David Cicilline became Mayor of a city with enormous unfulfilled economic potential. City government had developed a bad reputation among developers and investors so they shied away from Providence. By restoring trust in City Government, Mayor Cicilline has ushered in a windfall of new investment.

Thanks to this "trust dividend" the City has reaped more than $3 billion dollars in new private investment, over half of which has taking place in the neighborhoods of Providence, attracting companies to the city and creating good-paying jobs.

• The "trust dividend" means good new jobs in an array of fields like the building trades, corporate management, finance, technology, health care, and real estate.
• Mayor Cicilline initiated the Neighborhood Markets program to support small businesses and strengthen neighborhoods at the same time.
  • Eight neighborhood business districts have access to funds and assistance for things like facade improvements, signage, street trees, and trash barrels.
• Mayor Cicilline believes that arts, cultural, and tourist attractions are major economic drivers in Providence, so he created the City's first cabinet-level Department of Arts, Culture & Tourism, giving the arts community the voice it deserves in the formation of public policy.
  • He created the vast, new West Side Arts District providing tax incentives for commerce in the arts.
  • His efforts to attract film production business to Providence has resulted in a boom. Among the recent activity has been Showtime's The Brotherhood, Disney's Underdog, Hard Luck with Wesley Snipes, and Waterfront from Warner Brothers Television.
  • He brought a full program of high-quality arts to the City's neighborhood parks throughout the summer with Celebrate Providence, winner of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Livability Award.
• Mayor Cicilline has laid plans for growth to build the 21st-Century economy while preserving the City's rich character.
  • Providence 2020, a strategy for the waterfront that will be reclaimed by the moving of I-195, brought hundreds of residents together to envision a new commercial, residential, and recreational neighborhood.
• Mayor Cicilline transformed the City's small business loan agency into an active engine for economic growth called the Providence Economic Development Partnership. The PEDP works directly with entrepreneurs to help local businesses grow, and to attract new businesses to Providence.
• Mayor Cicilline's administration was the first to enact the decades-old "First Source" ordinance, updating it for the 21st-Century as Providence Connects (providenceconnects.org) to give City residents hightest priority for local employment opportunities.