I was lucky enough to be selected to be on the Charter Review Commission. The main reasons that I applied to be on the Commission was because I thought it was important to discuss the selection of Mayor and Council term limits. The conversations that the Commission members had on the various topics of the Charter were to ensure that the charter reflects diversity, inclusion, equity, and offers fair representation to the citizens of Newport.
Currently, the Charter states that the Council shall choose one of its At-Large members to serve as Mayor. The Commission recommended that the public selection by the highest number of votes should be Mayor. It was also recommended that this item should go directly to the ballot for the voters to decide on, giving a voice to the people, and removing any bias that the Council may have on this issue. The Council rejected this recommendation.
The Charter currently states that the terms of office of members of Council shall be for two years. However, there are no term limits. The Charter Commission recommended that Councilors shall serve no more than four terms consecutively. This would allow new voices to emerge, creating the type of participatory democracy that our city deserves and encouraging fair representation on Council. Council also rejected this recommendation, and to me that denies the people a voice in the democratic process.
I think it would be beneficial to reconstitute the Commission to work with a consultant, and to conduct subject-specific workshops in order to modernize a Charter that will reflect improvements to how our city is governed.