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The president of the Providence firefighters’ union quietly stepped away from his leadership post last month, and a special election has been called to replace him.

Ernest Sprague had only been president of Providence Fire Fighters IAFF Local 799 since October 2024, and it’s unclear why he resigned. Sprague did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Sprague remains employed by the fire department.

Cornelio Fernandez, who had been the union’s vice president, is the acting president until the April 7 special election.

The bigger picture: It is extremely unusual for a union president to resign after such a short tenure, especially since Sprague challenged and defeated a sitting president (Michael Foley) 16 months earlier.

Foley confirmed Monday that he is among the candidates running for his old job.

Providence’s firefighters were among the most powerful unions in the city for many years, having gone head-to-head with two Democratic mayors (David Cicilline and Jorge Elorza) and positioning themselves as the leaders among their peers when it came to negotiating pension changes when Angel Taveras was mayor.

But with fewer and fewer members living in the city, most of Providence’s public employee unions have seen their political influence wane in recent years. The firefighters’ union still packs a little bit of a punch because it has four registered political action committees to its name and regularly donates to election officials and candidates.