SMITHFIELD – Town Councilor Rachel Toppi has announced that she is seeking re-election in hopes of serving a third term on the Smithfield Town Council.
Toppi, a 2004 graduate of Smithfield High School, said it would be an honor and privilege to earn the opportunity to continue serving her hometown for another two years.
Toppi works as a recruiter for an executive search firm and holds a Master of Arts in industrial and organizational psychology as well as a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island. She serves as the council liaison to the Smithfield Water Supply Advisory Board and regularly attends Planning, Charter Review, and Budget & Financial Review Board meetings.
Toppi said she will continue to act and vote in accordance with shared town values, including the protection and preservation of open space, historic heritage, and Smithfield’s unique town character. During her first term, she introduced an enacted zoning amendment prohibiting wind turbines in town. She also sponsored enacted zoning amendments prohibiting battery-storage facilities and large-scale ground-mounted solar farms in residential zones.
In her second term, Toppi collaborated with a resident and town officials to modernize Smithfield’s backyard chicken and fowl ordinance, a nod to the town’s agricultural heritage, she said, which expands the opportunity for responsible local food production while adding clear safeguards for public health and neighborhood quality of life.
The world is changing at a rapid pace, and Toppi said she understands the importance of legislating proactively to protect the town. She put this principle into action by introducing a townwide data center ban, the first municipal data center ban enacted in Rhode Island.
Since 2022, together with Councilor Michael Iannotti, Toppi said, she has sponsored nearly 30 improvements to Smithfield’s town government and quality of life. Most recently, the pair developed and introduced an ordinance intended to significantly improve and open up the town council’s process for ratification of collective bargaining agreements.
Toppi said her tenure has been defined by strong, vocal advocacy for good governance, including transparency, accountability, public engagement, and public access to information. A major first-term accomplishment in this area was her introduction of an enacted ordinance that mandated public comment across all town board and commission meetings. Leading by example through the submission of her own monthly activity report to constituents, she proposed annual reporting requirements for all town boards and commissions to strengthen transparency and accountability.
In 2025, she initiated the creation of the town’s first comprehensive residential development analysis report by the Planning Department, outlining approved housing developments since 2007, states a release. The report provides a fact-based resource to support future planning decisions.
Toppi said each of her four consecutive years on the council has deepened her knowledge of town budgets, operations, and future capital needs. That institutional knowledge supports fiscal stewardship, more effective legislation, a root cause approach to problem-solving, and better government oversight.
Toppi said she remains optimistic about Smithfield’s future and, if re-elected, pledged to continue working to strengthen good governance, preserve the town’s character, and protect its long-term interests.
