No clips yet — make one.
The New Bedford City Council and School Committee convened a joint session, chaired by Mayor Jon Mitchell, to fill a vacancy on the School Committee following the passing of Russell Oliveira. This was the second meeting for this purpose, as a previous session on October 7th had ended without a candidate securing the required nine votes. The meeting began with the City Clerk reading a letter from candidate Henry Busquet, who withdrew his name from consideration, leaving three nominees: Lee Blake, Marcus Coward, and Brad Markey. A roll call vote was immediately conducted. Brad Markey was elected to the School Committee, securing exactly nine votes, while Marcus Coward received eight. Following the announcement of the results, Mr. Markey, who was present, was sworn into office by the City Clerk. Before the meeting adjourned, Councillor Brian K. Gomes expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the contentious nature of the selection process, stating that it had created a division within the community and was unfair to the candidates involved. The meeting was then adjourned by a unanimous voice vote.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Watch the video to verify.
Council
City Officials
Education
Public / Other
All right.
0:03Yes.
0:04I'm trying.
0:05Hey, listen, I try, I try.
0:07I offer more than water when you come to my house.
0:10Just let me know.
0:11So.
0:12All right, all right.
0:13No problem.
0:25So why would the police want to plan on being here tonight?
0:51Because the mayor's here.
0:52Oh, okay, just because the mayor's here.
0:55Any function that the mayor's at is our— that's our plan.
0:58Okay, okay.
1:03I'm saying this is a joint convention of the school committee and the city council.
1:08Okay.
2:38Anyone's okay.
2:39It's all already good, so just be careful.
2:41Thank you.
2:42Well, yeah, we wouldn't want that.
2:43That would be a downer.
5:12All right, good evening everybody.
5:13Welcome, uh, to the City Council chamber.
5:15At this time I will hand it over to the chairman of the session, the Mayor Jonathan Mitchell.
5:21All right, thank you, Mr. President.
5:22We'll start off this meeting as we always do, and that is with the Pledge of Allegiance.
5:27Please join me.
5:29I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
5:50All right, Mr.
5:51Clerk, when you are ready, could you take the roll?
5:56Councilor Ian Abreu.
5:57Present.
5:58Present.
5:59Councilor Derek Baptiste.
6:00Present.
6:00Present.
6:01Councilor Shane A. Burgo.
6:03Present.
6:03Present.
6:04Councilor Naomi Carney.
6:05Present.
6:06Present.
6:06Councilor Leo Choquette.
6:08Present.
6:08Present.
6:09School community member Melissa Costa.
6:11Present.
6:11Present.
6:12School Committee member Christopher Carter.
6:14Present.
6:15Present.
6:15Councilor Brian K. Gomes.
6:17Present.
6:17Present.
6:18School Committee member Jack— Jaquim Libramento Jr.
6:22Present.
6:23Present.
6:23Councilor Joseph P. Lopes.
6:25Present.
6:25Present.
6:26Mayor John F. Mitchell.
6:28Present.
6:28Present.
6:29School Committee member Yvonne Marie Meniz.
6:31Present.
6:32Present.
6:32Councilor Sean Oliver.
6:34Present.
6:34Present.
6:35Councilor Scott Pemberton.
6:36Present.
6:37Present.
6:38Councilor Ryan Pereira.
6:39Present.
6:40Present.
6:40School Community Member Richard Porter III.
6:43Present.
6:43Present.
6:43Councilor James Roy.
6:45Present.
6:45Present.
6:4717 members present, Mr. Chairman.
6:48Great, thank you very much, Mr.
6:50Clerk.
6:51Um, yeah, we'll do that in one, in one second.
6:56Um, so, uh, so we have a quorum tonight, and I just will start off before we, uh, launch into things with, uh, a a little bit of a review to let everybody know where we are in case folks who were here weren't here last time, or people who are watching didn't watch it the first time.
7:14So this is the second meeting of what is called a joint convention, which was a term under state law.
7:23A joint convention is convened in a city that has a form of government that New Bedford does when there is a a vacancy on the school committee.
7:35The joint— in this case, as everybody knows, there is a vacancy on the school committee with the passing of, uh, Russell Oliveira.
7:45The joint convention is comprised of the city council as well as the remaining members of the school committee and chaired by the mayor.
7:53So we met on October 7th to, to consider candidates.
7:57There were some 8 candidates who were qualified by the Election Commissioner.
8:04And each of those candidates had an opportunity to speak, to make their case to this body.
8:13Nominations were offered at that point.
8:18There were 5 nominees initially for the position.
8:23At the end of that, debate was held, and debate was closed.
8:28Several rounds of voting were conducted, and despite that, no candidate emerged with the requisite 9 votes to prevail in the election.
8:41Upon the motion of Council President Pereira, this body recessed until this date, January 21st, to consider the remaining Nominees.
8:56There are four nominees in play right now remaining: Lee Blake, Henry Busquet, Marcus Coward, and Brad Markey.
9:07That's where things stand right now.
9:10I understand, Mr.
9:12Clerk, that there is a letter that has been submitted for the record.
9:20Is that correct?
9:20It is, Mr. Chairman, related to the nominations.
9:23And, uh, would you tell us what that letter is and please read it into the record?
9:28Yes, sir.
9:29The letter is from Henry Bousquet.
9:31It is addressed, Dear Mayor Mitchell and honorable members of the Joint Committee, I am writing to you this evening to offer my rescission for consideration as a candidate to fill Bruce Oliveira's vacancy.
9:42I have given it considerable thought since the vote was taken on January 7th.
9:46I believe the children and educators of New Bedford deserve the best possible candidate for this role.
9:52A candidate who understands the role of the education professionals, the municipality's role, and the role of fiduciary oversight and guidance on behalf of the taxpayer.
10:02A candidate who understands what it will take to be conscientious, independent, and a steward for the children, families, educators, and homeowners of the City of New Bedford.
10:12I also believe that this vote should have been about what is best for the school department and those it serves.
10:17The process was not meant to be about granting participation trophies, someone's political affiliation, or to give someone an excuse to, to defame anyone, especially any well-meaning community member attempting to participate in the political process.
10:32If our children are to have the nation of our fathers— that our forefathers have promised them, then we are going to have to do better at embracing diversity.
10:40Real diversity and inclusion starts with the idea, and you can't foster new ideas without honoring diversity of thought.
10:47Though this chapter of service is closing, my commitment to the children, families, and future of New Bedford remains absolute and unwavering.
10:54I look forward to continuing the work of advocacy and good governance on a different, perhaps broader, platform in the future.
11:02Thank you for your service, and may God bless New Bedford and the United States of America.
11:05America, without wax, Henry G. Busquet, CEC, Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical Educator, father, and homeowner.
11:14Okay, thank you for, for that.
11:16I want to thank Mr. Busquet for his candidacy and for submitting that letter for the record.
11:23There are 3 nominees before us now then.
11:28That is Lee Blake, Marcus Coward, and Brad Marky.
11:32And I will ask at this time that the clerk take the next ballot for the record.
11:43Councilor Avery.
11:44Marky.
11:47Marky.
11:48Councilor Baptiste.
11:49Coward.
11:49Coward.
11:51Councilor Burgow.
11:51Coward.
11:52Coward.
11:53Councilor Carney.
11:54Marky.
11:55Marky.
11:55Councilor Chauquet.
11:57Marky.
11:58Marky.
11:58Councilman— Mrs. Costa?
12:00Coward.
12:01Coward.
12:02Mr. Carter?
12:04Marky.
12:05Marky.
12:05Councilor Gomes?
12:07Coward.
12:07Coward.
12:08Mr. Livramento?
12:10Coward.
12:10Coward.
12:11Councilor Lopes?
12:13Marky.
12:14Marky.
12:15Mayor Mitchell?
12:15Marky.
12:16Marky.
12:17Ms. Meniz?
12:19Coward.
12:19Coward.
12:21Councilor Oliver?
12:22Marky.
12:23Marky.
12:24Councilor Pemberton.
12:25Marky.
12:26Marky.
12:27Councilor Pereira.
12:28Marky.
12:29Marky.
12:29Mr. Porter.
12:31Coward.
12:32Coward.
12:32Councilor Roy.
12:35Coward.
12:35Coward.
12:40Mr. Chairman, Mr. Marky has 9 votes, Mr. Coward has 8.
12:45Okay, so So for the record, Mr. Markey has been elected, receiving the 9 requisite votes under the rules of this convention.
13:01I want to congratulate him.
13:03I want to congratulate all the candidates who participated.
13:07Again, this bears reemphasizing that it takes a lot to put yourself out there the candidacy for anything, including in this context that where the people who are doing the electing are themselves elected officials.
13:22So I want to thank everybody for participating, all their supporters as well.
13:29What we hope that comes out of this is a school committee that can continue to serve the students of this city well.
13:37And that is ultimately what we're doing here.
13:39Before we adjourn, the next step is for Brad Markey, who I believe is here.
13:46Is he here?
13:47I hope he's here.
13:48Oh, there he is behind the seat.
13:50Uh, Mr.
13:51Clerk, if you would swear him in, and then before we adjourn.
14:06Raise your right hand.
14:11I, Brad Markey.
14:12I, Brad Markey.
14:13Do solemnly swear.
14:14Do solemnly swear.
14:15Yes, hold on.
14:19I will faithfully and impartially perform my duties as a member of the New Bedford School Committee.
14:26As a member of the New Bedford School Committee.
14:28In accordance with the laws.
14:29In accordance with the laws.
14:30And the Constitution Constitution of the United States, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the charter and ordinances of the City of New Bedford, so help me God.
14:43Thank you.
15:15Okay, we have a motion to adjourn, second.
15:18Go ahead.
15:22Hold on, we have a second.
15:24Councilor Gomes, did you want to speak?
15:25Yes, I do.
15:27Thank you, ma'am.
15:28Thank you, Mr. President.
15:30This is, this is, um, the vote has been taken this evening, and if you would just allow me the opportunity, I'm not very happy.
15:40I'm not— it's not that I'm not happy with the vote, I'm not happy with the process.
15:44I'm not happy with what has transpired through all of this.
15:48We have a divided community right now because of this, and I don't know if, um, Bruce was looking down on us right now.
15:57He would say this wasn't supposed to happen like this.
16:00I've been through 2 of these and I've never seen this kind of approach.
16:05He accepted the letter from former Councilor of Ward 3, Henry Bosquet, tonight.
16:10Um, what has happened to him over the past few days shouldn't have happened to him, shouldn't happen to Marcus, shouldn't happen to anybody that put their name forth come before us to be on the school committee.
16:23There should have been a process where the people came before us, we got to question— we heard from them.
16:28I would have liked to question them, but that wasn't in the process.
16:32But, and, and then we took our vote.
16:34But for this to happen this way and for this separation, I'm not very happy.
16:38So I hope that us as elected officials, that whether you like me or you don't like me, or I like you or I don't like you, that we stand in sincerity with our community and ask everybody, take it easy, relax, relax.
16:55Another day will come.
16:56But this day shouldn't have been done this way.
16:59And I don't like seeing what happened.
17:01I don't like seeing what happened to Henry Busquet.
17:03I don't like seeing what happened with Marcus.
17:05I don't like seeing what happened anywhere here today.
17:08And I just thought that someone had to say it, Mr. Mayor and Mr. President.
17:13That this is— this was not supposed to happen this way.
17:15I've been through 2 of these and they were smooth sailing.
17:18This one got into the part where we're separating people and people are angry because people are not voting for somebody or the council or whatever.
17:26It, it just wasn't supposed to be that way.
17:28So if anything we can do after we walk out this door is try to keep both sides in tune.
17:34This is our city.
17:35We're better than that, as it's always said.
17:37Thank you very much.
17:38Okay, thank you very much, Councilor Gomes.
17:40Um, all right, so we have— so we have a, uh, a motion and a second.
17:45So can you take the roll, Mr.
17:46Clerk?
17:48What's that?
17:50Oh, we always do it the other way in the school committee.
17:54So all those in favor say aye.
17:55Aye.
17:56Any opposed?
17:57There are none.
17:58We are adjourned.
17:59Thank you, everybody.