Tiverton Town Council President
Proven.Not finished.
Four terms of showing up, a record you can check — and a clear list of what comes next.
- Under the capTax increases held below the state's 4% limit — two years running
- $1.2M+of untaxed land returned to the tax rolls
- $3.56Min casino revenue to schools & capital — not your tax bill
Vote Tuesday, Nov. 3
Re-Elect John Edwards V
My record & my plan
What I've done — and what's still to do.
What I've done for you2017–2026
Held the line on your taxes
Increases of 2.7% and 1.5% — both under the state's 4% cap, two budgets in a row.
Made the casino pay Tiverton's bills
$3M+ guaranteed every year, locked by charter to capital and debt. $3.56M funded schools and capital in FY25.
Put untaxed land back to work
$1.2M+ of Industrial Park land sold into private, taxpaying development — plus solar on the closed landfill.
Forced accountability on school spending
Wrote the charter amendment requiring monthly school financial reports and ordered an independent forensic audit.
Invested in what we actually use
Rebuilt the Pocasset Field and Hooper Park playgrounds, built the Town Farm courts, preserved 48 acres at Hicks Farm.
Modernized how Tiverton grows
Passed the biggest zoning rewrite in a generation and reopened public comment so residents are heard.
What's still to doNext term
Take trash off your tax bill
Move solid waste to an enterprise fund so Pay-As-You-Throw revenue pays for collection. No barrel size is decided — seniors and long driveways will be accommodated.
Grow the commercial tax base
Homes carry 88% of Tiverton's taxable value; business just 8%. Sell the remaining Industrial Park lots and win separate tax classes at the State House.
Make school spending sustainable
$36 million for roughly 1,400 students. An honest look at facilities and cost structure — not another year of line-item fights.
Settle the unaccepted roads, for good
Engineering bids are in hand on Cynthia Avenue. Set one clear policy for every road in the same position.
Get Tiverton out from under the state housing laws
Roughly 1,000 units are queued under 2025 laws that stripped local control. Work with our delegation for a Tiverton exemption and put zoning back in our hands.
Land the $4M emergency shelter earmark
Move the town shelter to the high school — renovated auditorium, a real kitchen, a generator. The blizzard showed us why.
The tax story
The 2nd-lowest tax increase in the state.
For the fiscal year beginning July 2026, Tiverton's property-tax levy rose just 1.5% — less than half the statewide average, well under the 4% state cap, lower than every one of our East Bay and Newport County neighbors, and the second-lowest increase of any city or town in Rhode Island.
- 1.5%
- Tiverton's FY2027 levy increase
- 3.4%
- Rhode Island statewide average
- 2nd
- lowest increase of any city or town in RI
Source: adopted FY2027 municipal budgets and local reporting, compiled and verified against town reporting, July 2026. “Levy increase” is the year-over-year change in total property-tax dollars raised, not the tax rate — which can fall in a revaluation year even as the levy rises. Rhode Island caps annual levy growth at 4% (RIGL 44-5-2). Only Johnston — which cut its levy using new commercial and tangible-tax revenue — posted a smaller FY2027 increase than Tiverton.
At home in Tiverton
Husband. Father. Neighbor. Councilor.
Husband to Brittany. Father to Amelia, Sloan, and Nora. Finance professional and proud graduate of Tiverton Public Schools.
Proven experience
- Tiverton Town Council2017–18, 2019–20, 2023–present
- Council Presidentsince 2025
- Budget Committee2020–22 · Wastewater Board
- Newport County Chamber of Commerce Board2012–18
Get involved
A hometown campaign runs on neighbors.
Put a sign in your yard, knock a few doors, or chip in. Any one of them helps — pick whichever fits your week.
Yard sign or volunteer
Tell us where you are and what you'd like to do. John or a volunteer will follow up.
Either one opens an email to John. He reads every message.
Chip in
Local campaigns run on small donations from neighbors. Every dollar stays in Tiverton — signs, printing, and postage.
Online giving goes live shortly. Until then, email John and he’ll send you the link.
Email about donatingReach John directly
Questions about an issue before the council? John reads every message.