting pilot reparations programs in their cities. In March 2022, Elorza signed an executive order creating the 13-member Providence Municipal Reparations Commission. In August 2022, after receiving the commission's report and recommendations, Mayor Elorza proposed a $10 million reparations spending plan for the city.

Personal life Elorza is an avid cyclist and fitness enthusiast.

In August 2019, Elorza married Stephanie Gonzalez, a former Central Falls city council member. The pair had a son in June 2018.

After finishing his term as mayor, Elorza was appointed, in 2023, to lead Democrats for Education Reform, a political advocacy organization which focuses on encouraging the Democratic Party to support public education reform and charter schools.