LISTEN: Park Commission Chair Leaves Newport City Councilor Racist Voicemail

A Newport City Councilor is calling for the resignation of the chairwoman of the Miantonomi Park Commission after she left him a voicemail in which she said he is “not a real Newporter” and is “a Colombian carpetbagger.”

John Florez, who was elected to his first term on the Newport City Council last November, said that he is deeply troubled by the voicemail, which was left on Sunday.

In the voicemail, which Florez played for the Patch, Ann Canole Twomey identifies herself and tells Florez that he “doesn’t have to call me back” before saying “You’re not a Newporter. You’ll never be a Newporter.”

Twomey continued by saying that to be a real Newporter, you have to be born in Newport.

“I have a feeling too that the people you call your fellow Newporters are not Newporters,” she said. She said she calls “most of you,” referring to her idea of non-Newporters,  “a carpet bagger. What you basically are is a carpetbagger from Colombia.”

Florez said he expects nasty voicemails as an elected official. It’s part of the deal.

But when the voicemail comes from a prominent member of the community who has been appointed to a position to serve the public, Florez said the issue goes beyond being personally offended.

“It’s unfathomable that the Chairperson of a city wide appointed position would make such callous and hateful remarks,” Florez said. “We live in a diverse community. There are some people in this city that hold a sense of entitlement for the simple happenstance of being born in Newport. The fact of the matter is that we’re all Newporters regardless if we were born here or not. Our love for the city is not anymore or less than anyone else’s.”

Florez, a Colombian native, is an American citizen and the founder of Drupal Connect. A successful self-made businessman, it could be said Florez typifies the American dream.

“I’m calling on Mrs Twomey to resign from her role as chairperson of the Miantonomi Park Commission,” Florez said.

This is a developing story.