The Newport City Council will convene in executive session Tuesday (July 1) to discuss compliance with the council’s rules of decorum, following a June 25 council meeting where a councilor’s conduct prompted a mid-meeting recess.
The closed-door meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the second-floor conference room at Newport City Hall. The council will first meet in open session before voting to enter executive session.
City Clerk filed the official notice on June 27 at 4:43 p.m., citing Rhode Island General Laws Section 42-46-1 and Section 42-46-5, which allows meetings to be closed for personnel issues involving “discussions of the job performance, character or physical or mental health of persons.”
The executive session follows the June 25 council meeting, in which Council Chair Charlie Holder had to ask Councilor David Carlin to calm down repeatedly. City Solicitor Christopher Behan ultimately called for a recess to speak with Carlin, according to observations from the meeting’s live broadcast and attendees present for the meeting.
Multiple residents who attended the meeting contacted What’sUpNewp expressing concern about the councilor’s demeanor and conduct during the session.
That meeting can be watched here.
What’sUpNewp reached out to City Manager Colin Kennedy, Council Chair Holder, and City Solicitor Behan on June 26, seeking clarification on the city’s procedures for addressing council member fitness during meetings, established protocols for such situations, and steps being considered to ensure orderly conduct of future meetings.
None of the officials responded to the inquiry about the city’s formal framework for handling such circumstances.
In an Instagram and NextDoor post on Thursday (June 26), Councilor Stephanie Smyth shared the following.
“Last night, Newport’s City Council held its regular meeting, with the city’s budget as the primary focus.
Before I ever considered running for office, I was just a resident, watching meetings online or sitting in the audience. During election season, I would often reflect on what I valued in our elected officials: integrity, professionalism, mutual respect, and a sense of decorum on the dias.
That is not what we witnessed last night.
Whether you attended in person or watched the livestream, you saw elected officials, including members of the Council and School Committee, engage in behaviour that was uncivil and disrespectufl toward one another. That is not the standard our community deserves and it is not the environement I believe we should be fostering.
As an elected official, I am deeply embarrassed by what transpired. To our community and city administration, I offer my sincere apology.
You deserved better, and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that is what you see moving forward.”
On Monday (June 30), Councilor Smyth posted on Instagram and NextDoor that she was advocating for the scheduled executive session to be open to the public.
There will be an Executive Session tomorrow night at City Hall at 5:30PM to discuss Council Rules of Decorum. I have advocated for this meeting to be open to the public.
Please feel free to comment below, DM me, or email me or council at ssmyth@cityofnewport.com or citycouncil@cityofnewport.com
The council adopted its current rules of decorum (seen below) during its first meeting on December 11, 2024, following the start of the new council term.