New Bedford Voters Re-Elect Mitchell as Mayor, Vote In Choquette and Lopes

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — New Bedford voters re-elected Mayor Jon Mitchell to a sixth term as mayor on Tuesday along with Leo Choquette as Ward 1 Councilor and Joe Lopes in Ward 5.

Mitchell, a Democrat, defeated Tyson Moultrie, a local nonprofit volunteer and self-employed marketer. Mitchell received 5,272 votes to Moultrie’s 2,719.

Of the 66,474 registered voters in New Bedford, only 8,744, or 13 percent, cast a vote in the election.

The two faced each other in the 2019 election, where Mitchell also beat Moultrie.

Mitchell thanked his constituents and said the focus of his sixth term would be to continue the progress on projects such as the Leonard’s Wharf rehabilitation plan and the continued efforts to bring more offshore wind-based jobs to New Bedford.

“A lot of what we have been doing is what we have been doing before,” Mitchell said. “To improve everything that we do when it comes to public safety, maintaining our roads, maintaining our parks, maintaining our quality of life. We have been making a lot of progress and there is running room still.”

Mitchell was not the only incumbent victorious on Tuesday.

Incumbent City Councilors at Large Ian Abreu, Shane Burgo, Brian Gomes, Naomi Carney and Linda Morad were all re-elected, with Abreu receiving 4,994 votes, Burgo 4,098, Gomes 3,877 and Carney and Morad each receiving 3,481 votes.

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In Ward 1, New Bedford Zoning Board of Appeals member Leo Choquette defeated incumbent councilor William “Brad” Markey in a close election.

Choquette won 1,137 votes to Markey’s 1,023 – a margin of 114 votes.

Choquette first ran against Markey in the 2021 election, losing by only 44 votes. He believed the margin was small enough to ask for a recount in that election.

Upon his victory Tuesday, Choquette, nearly speechless, thanked his voters and Markey for his time on the council.

Choquette promised voters in Ward 1 to be active in constituent services in the council chambers and throughout the City’s North End.

“I didn’t think I had it,” Choquette said. “I thank the voters for coming out. They decided that they wanted change and we are going to give them change.”

Markey congratulated Choquette on his victory and said he would do well as councilor.

“I wish him the best,” Markey said. “As for me, I promised I would run for three terms and I fulfilled that promise. He’s going to do well.”

In Ward 5, former Ward 6 Councilor Joe Lopes defeated Zach Boyer by 461 votes.

Of the 2,167 voters who participated in the Ward 5 election, 1,308 voted for Lopes and 847 voted for Boyer.

Lopes will succeed Ward 5 Councilor Scott Lima, who ran for an at-large position this election but came in sixth place, just missing out on a seat on the council.

Ward 2 Councilor Maria Giesta, Ward 3 Councilor Shawn Oliver, Ward 4 Councilor Derek Baptiste, Ward 6 Councilor Ryan Pereria and School Committee members Christopher Cotter, Joaquim "Jack" Livramento, Jr. and Bruce Oliveira all ran unopposed in this year’s election.