Mayor Mitchell wins re-election as do council incumbents; Choquette, Lopes win Ward races
NEW BEDFORD — Mayor Jon Mitchell won re-election Tuesday over challenger Richard Tyson Moultrie, 5,272 to 2,719, while Leo Choquette took Ward 1 over William "Brad" Markey, 1,137 to 1,023, and Joseph P. Lopes won Ward 5 over Zachary R. Boyer, 1,308 to 847.
Mitchell said, "I am humbled by the outcome of tonight’s election. It validates the hard work and dedication of our team, and the results we have achieved together with our residents. I am grateful for the support of the many volunteers in this and previous campaigns. I look forward to the work ahead in building a stronger, more vibrant New Bedford. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."
All five councilor-at-large incumbents were returned to office: Ian Abreau, 4,994; Shane Burgo, 4,098; Brian Gomes, 3,877; and tied for the last two spots were Linda Morad, 3,481; Naomi Carney, 3,481.
Councilor Scott Lima, who opted to run at large instead of for re-election to Ward 5, was sixth with 3,214 votes.
Challengers Devin B. Byrnes, 2,651; Bruce Wayne Duarte Jr., 2,194; Guelmie Santiago, 2,166; Joyce Rowley, 1,468, rounded out the councilor-at-large field.
The turnout was 13.15%, or 8,744 voters out of 66,474.
Choquette, who lost to Markey by 44 votes two years ago, said, "I would like to thank all the people in Ward 1 who came out to vote, and show me support. I would also like to thank Councilor Markey for allowing us to have such a good race. Great victories come from having great opponents. I can't say enough nice things about Councilor Markey, but the voters came out and they wanted to see me get in there, and we're going to shift over to a more constituent-services-based model now."
Lopes, who previously served six terms on the council from Ward 6, said, "I'm looking forward to meeting with a few department heads in regard to issues in Ward 5 that have come out during the campaign, discuss those issues, and see if we can put together a plan to address them."
The remaining council Ward races were uncontested. The results were Ward 2, Maria E. Giesta, 659; Ward 3, Shawn Oliver, 842; Ward 4, Derek Baptiste, 908; and Ward 6, Ryan Joseph Pereira, 861.
The incumbent school committee members all ran unopposed: Bruce J. Oliveira, 5,660; Joaquim B. Livramento Jr., 5,260; Christopher Allen Cotter, 5,187.
Assessor-at-large was also uncontested, with incumbent Martin "Marty" Treadup receiving 6,367 votes.
Voting pace was slow by midafternoon
The voting pace was slow by midafternoon at Ward 1 and Ward 5 polling places, but Election Commission Chair Manuel DeBrito Jr. noted at that time that it was "still early yet."
DeBrito was out making the rounds of city polling places, and said it seemed busier than the preliminary, which drew a 6.1% turnout.
Poll workers at Ward 1's Normandin Middle School said things were very slow at around the noon mark, with 117 people having cast their ballots.
JoAnn Moore was one of them.
She said getting out to vote was "the right thing to do," and that she wanted to maintain involvement in her community.
She said neighborhood is important, and that in her neighborhood the lack of resident turnover was comforting. People don't want to move away.
She said crime was an important issue to her, adding the streets need to be safe.
Train service coming to the city should bring an influx of new residents, she said, and added she hoped it will help relieve traffic congestion.
She thought the race for Ward 1's city council seat between Zoning Board of Appeals member Leo Choquette and incumbent William "Brad" Markey would once again be close. Just 44 votes separated the pair in 2021, which gave Markey his third term on the board. "I can't wait to see the tally," she said.
Moore added she didn't mind paying more in taxes, if improved services come with an increase, including keeping up the streets and infrastructure.
"Taxes are going up everywhere," she said.
She said most of the incumbent city councilors were "representing us well," and she was upbeat about the positive developments down on the waterfront.
Carlos Avila said the "main issue" that brought him out to vote was "Election Day."
He said people complain about the state of things and yet fail to get out and vote. "We have the right to vote. We should take advantage of what we have," he added.
He added that he anticipated another close Markey-Choquette finish.
Tania Gomes was accompanied by 4-month-old son Levi in his baby carrier when she cast her vote.
Gomes was motivated to vote because Choquette personally visited her neighborhood and knocked on doors, she said. He introduced himself and described what he wanted to do on the council, she said.
Gomes said she has lived in New Bedford her whole life and hadn't seen that, and neither had her parents.
Mike DeCicco said he was a life-long North End resident, and was a graduate of the former Normandin Junior High School.
On the council races, he said, "I think people will go for the incumbents."
Busier at the Buttonwood Warming House polling site
Ward 5's Buttonwood Warming House was a little busier later in the day.
Poll workers said there were busy periods, followed by lulls. About 250 people had voted by 1 p.m.
Angel Diaz was one of them.
Diaz teaches music and STEAM at Our Sisters' School, 145 Brownell Ave., and said he wanted to impress upon his students the importance of voting.
He was also disappointed in the preliminary election turnout, particularly when he learned he was one of only a couple Union Street residents who had cast their vote by 7:30 p.m.
"Voter turnout is so important," he said, particularly with the younger generation.
Margaret Peart had a similar take, saying there was no single issue that compelled her to vote. "It's just my right to vote," she said.
Carlos Paiva was also drawn more by the responsibility to vote than over any single issue.
"I'm just doing my civic duty," he said.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Mayor Mitchell wins re-election; Choquette, Lopes win Ward races
