Napolitano Secures Votes to be Next Mayor

Newport City Councilwoman Jeanne-Marie Napolitano has secured four votes and the majority needed to secure the mayorship -- a position she first held after becoming Newport’s first female mayor in 2008.

Napolitano was the third-highest vote-getter in the at-large City Council race, but a mere 52 votes separated her result from top vote getter Naomi L. Neville, who was considered to be a contender for the mayorship as soon as it became clear that Mayor Harry Winthrop had lost his seat on election night.

Napolitano is planning an informal caucus on Wednesday to hold an election for mayor and vice-chairman.

Napolitano would officially become mayor on Dec. 1 to start the new City Council’s next term.

Napolitano first served on the City Council in 1991 when she won a seat representing the city’s 1st Ward. She lost her seat after one term but returned in 1999 after a successful at-large candidacy and was reelected in 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2008, when she became mayor.

After one term as mayor, she was reelected as a councilor-at-large in 2010 and 2012.

The presumptive mayor brings decades of community involvement to Newport, moving here in 1968 to marry her husband Jack. They raised four children who attended Newport schools and worked in the insurance industry.

In the 1990s, Napolitano became deeply involved with New Visions of Newport County, serving as chairwoman of the board in 1996 until she returned to the City Council in 1999.

According to her City Council biography, “Service with New Visions provided Jeanne the opportunity to invest in and support a broad spectrum of community activities that engaged her interest in the cultural diversity of Newport’s neighborhoods.”

New Visions eventually merged with East Bay Community Action Program, which continues to provide housing, childcare and health services to needy Newport families.

In 2004, Napolitano was appointed to the board of the Newport County Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she served for seven years. In that role, she said she learned about the crucial role the tourism and hospitality industry plays in Newport’s economy.