Susan Taylor. Contributed.

Among the candidates to declare their candidacy for Newport City Council At-Large earlier this week was former Newport City Council member Susan Taylor.

Taylor, who is among ten candidates running for an At-Large seat on City Council, provided What’sUpNewp with the following statement regarding her decision to run;

As many of you know, I had the honor to serve on the Council from 2016 to 2020. I consider my proudest achievement to be paving the way for the development of the North End Urban Plan, recently adopted by the City Council, and the Transportation Master Plan, which is still in process.  Going forward, I would be honored to be involved in the implementation of both as a Councilor.

Like many others I monitored the declarations of candidacy for City Council this week with optimism, and found myself surprised by the number of declared candidates who were relatively unknown to me.  While I expect to find much talent in this pool, at this time I, like others, wonder who they are, what they stand for, and what they’ll bring to their service on the council.  Just before the deadline on June 29th, with these six new candidates for two “open” seats, I decided to declare myself a candidate, because I care deeply about the recent accomplishments in our city government and I have an interest in providing stewardship as our economy revives following the worst effects of the pandemic.

I’ve lived in Newport for 15 years and care deeply about the community here.  I will always be engaged in my community in one way or another, as I was recently on the Charter Review Commission.  In my career as a lawyer I’ve worked to represent the interests of disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.  I’ve also had a lifelong interest in good urban planning, as it can beas a tool to promote equity and enhance the quality of life through and careful consideration of long term uses and goals. 

I know to be an effective councilor requires a deep knowledge of the issues facing city government, familiarity with the nuances, and a passion for diving in and learning.  Good policy, thoughtful policy, equitable policy – this takes time and can’t be boiled down to slogans, or a headline.  In the current political climate it’s tempting to live in a world of instant reaction, or simply to retreat from the hostility of today’s political discourse.  This is certainly no way to govern.  

As a lifelong believer in participatory democracy I applaud my fellow candidates for stepping up, and I look forward to getting to know every one of you.

Candidates must now collect at least 50 signatures from registered voters. When there are more than eight candidates in the At-Large race, the race participates in the September primary to narrow the race down to just eight candidates for the November General Election.

Election 2022

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After an uneven start, Donald Trump’s election-year tour of revenge succeeded in ousting Republican members of Congress, boosting Trump-backed “America First” candidates who beat back the establishment and strengthening his grip on the party.

Balint wins Vermont’s Democratic primary for US House

The leader of Vermont’s state Senate, Becca Balint, won the Democratic Party primary on Tuesday for Vermont’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, meaning she could become the first woman and the first openly gay person to represent the state in Congress.

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Ryan Belmore is the Publisher of What'sUpNewp. 
Belmore has been involved with What’sUpNewp since shortly after its launch in 2012, proudly leading it to be named Best Local News Blog in Rhode Island by Rhode Island Monthly readers in 2018, 2019, and 2020 and an honorable mention in the Common Good Awards in 2021.

Born and raised in Rhode Island, Belmore graduated from Coventry High School and the Community College of Rhode Island. In addition to living in Newport for 10 years, he has lived in Portsmouth, Coventry, Providence, Smithfield, Burrillville, and East Greenwich.

Belmore currently serves as Vice President of the Board Of Directors for Fort Adams Trust and on the Board of Directors for Potter League For Animals. He previously served on the Board of Lucy's Hearth and the Arts & Cultural Alliance for Newport County.

Belmore and his wife, Jen, currently live in Alexandria, Virginia, a move they made in 2021. Read more about that here - https://whatsupnewp.com/2021/09/letter-from-the-publisher-some-personal-news/

Belmore visits Newport every couple of weeks to support the 12+ paid contributors What'sUpNewp has on the ground across Rhode Island, a place he called home for 39 years.

Belmore is a member of Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers, Society of Professional Journalists, and the North American Snowsports Journalists Association.

In 2020, Belmore was named Member of the Year by LION and won the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County's Dominque Award.
Belmore can be contacted at ryan@whatsupnewp.com and 401-662-1653.