City Councilor Brian Gomes never wanted to run for mayor in 2019 but he ended up on the ballot and now he has heard from the voters. He should withdraw now.

The preliminary election for municipal offices had a predictably low number of voters participating. There wasn't much campaigning in the traditional and effective way campaigning is done in the Whaling City.

Mayor Jon Mitchell crushed all of his opponents. He took the race and the voters seriously and they rewarded him with their support. He is on his way to being one of the longest-serving mayors in the history of New Bedford. He will be the first mayor elected to a four-year term in the city.

Brian Gomes was the accidental opponent in this mayoral race. He took out papers for both mayor and city council and he waited too long to withdraw from the race for mayor. He screwed up. Then he decided to make a run at the job anyway. He made a halfhearted attempt and the voters acted accordingly.

He should take this opportunity to withdraw properly from the race for mayor and focus on retaining his seat on the city council. He only received 20 percent of the vote for mayor compared to Mayor Mitchell's 57 percent of the vote. He is the second-place finisher and he is entitled to go on head-to-head against Mitchell on the November ballot. But why bother and why risk losing a seat on the city council?

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.

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