Newport is a truly unique and amazing place, with all the ingredients needed to be a world class livable city for our residents. Yet today we are saddled with a derelict blighted casino at the city’s entrance, gutted housing stock that is pushing middle class renters out of the city, neighborhoods that are flooding, an underperforming educational system, a crumbling beach, and $500 million dollars in deferred infrastructure repairs. Infrastructure repairs we have not had the funds to pay for because nobody ever thought it was essential to get more money from our tourists.
This is exactly what decades of avoiding brave and essential decisions by city leadership looks like. We can do so much better than this. The same old political guard of Newport that failed to find solutions for us over the past decade are now actively trying to prevent Newport from moving forward with real solutions today – solutions like the incredibly capable Mr. Colin Kennedy, our new City Manager.
This old political guard has been furiously engaged in a relentless character assassination of Mr. Kennedy, an accomplished Naval CEO and Commander. Outright lies, slanted information and smear attacks are being shamelessly spread by coordinated voices in op-eds and tabloid social media blogs. The disrespect towards a talented Naval officer who served to protect our Country with honor on combat ships is utterly appalling. These voices seem oblivious that continuing the same old way of doing things will only offer the same results – running Newport into the ground.
I am an optimist who knows all broken things can be fixed. Newport needs to make bold and brave decisions, and bring in the best and brightest talent available to get ourselves through our housing, infrastructure, financial, and educational challenges. Mr. Kennedy was appointed by a City Council majority, chosen because he has the right talent Newport needs for its next chapter. His first three months at the helm have been incredible. Morale for senior city staff has never been better, as they are now seeing what quality management and leadership feels like.
Let’s set a few facts straight that the op-ed naysayers and tabloid social media blogs haven’t been telling you.
The FALSE CLAIM: The city charter was somehow violated by a Council majority in hiring Mr. Kennedy.
The FACT: Mr. Kennedy has a Master’s degree in Public Administration, fully satisfying Newport’s actual city charter requirements. Newport’s city attorney agreed. Mr. Kennedy also has decades of high-performance officer leadership training from the Navy, including “get it done” accountability skills which city hall desperately needs.
The FALSE CLAIM: Mr. Kennedy is being paid an exorbitant and outrageous City Manager salary.
The FACT: The final two candidates interviewed for the City Manager job, Interim City Manager and Finance Director Ms. Laura Sitron and Mr. Kennedy, both required the exact same salary to accept the job. The exact same salary. Not one dollar difference, which was a market salary for what competent City Manager’s make at comparable national cities.
The FALSE CLAIM: A new Deputy City Manager position was proposed by City Manager Colin Kennedy because he’s not capable of doing the job himself.
The FACT: The new Deputy City Manager position was first proposed by prior Interim City Manager, Ms. Laura Sitron, not Mr. Kennedy. Ms. Sitrin recommended creating the new Deputy City Manager role to Council, and eventually made it conditional to accepting the City Manager job during her interviews. City Council funded the role because we recognize Newport City Hall is understaffed and overworked. Voices saying we are wasting money on more city employees believe our complex and growing international city can somehow continue getting by with the staffing levels of a town. It cannot. The problems we have today are a testimony to that.
What you have seen in the nay-sayer op-eds and tabloid social media blogs is a vision for Newport that rejects new ideas, rejects real solutions, and even rejects the truth. These voices prefer an entrenched insider political class that has had decades to address Newport’s biggest challenges and simply never got us there. Everything is not fine and Newport’s future hinges on the success of a new generation of leaders capable of bringing change.
I know we can get there. That is why I first ran for City Council two years ago. As CEO of an incredibly successful international company I started in Newport, I come from a place in business where if something is failing, you go find new people who can get the job done. Hiring Mr. Colin Kennedy as City Manager was our absolute best opportunity to get Newport’s job done. Mr. Kennedy was simply a superior candidate to everyone else who interviewed and should be given the chance to succeed.
Newport can and will succeed when the petty political grievances on City Council are put aside. Working together, the future is incredibly bright for Newport. I know we can do it and would be honored to earn your vote this November 5th to continue the good work.
Mark Aramli, Newport City Councilor
