During an appearance today on the Bartholomewtown Podcast, Newport Mayor Jamie Bova said she will vote to revoke the parade licence for the Newport St. Patrick’s Day Parade after Governor Raimondo’s recommendation Wednesday morning to cancel the parade.
Update: Newport mayor Bova says she will be voting for “revoking of parade license” at City Council meeting tonight, citing new “guidance” from @RIHEALTH https://t.co/O9p9pqCpsr
— Bill Bartholomew (@BillBartholomew) March 11, 2020
On Monday, Bova told Newport City Council members in an email that she was going to cancel the parade.
At Tuesday’s Newport City Council Meeting, Bova at first spoke in favor of canceling the parade before changing her decision after hear public testimony. Bova was the ultimate swing vote to support the parade in a 4-3 vote.
“In light of the firm guidance from health officials and the Governor, I am going to move to vote again on the parade license at tonight’s Council meeting,” said Mayor Jamie Bova in a statement, who cast the deciding vote during Tuesday’s vote. “I will be voting to revoke and cancel the parade.”
In addition to the parade, the City’s family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day celebration at The Martin Recreation Center, or The Hut, also scheduled for Saturday, March 14, has similarly been canceled as has the traditional pre-parade Irish Breakfast at City Hall, and a planned Welcome Reception honoring a visiting Sister City delegation from Kinsale, Ireland that had been planned for Thursday at the Edward King House.
The Newport City Council will meet this evening at 6:30pm at Newport City Hall to take up another vote on the fate of the parade.
