Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia May Do The Right Thing [OPINION]

The twice arrested by the FBI mayor of Fall River may finally be doing the right thing. According to media reports, he is leaving the corner office – almost.

Mayor Jasiel Correia II was once a rising star in the Democratic Party that dominates Massachusetts politics.

The senior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and a leading candidate for president; Elizabeth Warren was happy to have her picture taken with the youthful mayor of Fall River.

Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III gave the Democratic Party national rebuttal to President Donald J. Trump's State of the Union Address from a school in Fall River. Mayor Correia was among the VIP guests sitting with the Kennedy family at that historical moment.

The most popular governor in America, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, at one time boasted about his endorsement from Correia, the youngest mayor in America.

Those were the good times, but they were short-lived.

Mayor Correia has been arrested twice by the FBI. He has made two appearances in handcuffs as a defendant in the Boston federal courthouse. He has been indicted on financial crimes for his business dealings prior to being elected mayor. He has been indicted for extorting legal marijuana dealers since being elected mayor.

Now that the voters have rejected him in the preliminary election he is rumored to be willing to leave the job of mayor. Except that he isn't really going to leave. He is still going to collect his paycheck of more than $2,000 per week, but he won't be going to City Hall anymore.

Elections matter and people are policy. There are important lessons to be learned from the experience in Fall River.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.