The following op-ed is written by Ed Davis, candidate for Newport city commission
I have always thought that Newport is the best place in our area to live. We have all of the amenities of a major city but the small town feel that we all love. This is a place that allows you to be who you are. It is inclusive and accepting. I have either lived or worked in every neighborhood in our city. This is my home and I love living here.
Since my retirement from the United States Postal Service, I have become very involved in our community. I began this involvement by attending the meetings of my neighborhood organization, the Westside Citizens’ Coalition. I have been a long-time member of the WCC and I served four years as president of the organization. During this time, I have had many opportunities to become involved in other activities that have benefited Newport. I have organized and implemented the planting of hundreds of trees on the west side of our town. I was instrumental in the founding of our newest local historic district; the York Street Local Historic District and I am a member of our city’s Historic Preservation Board. I have worked for our children as one of four founders of the Newport Alumni Mentoring Program for the Newport Schools. I have also been a member of the ReNewport Education Task Force. From this partial list of my community involvement, you can see that I care about where we live and I have worked for the betterment of our city. I want our city to be the best place it can be for all of us.
Caring for our city is not the only requirement for this position. During my working career I was the vice president of a Steelworkers’ local union. In this position I helped negotiate two successful labor contracts and to bring the two sides together for the benefit of everyone involved. When I was in postal management, I was responsible for the budget of a major post office and had to handle human resources, customer service, labor unions and productivity. I believe this experience along with my passion for our city’s progress will help make me a successful Newport city commissioner.
If I am elected to this office, I will always work to make our city better. I want all parts of our city to feel represented and to feel they are equal. The problems of one part of our city are problems of all parts of our city. When the Ovation project is completed, we will need to make sure our city services are adequate for the new needs and we need to find ways to integrate this new part of our city into our existing city. Another area I would like to work on is more cooperation between our river cities in Campbell County as well as our neighbors across both the Licking and Ohio rivers. Together we can find greater success.
I believe in our city and I believe in our future. I will listen to you and I will be a voice for you. I thank you for your participation in our democracy and I am asking for your vote on Tuesday, May 17th. Thank you for your time and your consideration.
