Not a providence resident, but I like so much of what he's done and attempted to do. Mostly parks and urban planning, but some other things as well. If you dive into the great streets initiative master plan type thing (can't remember what it's called) it's really sonething. I don't know if he's as hated as the loudest voices make it out to be, but that made it seem he was doomed. I would totally vote for him.

I will have some details wrong here, but I remember there was that impasse where he submitted the budget or something but the committee refused to vote it at all... until he was out of town (on vacation or maybe even just a mayors convention or something) and then they voted real quick then made a big stink about him being asleep at the wheel and an absentee politician. There were even more layers of absurdity to it but that was the gist. And I'm pretty sure Raimondo made his life difficult.