Meet the seven candidates vying for the vacant Ward 3 City Council post in New Bedford
NEW BEDFORD — Seven candidates are vying to represent Ward 3 on the New Bedford City Council heading into the Jan. 24 preliminary election, which will decide who will face off in the final election on Feb. 28.
In alphabetical order, they are Carmen Amaral, Robert C. Bromley, Robert Cabral, Kathy M. Dehner, Shawn Oliver, John F. Robinson Jr., and Jacob J. Ventura.
They bring a wide range of skills and professional and personal backgrounds for voters to consider when they decide who will close out the remaining year in Hugh Dunn's term. Dunn resigned from the board in early December.
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Carmen Amaral
Carmen Amaral, 270 Caroline St., is an educator and longtime New Bedford resident who has lived in Ward 3 for the last 10 years. She is the current academic coordinator at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical School.
Amaral emigrated from the Azores to New Bedford as a very young child, she stated on her campaign website. She added her parents navigated the challenges of immigration with only an elementary school education, while also, at times, leveraging public assistance to better support their multi-generational household. Her education was supported by individuals within New Bedford Public Schools who understood her family’s cultural experience, she stated.
Amaral and her brother were the first in her family to graduate high school. While working low-wage food service jobs, Amaral went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry and a post baccalaureate in secondary education at Bridgewater State College, as well as a master’s of art in teaching from UMass Dartmouth and an education specialist degree in educational leadership from Bridgewater State University.
Amaral worked a few months as a research scientist for a pharma company before embarking on her career in education where she decided to study to teach science, earning her credentials to teach biology. She was inspired by the lack of actual scientists teaching science, especially women, she stated.
Amaral added, "I believe Ward 3 residents deserve a councilor who is fully present and creates participatory constituent services. Anything is possible when we have a councilor who believes the people of New Bedford are most knowledgeable about what they need, and I am ready to take decisive action to get us there."
Her priorities include promoting participatory decision making by actively seeking resident input; regularly communicating with residents on existing city services and how to access them; giving Ward 3 a greater voice in what happens in the city; enhancing neighborhood greenspace and walkability; improving accessibility of roads, sidewalks, and public transit for elderly and disabled; advocating for equitable distribution of funding for public infrastructure, housing, and schools; creating strong emergency response teams to handle mental health crises, substance abuse, and homelessness and reduce the burden on the New Bedford police; ensuring the New Bedford Fire Dept. receives adequate funding; and increasing economic opportunities by soliciting industries that create well-paying union jobs.
Robert C. Bromley
Robert C. Bromley, 62, 73 Rowe St., is a lifelong city resident who has lived in Ward 3 for the past 55 years. Bromley attended New Bedford schools, graduating fron New Bedford High School. He went to Roger Williams College, now Roger Williams University, and graduated in 1982. The following year he began working as a housing office finance manager for the city of New Bedford.
From there he went on to work as administrative aide to former state Rep. Robert Koczera for four years, and then for the state of Rhode Island where he has worked for the past 30 years, going from fiscal analyst to senior fiscal analyst overlooking several areas of state government, including general government, and human service and public safety areas, where he monitors pensions, personnel and special projects. He is also the civilian member and current chairman of the New Bedford Veterans Advisory Board.
His candidacy is driven in part by a belief that constituent needs are not being met. "After the last several years of seeing no constituent services and the condition of the Ward not improving with other areas of the city I just felt it was time for me to jump in and give my voice to everyone in Ward 3."
He said Ward 3 residents were not receiving needed information on major developments, including projects that will increase traffic on aleady heavily congested Hathaway Road. Bromley added that additional information should be provided on the Hicks Logan Area Redevlopment Plan and former Revere Copper redevelopment."More of this information needs to get out to the residents of Ward 3. I want to get them answers and information on a regular basis."
He said his work experience has prepared him for a role as city councilor. "Everything that needs to be done by a Ward 3 councilor I have done my entire life. Whether it's constituent services, examining budgets, problem solving - that's been my career. I'm very familiar with the process."
Robert Cabral
Robert Cabral, 58, 14 Beetle St., stated his 40-year background as an entrepreneur, manager and leader made him the "dynamic choice to take charge of all the very important projects that will be happening over the next few years in our Ward." He has a bachelor’s degree in business management from UMass Dartmouth. Cabral was commissioned as an officer in the Massachusetts Army National Guard at the age of 19, after being given an opportunity to go to Officer Candidate School earlier than normally required, he said.
Cabral founded and owned Ash away Hearth and Chimney, a multi store retailer that also was involved in construction services for over 30 years that he handed over to his son, Kevin. Cabral added he has worked on New Bedford homelessness in the last year, and come up with a 25-page plan to address the problem. He stated in a campaign release, "I look forward to getting a serious and raw discussion going on homelessness and its relation to substance use disorder and especially the public mental health crisis we currently face."
He added, "I will encourage all Ward 3 residents to call me to discuss any issues they have both while as a candidate and if I am lucky enough to win, as your councilor. I do not plan on being an absentee councilman. I will put in the time required, and then some."
His priorities include providing constituent services, first and foremost. They also include "transparency," and he will seek to live stream all city council meetings; helping to successfully implement the major projects coming to the Ward, including Hicks-Logan project, advanced manufacturing campus at the golf course, and the Rail Station; striving to achieve consensus on the board; cleaning up the Weld square area and fixing up some of the roads around there; supporting all city employees - "they are critical to providing the valuable services our citizens deserve;" applying his financial experience to wasteful spending and budgetary shortfalls; immersing himself in the city school system to support students and teachers; commissioning a traffic study to determine the feasibility of implementing a traffic light at the corner of Hathaway Road and Rockdale Avenue, as well as the cost of an additional five to 10 crosswalks in the Ward; and working "to sell, demolish, or repurpose all the abandoned properties within Ward 3 owned by the city."
According to his platform, he will also strive to ensure all the city's diverse residents are represented equally and have a voice; work with businesses to bring more jobs to the city and provide tax relief to homeowners; and work "to provide 24-hour shelters with wraparound services provided by our nonprofits."
Kathy M. Dehner
Kathy M. Dehner, 66, 1259 Rockdale Ave., served on the council for five years, initially winning the office in a scenario similar to the present one in 2008 through a special election to fill a vacancy left by a resigning board member. Dehner is New Bedford High graduate and has an associate's degree in medical assisting. She has been a real estate broker for 32 years, and current works for Century 21 in Dartmouth.
She's a lifelong city resident with three children and 10 grandchildren, and continues to live on property her parents purchased in 1978. In a campaign release, she stated she built the first new building in the Historic National Park. She added, "I not only know the issues our city is facing, but I am directly affected by every aspect of the city from residential taxes, commercial taxes, our school system, and our first responders."
She said reducing high taxes continues to be her focus, as it was when she was last on the board. "Our taxes are insane. That's not to minimize public safety, our road conditions, all of those things that are important. But there's a reason why we don't have any major stores in our city. Any major store is either in Dartmouth or Fairhaven. I really feel that we in some way deter businesses from coming here."
She added, "How do you change that? Number one, we have a lot of city property that we don't need to own. That should be sold to a developer to bring in more revenue. Because you can't just cut taxes. The money has to come from somewhere. You can't just put the burden on the commercial side, either, because then you're not going to get the businesses. So there has to be a balance. You cannot just cut taxes. The city has expenses, responsibilities and obligations. The only way to change this is to bring in business."
Encouraging developers to come into the city, not through tax "breaks" but by making it more affordable, is a priority. "It's the only way you're going to bring in more revenue," Dehner said.
She added, "No one person is going to fix all the city's problems. It's impossible." But being personally familiar with city problems while believing in the city is the best vantage point from which to work on correcting them, she said."It's hard to feel the pinch of residential taxes or commercial taxes if you don't own a house here or a business here. You know about it, but you don't actually feel that pain yourself. I do know."
Shawn Oliver
Shawn Oliver, 39, 63 Upton St., is a product of New Bedford schools and a New Bedford High School graduate. He began working right out of high school while raising a daughter who is now 21. He also has a 4-year-old son. Initially out of high school, he would work multiple, low-paying jobs to make ends meet, he said. Eventually he worked for the former Olympia Sports where he rose to general manager. He also worked at Fall River Ford before entering the Academy close to a decage ago and becoming a correction officer. He currently works at MCI-Cedar Junction. He's also a New Bedford constable and notary public.
He's running, he said, to provide the kind of lifestyle for his family and residents that made New Bedford a great place to grow up. "I fell in love with the city a very long time ago as a youngster. I look and say, 'what is there for my son to fall in love with?' The baseball league that's in Ward 3 that's been around for years, that's folded. All these things are changing around. What is my son going to like about the city and what can I do about it?"
Oliver said he also wants to provide residents with a voice. "I want for the everyday person to be heard. I feel, especially in Ward 3, we've been misrepresented for so long, that I felt that it just had to be. If it's not me, then who. That's been my drive so far."
He has the opportunity to give back now, he said. "I'm much more established in the community and financially with my occupation. I am able to do things like this and give back to the people that helped me as I worked locally."Oliver said his work in management with Olympia Sports will help him on the council. "Working in a smaller company you really have to concentrate on the bottom dollar. Where's the money going? Where are we spending it? That's the only way you can stay productive is keeping your eye on that line."
And working in corrections has honed his interpersonal skills. "It's a very personal business. A lot of people don't think of that but there's so many daily interactions that we have within those walls, not saying life and death, but there's a lot of stress behind there. I feel in that environment you have to be more of a communicator, a people person if you will, because there are so many different personalities that we may not be used to out here."
Oliver added, "My driving force has always been my family's rich Portuguese heritage and history of serving our city. Whether it be with the School Department, Council on Aging or with our city's youth.
"There is a lot of development slated in our part of the city and we need someone who is going to keep in mind the impact this growth will have on our neighborhoods."
John F. Robinson Jr.
John F. Robinson Jr., 64, 195 Wilbur St., is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music, who used that background to start his own business — Smyle Music Co. — and teach music to hundreds of area private school children. He would teach through the schools and bill parents directly. "It just took off. The teachers I worked with became principals. The business went into Fall River, Taunton, Buzzards Bay, Providence, Cranston and Warwick. It just exploded and became a career." He said schools were unable to continue the arrangement during COVID, which put an end to the business. He currently works as a realtor with Diana Henry Realty in New Bedford.
Though only required to gather 50 signatures to appear on the ballot, Robinson amassed 95 because he learned a lot about the need for improved communication between council members and residents. He said, "So many times when I was a voter and the Ward 3 candidates came to my door to sign nomination papers, I'd never hear from them again."
Robinson added he couldn't believe the lack of information out there. "People didn't know about issues of the Ward. And there were so many things — street lights, bus signs — things that hadn't been taken care of that they told me about. There was just no communication."
To address that, he's going to provide residents with regular, real-time updates. "At the end of every city council meeting if I'm elected I am going to put on my website what happened at that council meeting in a brief synopsis so the voters can actually see it.
"No one's going to have to even call me up. There will be a questionnaire on the website for any problems you want resolved. All the voters will have to do is fill that in and mail it to me. And I will be in touch with them. That is the main reason I'm running - to get the voters aware of what's happening and also doing their part to contribute to the city. We all work together."
Other issues he wants to address include property taxes that "have gone crazy." He added, "If it means bringing businesses in, if we have to give them a break, some kind of incentive, then so be it. You have to spend money to make money." Hathaway Road traffic has to be addressed, as well, particularly with the industrial park traffic flow interfering with Ward 3 residents' way of life. He added, "We've had many accidents going on and off the highway with Hathaway Road. That's got be addressed."
Jacob J. Ventura
Jacob J. Ventura, 35, 24 Logan St., Apt 526, attended New Bedford and Dartmouth public schools, and is a 2009 UMass-Dartmouth graduate with a degree in finance. He graduated from Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia in 2016 and is licensed in California and Massachusetts to practice in private equity law.
Ventura said his family is from the South Coast region-New Bedford area and he is a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard and is also of Portuguese and Cape Verdean descent.
Ventura was a staff member in the House for state Rep. Steven Howitt, R-Seekonk. "We represented about 40,000 constituents. I believe this Ward is about 10,000, so about four times the population of the Ward I'm running for."Ventura said his experience and legal background make him the best candidate for the council.
"I'm the best qualified person to run and I'm looking to bring a level of competence to City Hall. All the candidates talk about providing constituent services. I'm the only one who has actually done it, and done it to a level of success at the state level."
Ventura added, "If elected, I would be the only attorney on the council so I think having that experience is important. I've had about 10 years of experience in local, state and federal governments. I worked in the U.S. Congress. I worked at the Dept. of Defense, the Dept. of Interior. I was a Finance Committee member in the town of Dartmouth."
And Ventura said he has already developed working relationships that will help him on the board. "I've got pre-existing relationships with most of the councilors, and all of the South Coast delegation members in the Legislature."
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Seven candidates vying for vacant Ward 3 City Council post
