|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
NEW BEDFORD — At-large City Councilor Shane Burgo won the council presidency Monday night, turning back an effort to defeat him that brought the ideological rancor more typical of national politics into a matter usually settled quietly by the council.
The 7-4 roll-call vote for Burgo against Ward 3 Councilor Shawn Oliver ended a weeks-long campaign by the new city police union leader and a conservative radio talk show host to characterize Burgo — one of the most progressive councilors — as an extremist and potential danger to the city. They claimed, and Burgo has denied, that he has publicly supported “de-funding” the police and establishing “safe injection” sites to reduce harm for substance abusers.
Burgo’s election to the one-year position prompted a several-minute standing ovation from councilors and a crowd of some 70 people who filled the chamber’s main level and flowed into the balcony, some standing through the session for lack of seats.
Now serving his second two-year council term, Burgo, 31, was escorted to the president’s chair by Ward 4 Councilor Derek Baptiste and At-large Councilor Linda Morad. He delivered remarks, then presided for the rest of the 40-minute organizational meeting as outgoing president Naomi R.A. Carney, an at-large member, took her regular seat alongside her colleagues.
Known for often citing New Bedford’s Latin motto, Lucem Diffundo, meaning “I diffuse light,” Burgo invoked it again, calling it “a promise to create hope … I will lead with the same light. We will work to make sure no one is left in the shadows.”
The council’s second youngest member, who won the second highest vote among five at-large council candidates in 2023, pledged to work to have “every resident feel seen, heard and valued. Your council stands ready to serve you.”
His voice broke with emotion as he thanked his three older brothers who were in the chamber with their 92-year-old grandmother, Anna Barros, who raised them after they lost their parents when they were children.
“Every step I’ve taken is because of you,” Burgo said to Barros, who watched from a wheelchair by the spectators’ seats. “Thank you for the strength and the light that has always guided me forward.”
Presidential choice “became a little more public than usual…”
Oliver, one of the most conservative councilors, who has served for just under two years, said he started taking stock of support among his fellow councilors in late October because he thought he could do the job of president.
After the vote, he said he and Burgo would continue the cordial relationship they’ve maintained through his time on the council, which began with a contested Ward 3 special election in February 2023, and continuing when he ran unopposed that November.
Oliver acknowledged that the question of the council presidency this time — usually worked out among council members with little fanfare — “became a little bit more public than usual … I think people are paying more attention to politics.”
The objections to Burgo raised in an email by New Bedford Police Union head Officer Lorenzo Gonzalez and amplified by Chris McCarthy, a talk-show host on WBSM Radio, “brought people out,” he said, indicating the crowd in the chamber.
In the 7-4 roll call, Oliver voted with the minority of Leo Choquette of Ward 1, who nominated Oliver; At-large Councilor Ian Abreu; and Joe Lopes of Ward 5. On a second ceremonial vote for unanimous consent to show support for Burgo, Oliver and Choquette voted “no.” Abreu and Lopes joined the seven councilors who had backed Burgo for election to make a 9-2 vote on unanimity.
In votes for council president, it’s traditional for members to take a second ceremonial vote to show the council coming together to support the new leader.
Oliver said his vote against unanimity was “nothing personal.” He said he could not be “true to myself” and support that motion, as “I didn’t feel that’s who I look to for a leader.”
In nominating Oliver, Choquette, who was elected in 2023, said he would trust Oliver to look out for his own ward’s interests. He said one of his main objections to Burgo is that he does not own property, does not pay city property taxes and would not be as invested in the city as someone who does.
“I view this council as the city board of directors,” Choquette said. “The shareholders asked me to cast my vote for a property taxpayer.”
Gomes: Characterizations of Burgo are false
The motion for unanimity was made by At-Large Councilor Brian Gomes, the longest-serving member, who rose to support Burgo, and to condemn the campaign to defeat him.
Gomes, who has served on the council since 1991 with a one-year hiatus, said “I’ve never seen anything like I’ve seen” over a council presidency. Without naming McCarthy or WBSM, Gomes decried “the name-calling from the radio station” and called the station’s activities “sick.”
An outspoken advocate for the police and opponent of “safe injection” or “supervised injection” sites, Gomes never mentioned the police union chief’s role in opposing Burgo. He said Burgo is “no threat” to the city or public safety, and these characterizations of him are false.
He said Burgo had raised controversial subjects for discussion, but it was his right to do so.
Without saying he supported the notion of a city-authorized encampment for unhoused people, Burgo last year introduced a motion to the council to consider the possibility as a temporary measure to create safer conditions.
Before that, Burgo, who heads the council Committee on Housing & Homeless Affairs, backed an unsuccessful bid to hold a non-binding citywide referendum on some form of rent stabilization.
In an interview Tuesday morning, Gonzalez, who was recently elected as police union president, congratulated Burgo. He said that while Burgo and he disagree on many issues, “I wish him nothing but the best as council president.”
Gonzalez said he is ill with pneumonia and was having trouble speaking, but he said city police stand ready to help Burgo, and he declined to answer further questions.
McCarthy, the radio host, said in a voice message early in the morning that the outcome did not surprise him.
“Stupid is as stupid does, right?” McCarthy said in the message. “They’ll have to answer to the voters who sent them emails and called them. They’ll have to wear the Burgo brand on their backsides.”
In a brief interview while he was pressed to get on the air for his morning show, McCarthy said he could not quickly summarize his concerns about Burgo, as he’d been working on this issue for months. He said while Burgo never uttered the words “defund the police,” he implied that the councilor had taken that position.
Burgo has emphatically denied that.
McCarthy focused on Burgo showing up 20 minutes into his colleague Tim Weisberg’s one-hour program Tuesday morning, and later on the air stressed that Burgo was late.
“That’s the best way to encapsulate my concern,” he said in the interview.
Former Mayor Scott Lang did not endorse the campaign against Burgo, but before the meeting, he questioned whether either candidate was right for the council presidency. He said the two stand too far to their side of the political spectrum — Burgo on the left, Oliver on the right.
Before the vote on Monday, Lang said the council “should find a consensus-type candidate” better able to represent the council as a whole.
Ward 6 Councilor Ryan Pereira, the youngest council member, who, like Burgo, was first elected in 2021, rose at the meeting to praise Burgo for having the temperament and the knowledge of parliamentary rules to “conduct meetings with poise and efficiency.”
Pereira praised Burgo’s work on zoning reform, housing and controlling spending, as well as balancing cooperation with Mayor Jon Mitchell and advocating for the council’s role in city government.
The president represents the council in regular meetings with the mayor, runs the bi-monthly council meetings and appoints committee heads. More broadly, Burgo said he feels his job will be not to advance his own views, but to run the legislative process so “councilors are able to properly represent the people who sent them here.”
Email reporter Arthur Hirsch at ahirsch@newbedfordlight.org.
Congratulations to Councilor Burgo and I wish him the best of luck.
Every Politician when elected takes an oath to serve and protect the citizens of the City of New Bedford.
Like a lot of City Residents this week I was very disappointed to see my tax bill, the biggest hike in years over $550.00, and from 2010 to 2025 my taxes have gone up over $2,200.00.
While Mayor Mitchell has been in office for over 10 years, it’s not just his fault, many Veteran Councilors have been along for the ride, and are just as responsible as the mayor (Morad, Gomes, Carney, Giesta, Lopes, and Abreu).
Well soon it will be budget time again and the City Councilors need to get back to work and help the taxpayers, home owners, and small business owners of New Bedford.
The city budget needs a major overhaul, cuts across the board, Positions, Departments, and New Projects should all be on the table, or Taxes will surely go up again next November.
In this election year the concerned citizens and local media will be watching, it’s time for change, and Tax Hikes will no longer be accepted.
The residential property tax rate is the lowest it’s been in a decade ($11.31/1,000 today vs $15.73/1,000 in 2015). The value of your asset has increased.
Don’t you understand, the tax rate per $1,000 of value is meaningless, if your property value drops by 50%, your tax rate per $1,000 will double, the tax rates are set based on the budget created to meet the cities expenses annually. If your property value remains the same for the next 5 years, and there are no budget cuts equal to offset any increased costs, your tax rate will rise for each of those 5 years.
Nice Try, lower tax rates and higher home evaluations, sounds real good, but the majority of New Bedford residents know with no new revenue sources and no new businesses, city residents pay the way.
The driving force for higher tax bills in New Bedford is John Mitchell’s Big Bloated City Budget, just go back and look at the history since John Mitchell has been in office ,from 2015 to today, the city budget has doubled.
I don’t understand why you said nice try? I’m not lying, I simply stated the facts, if your property value, and the city budget remained the same for ten years, the tax rate per thousand dollars of value would remain the same. I agree with you that spending has to stop unless there are budget cuts to offset and spending increase, but that’s not going to happen.
Healthcare costs, and employee salaries increase every year, and if and if spending cuts in other services to offset those cost increases, taxes will increase regardless of who the mayor is.
I don’t like paying more taxes each year and receiving less services, but I can’t see how you find your tax increase of $2,200 over a 15 year period, that’s just over $146 dollars per year, or $36.66 per quarter, $12.22 per month isn’t a lot of money, and it’s certainly not an extreme rate hike in my opinion.
You are welcome to your opinion, but you are in the minority. If the city was a private business it would be shutting it’s doors. No one in their right mind should expect city residents to bankroll an administration that during this mayor’s reign has doubled the city budget and not brought any revenue into city to pay for the growth. The majority of city Residents have had enough of the reckless spending, the expansion of city government, and the yearly tax increases. It is time for change in the corner office.
Since you seem to know all about how the city of New Bedford is operated, I’d like to know what changes you’d make to the budget, and how you would “bring revenue into the city”, and how you would run the city without increasing property taxes to match the higher costs to the city each year, and the majority of the expenses can’t be cut, things like health insurance, pension funds, education expenses for all New Bedford public schools, power costs for traffic lights, street lights, electric & heating/cooling for all city owned buildings, Police, Fire, and EMS salaries & benefits, vehicle costs etc., etc., those expenses and many more are mandatory budget costs that can’t be cut by law, and none of that will change with a new Mayor every 4 years.
So tell me how you’d pay for all of the city expenses without raising property taxes and fees annually?
The state pays for 86% of the schools.
Thank you, Mr. Hirsch, for addressing the major issues behind this unnessarily controversial vote for City Council president.
While there are a number of concerns I have about the opposition to support Councilor Burgo, I will speak to only one for the sake of brevity.
In his nomination for Mr. Oliver for council president, Mr. Choquette suggested that his constituents elected him in part to support only home OWNERS to serve on the City Council.
How absurd! Given that 60.1 % of New Bedford residents are RENTERS, is he saying that none of them are capable of serving the people of New Bedford?
Let’s give the voters a bit more credit than using home ownership as a criterion to serve in this important role.
For me, the attributes of honesty, integrity, humility, willingness to work with people of opposing views, and accountability are far more relevant than simply being a home owner.
If I were more cynical, I might think that the forces behind this “controversy” are a great deal more insideous than they appear.
Dawn Blake Souza
This maybe unpopular but I did not elect my city council to be a family. I vote them in to do a job and I welcome opposing views .
If they are conducting themselves as a family then it is clearly a sign many of these councilers have spent far too long in their roles.
I agree with Gomes. I have never seen a vote for city council president start with a self serving speech from a long winded councler such as himself. It’s very clear that some of these older councilers have become frazzled and unable to take criticism. Time to rethink your roles or the public will be forced to.
Remember that when the homeless camp goes up, and when they vote to creat a “Safe Space for the Drug Addicts to Dhoot Heroin” within blocks of your home, or a relatives home.
What should be done with Drug Addicts Who Shoot Heroin” within blocks of your home, or a relatives home?
Shoot them?
Compassionate intervention.
This is just one more step in the wrong direction the City of New Bedford has gone. I’ve witnessed the transition over the past 50 years, and observed a city that was home to a large population of legal immigrants who were hard workers in the clothing industry, fishing industry, and other large employers like Chamberlain, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Acushnet Company, Rodney Metals, and many more companies that employed blue collar workers, and skilled tradesmen, ie; Electricians, Plumbers, etc., any many of us have watched the city transform to a place where most wouldn’t even consider buying a home and living here with the large percentage of welfare class, section 8, and drug users. I didn’t think it could get much worse, but it certainly has with the newly elected extreme liberal socialist City Council President, and with the exception of Ward 1 Councilor Mr. Choquette, I’m not surprised with the results considering rest of those clowns who call themselves “City Councilors”. I won’t have to deal with it much longer, I’m selling my home next year and moving to a suburb, and there’s nothing that will be missed in New Bedford in 2025 and beyond. I hope Mayor Mitchell makes this his last term, he’s overqualified to run this city, and far too intelligent to deal with that pathetic, useless city council, and that so called “Council President” who makes Kamala Harris look like a genius.
Good luck New Bedford, you’re going to need it.
so sick of local radio trump lovers spreading propaganda god bless scott
Burgo is not a savvy or skilled political leader …. he is an ‘activist’ and when activists have to actually manage, they fail.
New Bedford is rapidly decaying …its commercial tax millage is top three highest in the Commonwealth ..there is no serious investment in NB and they will not be with activists such as Burgo in positions of power.
Mitchell is weak and ineffective …he hung in there because he thought he could make a run at Govenor but that was never a real possibility from Bristol County
Another Sherriff Hodgson term, was never a real possibility from Bristol County.
Jon is a possibility for Governor.
Better choice than Healy?
The New Bedford city council is a joke, and if you’re expecting a better city in 2025, you’re in for a ride awakening.
The voters of the City of New Bedford are joke?