Susan Taylor has confirmed with What’sUpNewp that she will not seek re-election for the Ward 1 seat on Newport City Council. Instead, she will seek election on the council for an At-Large seat.
“The retirement of our mayor leaves a gaping hole and I’d like to see new people stepping up to serve the City,” Taylor said. “With two viable candidates in the First Ward I’m choosing to run at large to represent the City I love”.
Angela McCalla and James Dring have declared their candidacy this week for the Ward 1 seat on Newport City Council. Jeanne-Marie Napolitano, Jamie Bova, and Marco Camacho have declared their candidacy and are seeking re-election on the council. Kate Leonard (Ward 3) and Lynn Ceglie (Ward 2) are running for re-election in their respective wards. Liam Barry and Valerie Larkin is challenging Ceglie for the Ward 2 seat, while Leonard currently has no opponents.
“I’m gratified to have received much encouragement for this move, and I realize that the issues I care about all involve long-term planning for the good of the City with a vision of Newport in 25 years. I’ve engaged fully with the issues of concern to the north side, while recognizing that the north side is part of Newport, and its issues are Newport’s issues. These include reconnecting our neighborhoods with the Pell Bridge redesign, creating space for a new economy based on innovative technologies, addressing the questions of hotel space and short-term rentals and parking, while finding ways for cars and bicycles to coexist. I believe we accomplish the best result when we have a coordinated and transparent decision-making process involving all the City’s strategic partners,” Taylor said. “If Newporters choose me for an at large seat, they will be choosing open transparent collaborative decision-making with a long-term vision for Newport”.