David Nicola Cicilline ( ; born July 15, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 36th mayor of Providence from 2003 to 2011, the first openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital.
Cicilline chaired the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law. In this role, he has supported efforts to modernize antitrust law. On September 29, 2022, he was elected chair of the House Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism subcommittee, succeeding Ted Deutch, who resigned from the House on September 30, 2022. In November 2022, Cicilline announced he would run against outgoing Majority Whip Leader Jim Clyburn as Assistant Democratic Leader, the fourth senior position in the Democratic House caucus. Cicilline later dropped his bid for assistant minority leader.
In February 2023, Cicilline announced his resignation from Congress, effective June 1, 2023, to become president and chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Foundation.
Early life, education, and legal career
Cicilline was born July 15, 1961, in Providence, Rhode Island. His mother, Sabra (née Peskin), is Jewish, and his father, John Francis "Jack" Cicilline, is Italian American and Catholic. His father was a prominent attorney in Providence who defended local Mafia figures in the 1970s and 1980s, and was an aide to Mayor Joseph A. Doorley Jr.
He was raised in Providence before moving to Narragansett. In high school, he served as president of his graduating class, and participated in the Close Up Washington civic education program before attending Brown University, where he established a branch of the College Democrats with his classmate John F. Kennedy Jr. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in political science in 1983. He then went to Georgetown University Law Center, where he earned a J.D.
He remained in Washington, D.C. for a while to work as a lawyer at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.
In 1992, he ran for the Rhode Island Senate against incumbent senator Rhoda Perry, but lost the Democratic primary. Two years later, he was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives, representing the 4th district on Providence's East Side.
Rhode Island House of Representatives (1995–2003)
Elections
1994
He won the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Linda J. Kushner with 56% of the vote, and was unopposed in the general election. 1996 In 1996, Cicilline ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island House of Representatives District 4. He defeated his Republican opponent, Michael L. Schein, in the general election with 2,851 votes to Schein's 1,642. 1998 In 1998, Cicilline ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He also ran unopposed in the general election. 2000 Cicilline ran unopposed for the third time in the Democratic primary in 2000. For the second time, he ran unopposed in the general election.
Mayor of Providence (2003–2011)
Elections
2002
Cicilline defeated Joseph R. Paolino, Jr, Keven A. McKenna, and David V. Igliozzi in the Democratic primary.
In November 2002, Cicilline was elected in a landslide with 84% of the vote, following the downfall of controversial mayor Buddy Cianci and the aftermath of Operation Plunder Dome. He succeeded acting mayor John J. Lombardi, who served out Cianci's term and decided not to run in the 2002 election.
2006
In 2006, Cicilline defeated Christopher F. Young in the Democratic primary. He went on to win an easy reelection with 83% of the vote.
Tenure
Approval ratings
A Brown University survey from September 2007 found that 64% of state residents approved of the job Cicilline was doing in Providence. By February 2008, that number had dropped to 51%. In September 2008, his popularity fell to 46%.
Affiliations
Cicilline was the 2008 President of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors. As mayor, he was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a bipartisan group with the stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets". Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg co-chaired the Coalition.
In 2009, Cicilline served as one of six selection committee members for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence.