Dan Flood to run for Newport City Council

• Dan Flood

Dan Flood

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Dan Flood, a former Newport planning commissioner and one-time congressional candidate, plans to run for one of two Newport City Council seats up for grabs in the November election.

Flood, who in March ended a short-lived bid to win the Republican nomination to oppose Rep. Betty McCollum in the 4th District congressional race, says he is running to help move Newport move beyond “petty differences that have plagued the city over the past four years.”

It’s a problem rooted in a council that has been at times fiercely divided following a highly contentious election in 2008 highlighted by Mayor Tim Geraghty and council members Tom Ingemann and Bill Sumner knocking off three incumbents four years ago.

“One of the first things we need to do is restore a friendly city where residents’ concerns are openly heard and openly discussed,” Flood, 48, said. That isn’t happening now, he said, pointing to the council’s recent rejection of a citizen group’s proposal to form a finance advisory commission that would offer city officials advice and recommendations on fiscal issues.

Geraghty, Ingemann and Sumner voted against the proposal, with the mayor asserting the group, the Newport Citizens Organization, or NEWCO, is politically motivated.

City officials are not listening to its residents, Flood said, a major reason he said last week he would seek one of the seats held by Ingemann and Sumner, each who face re-election this fall. Neither council member has indicated whether he intends to run for another term.

Flood’s complaints about the council aren’t new. In April, the Xcel Energy plant supervisor and 20-year Navy veteran publicly called out Geraghty and the council for the divisive tone he said they had set and the city’s failure to generate economic redevelopment in the city.

Geraghty, who also served as the city’s mayor from 1993-2000, resolutely defended his record against Flood’s criticisms. Geraghty said last month he will seek re-election.

“We have a gold mine of unused talent that is willing to help the city,” Flood said. The problem, he continued, is that many “will not serve due to the political climate of the council.”

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