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With three weeks remaining before the deadline to submit nomination papers, a surge of potential candidates have indicated their interest in running for office in this year’s municipal elections.
Twelve candidates pulled nomination papers for several local races within the last week — including six for an open at-large seat (which Linda Morad will vacate) and two more challenging Derek Baptiste in Ward 4. Until this recent wave of interest, many of the City Council seats were headed for noncompetitive contests, meaning incumbents were not facing a single challenger.
“I was really worried,” said Manuel DeBrito, chair of New Bedford’s election commission. “More competition is a good thing.”
“It was sleepy for a while,” DeBrito added, but in the last week “there’s been a good number of people who pulled papers … and more people calling and asking questions, too.”
Candidates are now challenging incumbent city councilors in all races except Ward 3, where incumbent councilor Shawn Oliver is the only person to have pulled nomination papers so far. Multiple challengers have turned out for the ward councilor, at-large councilor, and School Committee contests. Enough candidates have indicated interest where preliminary elections are likely in Ward 4, Ward 6, and the at-large race.
The last time there were preliminaries for the at-large seats and multiple ward councilor seats was 2019.
The races for Wards 1, 2, 5, and the School Committee do not yet have enough candidates to hold preliminaries. (Ward races need three or more candidates to hold a preliminary, while the School Committee, which has three seats up for election, would need seven or more candidates.)
Concerns about New Bedford’s tight election timeline will now resurface, as the Whaling City this year became the only city in Massachusetts with one month or less between the preliminary and general elections. Until this week, there was not enough interest to hold any preliminary; the recent surge of candidates now means preliminaries will likely be held.
The deadline for candidates to submit nomination papers with signatures is Aug. 19. All candidates will need to submit a minimum of 50 signatures to affirm their place on the ballot for the Oct. 7 preliminary election.
City Council, the legislative branch of New Bedford’s government, is mainly tasked with keeping the mayor in check: approving the executive’s appointees, reviewing the city budget, and submitting ordinance bills. The city’s charter is often referred to as a “strong mayor” style of government.
The council has 11 members: one for each of the city’s six wards, plus five “at-large” councilors. All of these seats are up for reelection every two years — taking place in the odd-numbered years between state and presidential elections.
Who’s running?
All six of the incumbent ward councilors in New Bedford are seeking reelection. The only member of the City Council who is not running for reelection is Linda Morad, the at-large councilor who has served 20 years in public office.
Morad’s announcement that she would not seek reelection came as a surprise to many, and opened the race for one at-large seat on the council.
“When incumbents are not running, more people come out,” said DeBrito. Indeed, the at-large race has drawn most of the challengers to date — including current School Committee member Christopher Cotter.
Cotter confirmed that he will be seeking the at-large seat vacated by Morad. “With an open seat I think there’s an opportunity to try to move into a position where I can make more of a city-wide difference,” Cotter told The Light.
Cotter also confirmed to The Light that, if elected to City Council, he would vacate his position on the School Committee. “There’s no way” he’d be able to serve on both, Cotter said. (In some circumstances it may be legally permissible to hold School Committee and other elected office, but DeBrito said it would require further investigation in New Bedford.)
If Cotter were to vacate his School Committee seat, a joint committee of the City Council and School Committee would appoint someone to serve the remainder of his term.
Bruce Oliveira, another School Committee member, also pulled petitions for the at-large race. Oliveira, however, told The Light on Thursday that he has decided not to proceed with his City Council candidacy. “I have two years left on the School Committee, and I’ve decided I can do the most good there,” Oliveira said.
“I wish Chris [Cotter] well,” Oliveira said. “I’d hate to lose him off the School Committee, though.”
Some of the other challengers may be familiar to New Bedford voters. In the races for ward councilors, Scott Pemberton (Ward 2) and Carlos Felix (Ward 6) have run previous political campaigns in New Bedford.
Newcomers in the ward races include local business owner Matthew Marko (Ward 1), education advocate Sandra Lobo (Ward 4), Dana Carmo (Ward 4), former City of New Bedford treasurer Renee Fernandes (Ward 5), and shipbuilder Garrett Norton (Ward 6).
In the at-large race, Devin Byrnes, Carlos Maiato, Ian Saunders, and Joyce Rowley have all run previous campaigns for City Council.
Jennifer Arruda, Shawn Mulvey, Hippolyte Tavares, and Shawn Thimes are also at-large candidates, and none have run for public office before, according to The Light’s search of campaign finance records.
Andrea Moore, a member of New Bedford’s NAACP executive committee, pulled nomination papers to run for School Committee, joining the other candidates in that race. Richard Porter, a previous candidate for School Committee, will also run again.
“It takes a certain amount of bravery” to run for office, said DeBrito. He said that distrust can manifest locally with social media meanness. But he added, “We want to see more good people run.”
What does the council do?
As representatives elected by New Bedford’s voters, city councilors are the people’s voice in government. They often become involved in community events and help their constituents to navigate through government services.
Each member receives an equal vote on the City Council, which serves a variety of important functions in the operation of local government.
As the legislative branch of New Bedford, the council is an important check to the executive branch — which in New Bedford is the mayor and his administration.
The council’s main functions include approving, reducing, or rejecting the budget proposal that the mayor submits each year. This process takes several months, as councilors hold “budget hearings” with each city department before voting on the budget.
The council also gets to approve the mayor’s appointees in city government and authorizes all debt that the city incurs (usually for roads, water mains, and other infrastructure).
Lastly, the councilors can write and vote on laws — known as “ordinances” at the municipal level. These ordinances are sent to the mayor for approval, but the council can override a mayoral veto with a two-thirds supermajority.
These official functions of the council usually require weekly or semi-weekly attendance at committee meetings or general City Council sessions, which take place at New Bedford City Hall.
More than the official business, most councilors say that communication with constituents can take up a significant amount of their time. This includes fielding phone calls, voicemails, emails, and in-person meetings with residents and voters. Councilors often designate time to hear these concerns at monthly “ward meetings.”
For their service, New Bedford city councilors receive a part-time salary, which was set at a base of $27,768 last year.
How to run?
Anyone interested in running for City Council or another public office can stop by the Election Commission, said DeBrito. His office has compiled guides, checklists, and calendars that break down the process for anyone interested.
The deadline for filing nomination papers occurs Aug. 19; the deadline for a statement of candidacy is on Sept. 2. A full calendar explains this cycle’s election process. Candidates need a minimum of 50 signatures to make the ballot, but often seek many more. If needed, the preliminary election will be held Oct. 7; the general election is Nov. 4.
DeBrito previously told The Light that anyone considering running or getting involved should start by attending meetings. “Talk to people,” he said.
“Whoever’s running is what drives turnout,” DeBrito said.
Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Friday, Aug. 1., 2025. Candidate Richard Porter previously indicated he would run for Ward 4 City Council, but has re-filed to run for School Committee.
New Bedford we need a change. We need a change in City leader positions as well as School administration. School rankings are so low, moral is worse!
My money says incumbents will be reelected.
Running for public office in New Bedford should be a rewarding experience. But if you tell the truth it doesn’t always paint a pretty picture. Our voters most of the time vote for the person who has the best smile when there is nothing to smile about and don’t listen to the message of the candidate. I’ve run for Mayor many times, and in the past have warned that increasing the city’s operating budget without any new revenue sources would put our city in jeopardy. Now 18 years later, our city’s operating budget is out of control 551 million dollars with 300 million dollars in revenue sources. Neither this Administration nor the city council has paid attention to this issue. And neither has the voter’s. This might be the most important election of our time, it’s been the job of the city council to put an end to this Mayor’s overspending. Besides 2 council members this hasn’t happened. What could very well happen is our city goes into receivership, especially when we have two more years with this administration. Plenty of damage can happen in two years. So I say to the voter’s this year get your derriere up and out to vote, paying attention to what these candidates have to say about these important issues that confront our CITY. Like this article says there is plenty of time to pull papers and make a difference. Go at it and be strong for your city.
Where is my comment?
Hey Michael. They NBLight picks and chooses what gets posted. I understand. Because it’s done to me all the time. They can’t handle the truth! You are not alone!
The City Council definetly needs new leadership, after watching the council for the past two years, the only two candidates that should return to the Council are Ward 3 Councilor Oliver (who works hard, cares about the city, and fights for the Taxpayers) and Ward 1 Councilor Choquette (who works hard and has demonstrated leadership by holding monthly meetings on issues that are hurting all voters and opens the meetings up to all city residents). All the other ward and at large seats need change, most importantly no one should be running for the council if they have already served for ten or more years.
Hopefully candidates will use an actual campaign website to introduce themselves to voters rather than relying on gated social media.
Once again where is my post. I hope the word Derriere hasn’t offended you. And if that’s what it is just edit the word to up and vote.
How do you post here every day and not realize that comments take a few hours to get posted?
Sometimes! A lot of times the comment isn’t posted at all.
I’m pretty much done reading your articles when you don’t post my comments because they don’t put people who are the culprits in good light.
I see your comment: “So I say to the voter’s this year get your derriere up and out to vote, paying attention to what these candidates have to say about these important issues that confront our CITY.”
The problem is most people are only tuned into social media, WBSM, etc. Sites like these probably make up the smallest slice of actual engagement. The public’s attention is already captured, and the “best” candidates can’t even reach voters without going through the corporate and political machinery the city is beholden to or captured by. It’s not about getting people to care, it’s about the fact that access to voters is gatekept and captured.
I agree, we the people need to be heard. Not fair comments are not posted, especially when it follows the rules, it just doesn’t follow the lights beliefs which is definitely not fair. The Light good be congratulated for posting the truth instead they become part of the coverup.
No progress re: closing of CapeVerdean Library?
I thought I read it will remain open but for only 24 hrs week.
Mr. Oliveira, I’m sure you see a big difference with today’s school committee than times when, Mr. Pacheco, Mr. Nobrega, Dr. Finnerty, Mr. Walsh, Ms. Dottin many more of the greats not forgotten for fairness and equality. Time for a change of the other. I wish Mr. Livramento and Mr. Bruce Oliveira the best and hope the school committee can go back to the way it used to be. For the students and for the employees. I worked many years with the Superintendents prior 2012. After that. They weren’t worth an employees loyalty, especially now.
In Massachusetts, all of the cities and towns except New Bedford have primary voting in September instead of October. This gives more time for ballots to be mailed and returned and for early voting to happen. New Bedford’s bipartisan Election Commission, as well as the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office had recommended the earlier date. The New Bedford City Council had also voted for the change in a subcommittee.
New Bedford is the exception, because our City Council changed it’s vote in April of this year..
https://newbedfordlight.org/new-bedford-city-council-changes-its-mind-on-expanding-mail-in-voting-window/
Earlier primaries make it possible and easier for more people to vote, and we should all be in favor of that. We are STILL the ONLY city/town in Massachusetts that does nor have primary voting in September. Why? Our city has a large population of elderly voters who benefit from mail-in ballots. We also have a large population of people who have to work several low-wage jobs in order to pay for the higher costs of rent and necessities. Mail-in voting gives them and people with disabilities more opportunity to vote. The shorter timeline between primary and final election days also makes it more diffcult for officials in charge of the election process.
https://newbedfordlight.org/experts-narrow-timeline-creates-strain-on-new-bedfords-elections/
I do not presume to know the motives of those councilors who voted down the September primary, but I do know that I will be strongly inclined to not vote for them in the next municipal election, and I do hope that this matter will come before the council again before the 2026 mid-term elections.
Good point! Good move!