New Bedford Mayor, City Council Clash Over Election Appointment

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — Once again, the New Bedford City Council and Mayor Jon Mitchell are at odds regarding the mayor’s ability to appoint people without the need for council approval, with the council president accusing the mayor of “blatantly breaking Mass. General Law” while the Mitchell Administration says they are within their rights.

“The fact that a former prosecutor blatantly is OK with violating Mass. General Law to me is bananas, and I just don’t know why he is doing it, or why he continues to flaunt openly breaking it,” New Bedford City Council President Ryan Pereira said in his weekly appearance on WBSM Monday.

The Root of the Conflict: A Vacancy Before the Primary

Before the council’s August 20 meeting was suspended due to an unruly crowd, an item came before the council for the confirmation of Reverend Brian J. Sousa to the New Bedford Board of Election Commissioners. He would replace Henry Bousquet as a Republican on the board, which by law must be composed of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. Bousquet had resigned from the board in order to run for the open 9th Bristol District seat.

Skipping the Normal Confirmation Process

However, considering that was the only council meeting scheduled before the September 1 primary, Mayor Mitchell was asking the council to skip its usual process of sending the nomination to the Committee on Appointments and Briefings for a formal interview with the appointee before confirming them.

In the August 20 meeting and again in his weekly appearance on WBSM Monday morning, Pereira took issue with Mitchell expecting the council to forego its right to interview the appointee by sending the nomination down so close to the election.

“Pursuant to Mass. General Law, the Republican City Committee sent two to three names on April 28 (to the mayor),” Pereira said on WBSM. “Fast forward, and the mayor on August 20 submitted someone to serve, and his Chief of Staff Neil Mello called me and said the council needs to confirm this person right away, there’s no time to screen them.”

Get our free mobile app

“I stated at that meeting the importance of screening this individual above them all because of the importance of the election commission to make sure our elections are running smoothly, are free and fair, and at the end of the day, the importance of having a board shouldn’t be outweighed by the importance of properly screening and investigating any individual serving on a very important board,” Pereira said.

When the council did not vote to confirm Rev. Sousa, Mayor Mitchell then made an emergency appointment on Friday, August 28, following a required vote by the election commission the day before to ask him to do so. According to City of New Bedford Public Information Officer Jonathan Darling, Rev. Sousa was sworn in this morning to temporarily fill the vacant seat.

“With the state primary rapidly approaching, the remaining members of the Board of Election Commissioners asked Mayor Mitchell last week to make an emergency appointment,” Darling said. “The council had ample opportunity to hold a confirmation hearing, but chose not to schedule a vote until after the primary. This morning, Rev. Sousa was sworn in to temporarily fill the vacant seat.”

What Does Massachusetts General Law Say?

The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth told WBSM it is the opinion of the Elections Division that Mitchell had the right to make the emergency appointment.

“Under state law, references in the election laws to the board of registrars also apply to a board of election commissioners unless the law specifies otherwise. Specifically, Chapter 50 Section 1 of the Massachusetts General Laws says:

“Registrars'' or ''registrars of voters'' shall mean the board of registrars of voters of a city or town, and shall include the board of election commissioners or election commission of any city having such a board or commission, with reference to all matters coming within the scope of their powers and duties. ''Registrar'' shall, when applicable, mean a member of any of said boards.

As such, it is the opinion of the Elections Division that the law allowing for a temporary appointment by the mayor of a registrar also applies to a temporary member of the board of election commissioners.”

The New Bedford City Council's Legal Arguments

However, Pereira maintains that Mitchell does not have the authority to make such an appointment. He sent a letter to Mitchell today stating that he consulted with his council colleagues and council attorney David Gerwatowski “regarding the legality” of Mitchell’s emergency appointment.

“Following these discussions, Atty. Gerwatowski contacted City Solicitor Eric Jaikes to request a legal opinion on using M.G.L. Chapter. 51, § 20 in this instance,” Pereira wrote. “Solicitor Jaikes responded to Atty. Gerwatowski that ‘it’s the procedural advice we received from the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s Office,’ but he provided no further legal analysis or formal opinion.”

“My colleagues and I then inquired with the Secretary of State’s Elections Division regarding this procedural advice and the specific statutory sections cited,” he wrote. “Officials from the division stated clearly that they do not issue legal opinions; rather, they merely point to sections of law for local review and advise that all legal determinations be made through the Municipal Solicitor’s office.”

READ MORE: Council President Pereira's Letter to Mayor Mitchell

While Pereira conceded that M.G.L. c. 50, § 1 states that “registrars” can also include the board of election commissioners in terms of the language used in Mass. General Law, he also cited M.G.L. c. 51, § 16A: “…As the terms of the several election commissioners expire, and in case a vacancy occurs in said board, the mayor, subject to approval by the board of aldermen, the city manager or the selectmen, shall so appoint their successors that the members of the board shall equally represent the two leading political parties…”

“Under M.G.L. c. 50, § 1, the terms Registrars, Board of Registrars, and Board of Election Commissioners are interchangeable only regarding ‘matters coming within the scope of their powers and duties,’” Pereira wrote. “Because appointing Election Commissioners is an executive function of the Mayor, not a power or duty of the board itself, the definition in Chapter 50, Section 1 does not apply. Furthermore, M.G.L. c. 51, § 16A explicitly governs filling vacancies on the Board of Election Commissioners, whereas Section 20 applies to the Board of Registrars. These are two distinct statutory procedures for separate boards.”

Pereira then requested Mitchell provide the council “with a formal legal opinion detailing the authority relied upon to bypass the city council’s confirmation role for appointments to the Board of Election Commissioners.”

“Unless proper legal authority is demonstrated, further action will be taken to safeguard the Council’s constitutional role in municipal governance,” he wrote.

In his radio appearance, Pereira continued to suggest that Mitchell was breaking the law heading into Tuesday’s primaries.

“It’s just another issue that I see that gets brought up in that Mass. General Law is blatantly violated or misinterpreted purposefully to push the mayor's agenda, and that to me is very, very wrong,” he said. “At the end of the day, this is not a board we should be playing around with. We have federal election watchers coming in, we’re going to screw around and misinterpret laws? We have a board of election commissioners and try to use rules and regulations for the board of registrars. It’s two separate boards, two separate functions, two separate jobs.”

A History of Tension Between Mayor and Council

Earlier this year, Mayor Mitchell and the Board of Election Commissioners came under scrutiny when Jack Spillane of the New Bedford Light reported that one of the commissioners, Donald Gaudette, had switched his party registration from Democrat to Republican just three months after being sworn into another term representing Democrats on the board.

“Mitchell had not informed either the city council or the Democratic City Committee when the switch happened last September, and later argued that since state law did not require Gaudette to resign, there was no reason to let the two groups know,” Spillane reported. Gaudette resigned the day after Spillane’s initial report was published.

Pereira pointed that as an example of Mitchell’s handling of the election commission.

“We’ve had issues with individuals with their registration, their political affiliations, which might be honest mistakes, that one I’m going to let slide,” Pereira said. “But on this specific topic, it is either gross incompetence or malicious intent, and the public needs to decide which one it is.”

“The Council President’s characterization of Mayor Mitchell’s lawful appointment as ‘either gross incompetence or malicious intent’ is unfortunate and raises questions about the Council’s willingness to work collaboratively with the Administration,” Darling said in response.

It is also not the first instance of the New Bedford City Council accusing Mitchell of circumventing their approval for appointees. In 2025, then-Council President Shane Burgo led the council in a lawsuit against Mitchell over the appointment of New Bedford Police Chief Jason Thody without council confirmation. He later sent the nomination before them for their confirmation.

Who Is Rev. David Sousa?

Sousa is a retired pastor of the United Methodist Church who “has served the residents of New Bedford in several capacities in the course of a long career, including in public safety positions with the New Bedford Police Department, the New Bedford Emergency Management Department, and the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office,” according to the mayor’s nomination letter to the council.