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The Oct. 7 preliminary election will set the field for the at-large city councilors race — but won’t be needed for any of the six ward councilor positions, the three School Committee seats, or one assessor.
Eight candidates who pulled nomination papers for municipal office did not submit the required 50 signatures by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Through July, a surge of candidates had indicated interest in running for local office, including City Council and the School Committee. But two interested candidates from Ward 4, two from Ward 6, one in the School Committee race, and four from the at-large race did not submit the required signatures by the Tuesday afternoon deadline.
The at-large city councilor race now has 12 candidates who have pulled petitions and submitted signatures. Starting Wednesday morning, the Election Commission began the work of certifying these signatures (ensuring they were collected from registered New Bedford voters) and creating a draft of the preliminary ballot.
The at-large race has drawn the most attention since longtime councilor Linda Morad announced she would not seek re-election last month.
In Wards 3, 4, and 6, incumbents Shawn Oliver, Derek Baptiste, and Ryan Pereira are unopposed. The remaining councilors — in Wards 1, 2, and 5 — will each face a challenger in the Nov. 4 general election, but do not face enough competition to require a preliminary election.
In the School Committee race, four candidates will compete for three seats in November. Only one incumbent, Melissa Costa, is seeking reelection. In the assessor’s race, the incumbent Peter Berthiaume faces no challenger.
The election for at-large city councilors has drawn two new challengers over the last few weeks. Former Ward 5 City Councilor Scott Lima, who ran for an at-large seat in 2023, has returned signatures to mount another campaign. James Roy, a civics teacher and organizer with the New Bedford Coalition to Save Our Schools, is also running. Roy previously ran for Ward 5 councilor in 2011.
Devin Byrnes, Carlos Maiato, and Ian Saunders have all run previous campaigns for City Council, The Light previously reported. Christopher Cotter is a current member of the School Committee — and has said he would give up his seat if elected to City Council — and a former candidate for City Council. Jennifer Arruda and Shawn Mulvey are first-time candidates.
In the at-large race, candidates Joyce Rowley, Shawn Thimes, Kavonta Tabron, and Hippolyte Tavares did not return signatures or withdrew. Bruce Oliveira, another candidate, also previously withdrew.
There will be a narrow window for New Bedford’s Elections Commission to create ballots and send them to residents voting by mail this year. New Bedford became the only city in Massachusetts to hold an October preliminary after the City Council changed its mind in April and rejected a measure to move it to Sept. 16 to allow more time to securely process mail-in voting ballots in the general election.
The preliminary election will be held Oct. 7; the general election is Nov. 4. A full calendar explains this cycle’s election process.
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.
Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org
Make New Bedford Great Again
Smells to me that things are being arranged for a certain person to get in as a council member! Do I need to say more, read the previous articles relating to the council seats.
Time to clean house and don’t seat a member from another committee. Time to reseed the city.
The City Council definitely needs new leadership, after watching the council since the last election, only two candidates that should return to the Council are Ward 3 Councilor Shawn Oliver and Ward 1 Councilor Leo Choquette (both show leadership, work hard, care about the city, and fight for the Taxpayers). All the other ward and at large seats need change, taxes have gone up 2 years in a row and government keeps expanding. No one should be serving more than five terms ( ten years) on the council.
Ian and Shane have shown signs of a backbone, but we do have 8 newbie’s with one on another committee. So we have 7 with no trail of unethical practices. I am so disappointed in Brian. As for Naomi, same old same old! “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you!”
Will mail in ballots allowed?
Lets oust the do nothing incumbents please. elect the same bad people, get the same bad results. New ideas needed and welcome.
My voting days are over, as an Independent voter that is more aligned with conservative views on many social issues, I’ve learned that my vote in city, state, and federal elections is a complete waste of my time. I remember voting for the candidate who shared the same values, beliefs, and voted on issues that benefit the majority of City residents, business owners, and tax payers. In the past 8-10 years, it seems like people are voting against on candidate, and it’s the same in Massachusetts with 70%+ are Democrats, and the majority of voters just continue voting for Democrats, regardless of their past performance, and far left liberal socialist views.
I hope some people will view this article, and realize how true the comments are, and for all the Trump haters, please tell me one President who has kept more campaign promises, and delivers on positive changes with DC as a perfect example.