‘Mystery Martins’ Disappears Again from the Ballot [OPINION]

Former Ward Two City Councilor Steve Martins is the David Copperfield of New Bedford politics. He has twice drawn a crowd and then disappeared from the ballot.

Steve Martins has removed himself as a local candidate for elected office in New Bedford for 2019. He also removed himself as a local candidate for elected office in New Bedford in 2017.

In 2017, Martins gave up his city council seat to run for assessor. He raised about $50,000 from his army of supporters and started to advertise directly to the voters. And then he quit.

In 2019, he took out nomination papers for an at-large city council seat and then opted not to run for the seat.

He is blaming the current political climate in New Bedford, and at least one of his former colleagues on the New Bedford City Council, for why he isn't running this year.

Without naming names, Steve is blaming City Councilor Brian Gomes and Michael Janson for being allowed to run for both city council and mayor on the same ballot. He is also pointing to City Council President Linda Morad, who took out nomination papers for mayor, city councilor from Ward One, and at-large city councilor.

Steve Martins has a great job, making $104,000 a year at the Massachusetts State Lottery controlled by State Treasurer Deb Goldberg. Prior to working at the lottery, he worked at the unemployment office in New Bedford.

Of all the people involved with the lottery, Steve is one of the lucky ones, and maybe this is the year he realized just how lucky he really is.

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.