by Joseph Gresser
NEWPORT—Monday’s city council meeting took up where Saturday’s ended with one difference. Mayor Beth Barnes resigned before it began.
Rather than call the meeting to order, the mayor read the following statement: “This is a message to the good people of Newport. I hold myself to a very high and principled standard in life and in my elected role. You should hold me, and every single person at this table to the same high standard.
“On my first day as mayor I arrived at the city manager’s office very excited to learn about my new role. Not once but twice, she told me and I quote ‘people will want to see you fail.’ After the second time I replied, ‘l believe people will want to see me succeed.’ I still believe the community wanted to see me succeed, I believe that there are others who wished me to fail.
“Since that first day it was clear that I was not their mayor of choice, but I was the people’s choice. I have spent 75 days being berated, intimidated, bullied, and was ‘commanded’ not to do certain things and ‘forbidden’ from doing others….
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