Note: This is a response to Mayor Grebien’s previous letter.
Like Mayor Grebien, Pawtucket is a community I love.
Seven years ago, my fiancé and I chose to make Pawtucket our home. I’m a Rhode Islander who chose this area because of its promise and potential. Seven years later, we’re married and raising our two daughters here with hope they’ll grow up with the same pride in this city that so many lifelong residents have shared with us.
What I’ve come to appreciate most isn’t any single project or event, it’s the people. Time and again, I’ve watched neighbors show up for one another: supporting local businesses, volunteering, lending a hand, and rallying around families during times of tragedy. Pawtucket’s greatest strength is its community. And that spirit exists every day – not just during a summer filled with historic celebrations or in an election year.
Too often, we see leadership eager to celebrate at a ribbon-cutting but quick to distance itself when businesses struggle, close, or leave our city. To me, that diminishes the celebration. Leadership should share both the successes and the responsibility for the challenges. The same can be said for celebratory events.
So many of us love this city. Yes, the summer of 2026 has been exciting. But it shouldn’t take a global soccer tournament on our home soil or the celebration of our nation’s 250th anniversary to remind us of everything Pawtucket has to be thankful for. Our community has always been our greatest asset. It deserves leadership that reflects that same spirit every day of the year. After 16 years, of all people, Mayor Grebien should know that.
Public service is difficult, and anyone who serves deserves respect for taking on that responsibility. But caring about a city and leading it are not the same thing.
Great leaders cultivate relationships before they’re needed, recruit employers before opportunities are lost, and create an environment where businesses, families, and community organizations want to invest for the long term. We’re long overdue for great leadership in Pawtucket.
Matthew Letendre
Pawtucket
