Florez and Ceglie In, Winthrop and Farley Out in Newport City Council Race

Voters in Newport opted for change when it came to the Newport City Council race -- but not too much.

The biggest change will be the departure of Newport Mayor Harry Winthrop, who lost his seat after finishing fifth in the seven-person at-large City Council race with 3,075 votes -- 236 fewer than John Florez, who finished fourth and will begin his first term serving Newporters as an elected official.

Also losing a spot on the seven-member council was Councilor Michael Farley, who finished behind Winthrop with 2,545 votes.

“It has been an incredible honor to serve the City of Newport for the last two years on the Council,” Farley said. “I put everything I had into the job of making sound municipal decisions. Sometimes I came up short when trying to persuade my colleagues, but I stand by every vote. ”

Incumbent Naomi Neville, the council’s vice president, was the top vote getter in the at-large council race, finishing with 3,409 votes, or 16.9 percent. She was followed by incumbents Justin S. McLaughlin, with 3,378 votes; and Jeanne Marie Napolitano, who garnered 3,315 votes.

With the victory, Neville could be poised to become the city’s next mayor. She told Newport This Week that “The idea of being Mayor is a new one, but I would consider it.”

In Ward 2, Lynn Ceglie won with 1,203 votes to Marha Marie Grogan’s 1,088 votes.

In Ward 3, Kathryn Leonard cruised to victory with 1,184 votes, defeating John G. Edwards V by a margin of 56 to 43 percent.

Ward 1’s Marco T. Camacho ran unopposed.

This story will be updated.