New Bedford Councillor Bousquet Gives Scathing Remarks After Criticism from Rebeiro

It seems the tone of the presidential race has seeped into the New Bedford City Council.

Thursday evening, Ward Four City Councillor Dana Rebeiro shared a Hillary Clinton campaign ad featuring a Fall River factory on her personal Facebook page. In the post, Rebeiro said, "Let's be clear Republican Henry BOUSQUET and "independent" Kerry Winterson asked for this ridiculous apology." The remarks alluded to Ward Three Councillor Bousquet's failed council motion requesting that Clinton apologize for remarks that he says placed New Bedford in a negative light.

Bousquet reacted to the post this morning, and tells WBSM News Rebeiro's daytime job as a salaried employee of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee is now conflicting with her council position. "Frankly, it's disappointing that a local official thinks that it's ok to go on record, smearing her colleagues for doing their jobs," said Bousquet. "But I guess if you're paid handsomely by the Mass. Democratic Committee to get out the vote for their candidate then obviously it's impossible to be an impartial representative and see all sides of a debate, whether you agree with its merits or not. Her politics here conflict with making New Bedford great, and she clearly is only concerned with feathering her own bed."

Bousquet says as a New Bedford City Councillor, personal politics should remain that way. "I'm not on the council floor professing (my support) one way or the other. I don't run around in public carrying signs and yelling through megaphones. My own particular political leanings don't impact my City Council job."

WBSM News alerted Bousquet to Rebeiro's Facebook post this morning. Bousquet says he is not able to see his fellow councillor's post on Facebook. He believes he has been blocked from viewing her profile.

The Ward Three Councillor says as a Republican he supports Donald Trump, but he would have made the same motion that he introduced at last week's City Council meeting calling for an apology from the Republican candidate if he had made similar remarks. "I would've been on him like white on rice."

It's not the first time Rebeiro has criticized Bousquet for his support of Donald Trump. A personal Facebook post by Dana Rebeiro on June 22nd showed a photo of Bousquet's Dodge pickup truck, sporting a Donald Trump bumper sticker. The truck's tire overlapped the parking space divider line. A caption on the photo posted by Rebeiro reads, "Trump supporters can't park straight, can't think straight!"

Rebeiro was reached by WBSM News this morning. She declined multiple invitations to comment.

Speaking on WBSM's "Brian's Beat," Bousquet says Rebeiro called him this morning to apologize for the post. Bousquet accepted the apology but says, however, Councillor Rebeiro is "not earning friends or making alliances" by making such personal posts on social media.