The city of East Providence is governed by an elected mayor and a five-member city council, with the mayor and counselors elected every four years. City council members are elected one each from four wards and one elected at-large. Per its charter, East Providence holds non-partisan elections for all local offices.
Executive branch The mayor is both the ceremonial leader of the city and the chief executive officer. The mayor runs the daily operations of the city, enforces the charter and ordinances of the city and appoints all department heads except the city clerk. The current mayor of East Providence is
Roberto DaSilva, who took office on January 9, 2019. He is the first elected mayor in the city's history. Until January 9, 2019, the day-to-day operations were managed by a professional city manager appointed by the city council, and the mayor was the president of the city council, acting ceremonially.
Legislative branch The city council sets all city ordinances, sets the budget of the city (with recommendation from the mayor) and provides legislative oversight for city operations. The city council elects a council president and council vice-president to preside over meetings. The city council also appoints the city clerk. Up until 2019, The city council served two-year terms, and the city council oversaw the entire city government under a council-manager system. , the members of the East Providence City Council are: • Robert Rodericks—At-Large (Council President) • Frank Rego—Ward 1 (Council Vice-President) • Anna Sousa—Ward 2 • Francis Fogarty—Ward 3 • Rick Lawson—Ward 4
Judicial branch The city of East Providence has a municipal court, which hears cases regarding violations of municipal ordinances, housing code violations and minor traffic violations. The city also has a probate court, which handles estates, name changes, guardianships and related matters. Judges for both courts are appointed by the mayor with confirmation by the city council for a term of two years.
Education governance The city also has an elected school committee, elected for two-year terms by the same ward system as the city council. The school committee has broad authority to manage the school system, including setting all school system policies, setting the school system budget (within the general appropriation by the city, state and federal government) as well as selecting and overseeing the Superintendent of Schools. , the members of the East Providence School Committee are: • Anthony J. Ferreira—At-Large • Ryan Queenan—Ward 1 • Antonio deSimas—Ward 2 (Committee Vice-Chair) • David Luiz—Ward 3 (Committee Chair) • Jessica Beauchaine—Ward 4
Other boards and commissions The city has an appointed library board of trustees which governs the city's library system and various other appointed governing and advisory boards and commissions. ==Demographics==