Taryn Mazza

I’m a longtime Newporter who graduated from Rogers High School in 1994. Go Vikings!

I spent nearly a decade on the West Coast but truly, nothing compares to our fair city. Newport is one of the greatest loves of my life.

I am currently the Project Manager for the Newport Health Equity Zone at The Women’s Resource Center.

I work in the community and I love what I do as well as the people and orgs I work with.

Back in 2019 I helped found Newport Public Art, an organization that brought local murals to life across the city.

I currently serve on the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Commission for the city.

This is my first time running for any kind of office, and my campaign is proudly grassroots!

I’m a proud parent of two former Newport Public Schools students and have seen both the strengths and challenges of our system.

I live in my grandparents’ home with my kids, my mom, my dog Lemon, and my cat Penguin.

I still garden in the same plot where my Papa taught me to grow vegetables when I was 3. My gardening heart guides my work always; cultivating plants and my community.

Like many year-round residents, I feel the pressure of rising costs and see the lack of yearly rental stock. Even though our home sits on valuable land, selling it would likely mean leaving Newport altogether. Many neighborhoods are now mostly seasonal, and the sense of community I grew up familiar with is fading; that breaks my heart. I miss knowing almost all of my neighbors.

I’m running because I’m deeply concerned about Newport’s path. We’ve leaned far too heavily on the golden goose of tourism without enough care for long-term sustainability, resilience, or the needs of year-round residents and families. As a coastal community, every decision we make should reflect stewardship, not just short-term gain. This island is not here merely for our financial desires or entertainment.

We have lost coastline, ocean access, community gathering spaces, green space, neighborhoods, small businesses and sustainability in our school systems all because of greed & short-sightedness at the top level.

Time and again, I’ve watched the council reject measures that would benefit Newport residents despite our collective pleading. I used to think that showing up and making your voice heard was enough, but I’ve seen first hand that a good portion of those in charge do not want to listen; that frustration pushed me to step forward.

I have no vested interests in hotels or restaurants, and no aspirations for higher political office. I don’t intend to wear out my welcome remaining on council for eternity or rest on the fact that people will vote me in because they might recognize my last name. My biggest motivation is to protect quality of life for all people who live here year-round, to foster more civic-engagement, and to help restore a liveable balance in our city. We need that.

I chose the tagline “All flourishing is mutual” from a favorite book of mine called Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The full quote is this:

If one [pecan] tree fruits, they all fruit – there are no soloists. Not one tree in a grove, but the whole grove; not one grove in the forest, but every grove; all across the county and all across the state. The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together. All flourishing is mutual.

The Newport I know and love has always been rooted in community. A network of lovely and talented folks who help and look out for each other. Neighbors, families, artists, craftspeople, nurses, surfers, teachers, etc. We’ve been losing that in spades as Newport is nose-diving into a transient resort town that no one can afford to live in. This is not progress. Measured, careful forward movement with resilience at the heart of it, attention to quality of life, and investment in full time residents is my bag. If we don’t have that, we’ve got nothing.