Providence, Rhode Island: Voters Approve Question 7 Divestment Ordinance With 75 Percent

Providence voters approved Question 7 on Tuesday, a ballot ordinance that directs the city to divest public funds from countries and companies tied to severe human rights violations. Providence for Palestine, the coalition that organized the question, declared victory at about 10 p.m. with 75 percent support, a lead of roughly 18,000 votes, and 97 percent of precincts reporting, the Providence Journal reported. A Board of Elections tally reported by Bytes Europe also put the vote at 75 percent to 25 percent.

The ballot language names no country. It covers foreign countries conducting ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal military occupation or genocide, and organizers said their target is Israel and its war in Gaza.

What the ordinance does

The measure directs city investment managers to move funds, including retirement and pension money, away from what it calls complicit entities. That includes sovereign debt from countries the United Nations has found to be conducting ethnic cleansing or genocide, and corporations that directly and knowingly enable those violations, the Journal reported.

The Providence Eye reported that the ordinance treats violations as determined by United Nations authorities, United States court rulings, federal policy definitions and International Court of Justice rulings. Organizers posted that the process starts with the city treasurer and the board of investment commissioners aligning city investments with the vote, and that nothing happens overnight.

How it reached the ballot

The question was the first citizen driven referendum on a Providence ballot. Volunteers collected more than 10,000 signatures to place it there. Providence for Palestine is a coalition of Jewish Voice for Peace Rhode Island, the Rhode Island chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Reclaim RI, and AFT Local 6516, the Brown University higher education workers union.

In a statement carried by the Journal, the coalition said the passage makes Providence the largest city in the United States to commit to divesting funds over human rights violations, and the first binding municipal divestment law passed by popular vote for the Palestine solidarity movement.

The mayor elect backs it

Mayor elect David Morales, who won the mayoral race the same night and had supported divestment against outgoing Mayor Brett Smiley in the primary, celebrated the result. In a statement quoted by the Journal, Morales said the two victories are deeply connected and reflect a vision for a Providence that puts people before profit. The Eye reported that Morales and a majority of the incoming City Council are expected to enforce the measure.

Opposition and a legal fight ahead

Smiley campaigned against the question. In a social media post sponsored by Neighbors Voting NO on 7 and quoted by the Journal, he called Question 7 unlawful and unmanageable, and said investment advisors would not know how to implement it. Governor elect Helena Foulkes told the Eye she voted no because she expects a financial burden on the city. Smiley chief operating officer Courtney Hawkins wrote to the City Council that the broad language could limit investment options for the pension fund, the Eye reported.

The Journal reported legal challenges are likely. The Eye reported that the Jewish Alliance of Rhode Island argued in a July letter that the petition violated the city charter and state law, and that the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel has promised to sue if the city enforces it.