Mayor Mitchell Flips Vote Ahead of Key School Committee Decision

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — Hours before the second joint convention of the New Bedford City Council and the New Bedford School Committee to fill the vacancy on the latter board, Mayor Jon Mitchell threw the process another curveball when he announced that he is switching his vote from Henry Bousquet to Marcus Coward.

“This is breaking news,” Mitchell said in his weekly appearance on WBSM Wednesday. “I’m going to vote for Marcus Coward tonight.”

The decision has major implications for a vote that was previously deadlocked at eight votes for Coward and eight votes for Bousquet.

“I learned more new information that was material to the decision, and I weighed it very carefully,” Mitchell said. “And that is the way I've come down.”

Why Mitchell Flipped His Vote

Mitchell said he had “done some homework” on the candidates and had interviewed them, and also had concerns about a recent social media post from Bousquet, the former Ward 3 City Councilor whom Mitchell has also appointed to the Board of Election Commissioners.

Coward ran for the school committee this past November and missed out on a seat by just 128 votes.

Nine candidates had submitted their names and letters of interest in December to fill the seat vacated by the passing of longtime school committee member Bruce Oliveira.

READ MORE: Nine Apply to Fill Vacant New Bedford School Committee Seat

The first joint convention of the city council and the school committee took place on January 7. After multiple rounds of voting, the 16 members in attendance (Ward 5 City Councilor Joe Lopes missed the meeting) remained deadlocked in an 8-8 tie between Bousquet and Coward.

Originally, Mitchell supported former Ward 1 City Councilor Brad Markey for the appointment, but switched his vote to Bousquet as the voting rounds continued.

“The support wasn’t there for him, nor was it (there) in support of some other really great candidates,” Mitchell said. “There were some others there, namely Lee Blake and Cheryl Viveiros, both are very, very capable people. None of them got support, so it came down to two candidates.”

Mitchell also said he had asked members of the city council to extend the process so candidates could be better vetted.

“I don't take flipping my vote lightly, but I think the process should have been longer to do a deeper level of due diligence on everybody,” Mitchell said. “And there wasn't any support for that, unfortunately. So the break we had was, I think, useful for me, at least to understand where these two candidates are coming from.”

Mitchell: Coward "Will Listen to Me"

Mitchell said the reason for his vote switch “has to do with what I see is what’s really necessary for this school committee, and that is some level of stability.”

“I felt like Marcus Coward will listen to me, for one thing,” he said. “I had some, and I shared this with Henry, I have some real reservations about some of his positions. His positions concerning vocational admissions, which is something that I’ve felt is very important the last several years.”

Mitchell’s Concerns Over Vocational Admissions

Mitchell said it was Bousquet’s position on admissions to Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School and other vocational schools in the Commonwealth that played a part in flipping his vote. Mitchell has long advocated for a lottery system as opposed to merit-based admissions.

READ MORE: New Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech Admissions Policy Expected Soon

“I thought the vocational admissions policy is downright discriminatory and has not been completely fixed,” he said. “And (Bousquet’s) answers to my questions about that, to my mind, were not satisfactory.”

The Social Media Post That Raised Red Flags

Mitchell also referenced a public Facebook post by Bousquet on January 19 that quoted another unidentified post citing statistics regarding parents moving children out of traditional public school models.

“Now let’s see if the state and federal government are willing to recognize those choices by reimbursing families who aren’t using the traditional public school system, whether through tax breaks, education credits, or direct funding that actually follows the student,” part of the post read.

Mitchell said people had brought the post to his attention.

“I’m not sure why you would post in the middle of all this,” Mitchell said. “But he put up a post that suggested that the money in the district should follow the student out, and I, and anybody who has been paying attention to the New Bedford School Committee over the last decade, would recognize that the mayor and others, almost every school committee member to a person, has fought tooth-and-nail to keep every last dollar in the district.”

“We've had these major fights over charter schools, and that kind of suggestion after we've achieved a great level of financial stability is really, really disturbing to me,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said that while he, a Democrat, and Bousquet, a Republican, disagree on national issues, that can’t bleed into the work of the school committee.

“When it comes down to school committee matters, I, we strive for no drama,” he said.

WBSM reached out to Bousquet via his Facebook page prior to publication but has not yet heard back. This story will be updated with his response, should he provide one.

Mitchell Criticizes Coward's Decision Not to Appear on WBSM

Mitchell also said he feels Coward has “a ton to learn,” including Coward’s decision to not take up host Chris McCarthy’s offer to appear on WBSM’s SouthCoast Now and state his positions. Bousquet appeared on the show on January 19.

“He should have gone on your show. It was a big mistake, and whoever he’s listening to gave him really bad advice about not going on the show,” Mitchell said.