Issues 2025: Council candidates talk New Bedford’s budget

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City Council candidates have shown wide disagreement about their role in shaping New Bedford’s budget. Some candidates say they would be “constantly” lobbying for New Bedford to receive more state aid, while other councilors say that’s not their job. 

Yet virtually every candidate has made the city’s budget a signature part of their pitch to voters, including during their initial candidate interviews with The Light. That makes sense: oversight and approval of New Bedford’s $500 million budget is the primary responsibility of the city’s legislature. 

In addition to the candidate video interviews, The Light invited all City Council candidates to participate in an interview focused on the budget. Derek Baptiste, Brian Gomes, Shawn Oliver, Ryan Pereira, Shaun Mulvey, Ian Saunders, and Scott Pemberton did not respond to this interview request, or declined the invitation. 

For the candidates who did respond, their diverging ideas about the council’s role also stretched to their relationship with the mayor’s office. Some candidates said they can shape the budget by working with the mayor. Others say they’d be open to a conversation if the mayor called them, but they’re content to express their stance by voting on whatever Mayor Jon Mitchell presents.

For those candidates who responded, The Light asked how they would bring about their priorities for the city’s budget, whether and how they would advocate for more state aid, and what ideas they had to increase the tax base.

How can the City Council actively shape budget priorities?

Councilors often point out that their statutory role is to approve or cut whatever budget the mayor proposes. The council has no formal authority to add money to any department’s budget.

Still, councilors represent the concerns of their constituents in city government, and the budget is consistently among the biggest concerns that residents have. As a body, the current council has unanimously expressed frustration with the current budget process (as have virtually all the challengers).

On how they could shape the budget, candidates’ responses ranged from ideas for institutional change, to tweaks in the budget process, to a frustrated acceptance of the status quo.

Shane Burgo, the council’s current president, said he holds weekly meetings with the mayor. Those meetings are straightforward, “matter-of-fact” affairs, Burgo said. “[Mitchell] presents his mayor’s papers … and I ask questions. From there he asks if I have anything from the council.” 

But Burgo said the mayor currently has no incentive to heed his advice. Burgo said that he’s considering inviting other councilors to these meetings to increase his leverage.

Joe Lopes, the incumbent in Ward 5, is proposing a formalized version of this idea. Lopes said that when he served as council president (most recently in 2021), he organized a standing budget and audit committee that met regularly with the mayor. Any council president could recreate this committee, Lopes said, giving the council an avenue to weigh in on the budget before making cuts or approving transfers.

“To make it more seamless, we should go back to having an audit committee,” Lopes said. “At least that way, during every discussion, [the budget] can be formulated,” bit by bit.

Naomi Carney, an incumbent at-large councilor, wants much larger structural change. She wants to initiate a charter review, in which a committee of residents and government officials would propose structural changes to New Bedford’s government. 

Carney said that she’s tried bringing ideas for the city’s budget and overall direction to Mitchell, but “he doesn’t take them.” 

Maria Giesta, the incumbent Ward 2 councilor, said about Mitchell, “I have never approached him [about the budget] because I know it’s not going to go anywhere,” she said. She added, “I respect the office that he holds, and I respect him as mayor.”

Giesta said she doesn’t expect Mitchell to involve the council in setting budget priorities. “It would be great, but I know that’s not how it works,” she said. 

Most challengers said they would pursue conversations and relationships with the Mitchell administration to bring transparency to the budget process. Jennifer Arruda, Devin Byrnes, Christopher Cotter, and Matthew Marko — all challengers — said they’d prioritize improved communication. Leo Choquette, the Ward 1 incumbent, agreed. “I’m more than willing to work with the mayor on anything budget-related,” Choquette said. 

Ian Abreu and James Roy, an at-large incumbent and a challenger, said they hoped to have public hearings on the budget, so that residents could advocate directly for their needs.

R. Reneè Fernandes, the Ward 5 challenger, said she hopes to hold more hearings with department heads, and that she would start the process in January, rather than late springtime.

How can the City Council lobby for more state aid?

In New Bedford, 57% of all revenue comes from some form of state aid. Education funding makes up the majority of this. 

But the mayor has repeatedly made the case that the state ought to do more for the Whaling City. In his budget address to the City Council earlier this year, a central theme of his address was the “deficiencies” of the state’s non-school aid. 

Moreover, Mitchell invited the council to join his lobbying effort. “I think it is important that the council sound the alarm about the intensifying financial challenges facing the city as a result of the state’s municipal aid policy,” he told councilors while standing in their chamber. 

Yet candidates disagree about lobbying for more state aid. 

Giesta said, “No, I’ve never lobbied [for state aid], because the mayor is seen as the leader of the city.” She continued, “It’s unfortunate that we don’t get more investment and monies from the state, [but] I’m realistic about what I can and cannot do in my role as a city councilor.” 

Choquette said lobbying was “more for the state reps,” referring to New Bedford’s representatives on Beacon Hill. “We can work on that with state reps, but that’s their purview,” Choquette said.

Byrnes initially said, “I don’t see it as my role” to lobby for aid. But he added that New Bedford does deserve more investment, and that he’d be open to “appealing to state senators and state reps.” 

Other candidates said that the City Council should lobby for more aid, and some presented ideas about how and where to accomplish that. 

Abreu said, “We have to partner with the Chamber of Commerce and local institutions to ramp up the lobbying effort to make the case that additional aid is going to drive economic growth.” He said he’d like to partner with the Gateway Cities caucus on Beacon Hill, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and MassINC, a think tank.

Lopes proposed two measures to increase state aid: first, expanding the “bottle bill,” which gives money to cities and towns from bottle recycling; and ensuring the city receives forfeiture funds when the district attorney seizes assets. Lopes pulled a letter off his desk from state Rep. Christopher Hendricks to show that he was “constantly” in conversation with local delegates.

Arruda, Burgo, Fernandes, and Roy all said they would advocate for review of the state’s funding formulas to ensure that New Bedford gets the fairest deal possible.

Cotter and Marko said they will focus on building good relationships with state representatives. Marko said, “New Bedford is consistently getting the short end of the stick on funding, [and city councilors] need to be messaging that more clearly.”

How can municipal spending provide a return on investment? 

Earlier this year, the City Council fought over funding the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, the nonprofit that runs the city-owned theater downtown. 

Proponents said that the Zeiterion was an investment in the city, and that the spending it attracts increases the tax base while improving the cultural atmosphere. Critics said the almost $500,000 public-private partnership was unnecessary in a tight budget. 

The Light asked candidates whether they support funding the Zeiterion, and how else they propose using the city’s budget to expand the tax base, or provide other returns on investment. 

Giesta, who voted to not fund the Zeiterion’s contract this summer, said that she does not support the agreement because of the 99-year lease agreement. “It’s unfortunate that people think I’m against the arts,” Giesta said, adding that “the arts have been an integral part of my life.”

Challengers Cotter and Marko said they would support the funding agreement if the Zeiterion agreed to more oversight. “We should make sure we’re getting our money’s worth,” Marko said. Cotter said, “There could have been more asked of the Zeiterion.” Both said they ultimately would have voted to fund the Zeiterion.

Fernandes said she would recuse herself from any vote on the Zeiterion, because she sits on the nonprofit’s board. 

All other interviewed candidates said they support the funding agreement with the Zeiterion. (Of the incumbents who didn’t speak with The Light for this story, Gomes and Oliver voted not to fund the Zeiterion; Baptiste and Pereira voted in favor.)

As for other money-generating ideas, many candidates supported investing in more ambulances for the emergency medical services (EMS) department.

Carney, who has frequently advocated for the ambulances, said that ambulance trips are a boon for the city (because they are billed to outside health insurance companies). New Bedford now relies in part on ambulances from surrounding towns as part of a mutual aid agreement, which can add to costs and lengthen response times, Carney said. 

Arruda and Lopes also cited new ambulances as a good investment.

Abreu, Arruda, Burgo, and Carney said they want to expand the inspectional services and licensing departments, which they said were understaffed and have caused delays that impede new housing developments. 

Other candidates — including Carney, Giesta, and Roy — highlighted the need to attract developers for vacant buildings, such as schools, fire stations, and old nursing homes.

Both Ward 1 candidates, Choquette and Marko, said they would explore tax incentives to attract business developers to relocate to the King’s Highway plazas. Marko said he would focus on providing incentives to New Bedford-based small businesses, while Choquette said he would work to attract “big-box” retailers.

Abreu pointed to “street beautification” as a worthwhile investment, and pitched a “micro-grant” program to support small businesses. Burgo said the tourism and marketing department works to expand the tax base and deserves more funding. Byrnes said he was developing an idea for a city-funded small business incubator. Cotter highlighted Community Preservation Act funds as the best way to create a return on investment.

Fernandes said she had ideas, but did not want to share them because new ideas should be made in “collaboration” with residents.

How to vote on Nov. 4

All these candidates are vying for your vote. 

The general election for City Council, School Committee, and assessor is on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find your polling location online or by visiting the Election Commission office in City Hall.

An application for an in-person absentee ballot can be completed in the Election Commission office until Nov. 3 at noon. (The deadline for mail-in ballot applications was Oct. 28.)

All mail-in ballots must be received before polls close, at 8 p.m. on Election Day.  

Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org.

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