PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Providence City Councilman David Salvatore is leaving his job as a policy analyst with the Rhode Island House of Representatives for a new gig overseeing government affairs for the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
The association said Monday Salvatore will focus on outreach efforts on legislative and regulatory initiatives that could affect real estate and housing. He is expected to begin the new job next month. He will remain a member of the council.
“We’re very excited that someone of David’s caliber has agreed to join us in our government affairs initiatives,” Philip Tedesco, chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, said in a prepared statement. “His experience will help us promote a legislative environment in which a strong housing market provides opportunities for all Rhode Islanders.”
It isn’t every day an elected municipal official with a job in the state legislature takes a job as a lobbyist – and Salvatore said he’s taking steps to clarify what he can and cannot do in his new role.
Salvatore said he will seek an advisory opinion from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission on whether his current job in the House means he is subject to the so-called “revolving door” provision in the code of ethics, which would require him to wait one year before he can begin lobbying the legislature.
As far as his position on the City Council, Salvatore said he can lobby other municipalities, but not Providence. He said he would recuse himself if the association is taking a formal position on any policy in the city.
Ironically, Salvatore has been one of the most vocal critics on the council of a policy that many landlords support: a tiny reduction made to the non-owner occupied real estate tax in the current budget. Rental property owners now pay $33.10 per $1,000 of assessed value, down from $33.75 last year. Salvatore voted against the budget.
Aside from policy work, it’s unclear what role Salvatore will play in politics for the realtors association.
A WPRI.com review of campaign finances reports filed with the R.I. Board of Elections shows the group’s political action committee has spent more than $322,000 on campaign contributions and payments to the National Association of Realtors since 2007. The PAC had $186,000 cash on hand as of Sept. 30.
The national group also swung and missed last year when it spent $75,000 on an independent expenditure to support Chris Wall against incumbent state Sen. Gayle Goldin in the Democratic primary. Goldin cruised to victory.
Salvatore has his own political ambitions.
Now in his second term, Salvatore is widely considered one of the brightest minds on the City Council. But he has gone from chairing the powerful Ways and Means Committee in his first term to a backbencher in 2015 after he opposed Councilman Luis Aponte’s successful bid to become council president. (Salvatore attempted to run for the council’s top spot himself, but later backed Councilman Nick Narducci.)
More recently, Salvatore has taken aim at the Elorza administration. In letters to constituents in recent months, he has called the landlord tax reduction a “reckless” fiscal decision and criticized the mayor over sidewalk repairs in his ward, which includes parts of Elmhurst and Wanskuck in the North End.
The Providence Journal was first to report on Salvatore’s new job.
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Dan McGowan ( dmcgowan@wpri.com ) covers politics, education and the city of Providence for WPRI.com. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @danmcgowan