Why New Bedford City Council Can’t Remove Shawn Oliver After OUI Arraignment

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — New Bedford Ward 3 City Councilor Shawn Oliver was arraigned Monday morning in New Bedford District Court for operating under the influence and other charges related to his October 17 rollover crash on Dartmouth Street.

While Oliver suspended his campaign to become lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, he still remains the Ward 3 councilor, and City Council President Ryan Pereira made it clear Monday that will continue to be the case unless Oliver himself decides otherwise.

“I think that, you know, he will make the best decisions for him, for his family, for the people of New Bedford,” Pereira said in his weekly appearance on WBSM.

READ MORE: Oliver Suspends Campaign for Lieutenant Governor Following Crash and Arrest

“The business of the city will not stop. We will continue pushing forward,” Pereira said. “We will continue to advance the business of the people of the city, and we will continue to work hard for the people of New Bedford.”

City Council Authority and Removal Limits

Some were calling on Pereira as council president to remove Oliver from his council seat, but neither the council president nor the body as a whole has that authority.

“The council has no ability to really take action on any of this. There is no mechanism for removal. There is no mechanism for saying this person should stay,” Pereira said.

Pereira said even if the council did have such a mechanism, he wouldn’t want to use it because of how easily it could be abused.

“Like, ‘I don’t like what he voted on, let’s remove him.’ That’s what it could turn into. ‘Let’s find a reason to remove him because I don’t like his politics,’” Pereira said. “No, the electorate sends people to the city council to represent them in government, so only the electorate should be able to remove them.”

Charter Recall Provision Awaits State House Approval

The city council did approve a Home Rule Petition in May of this year to add a recall provision to the city charter for elected offices. Mayor Jon Mitchell signed the petition, and Pereira said it is currently “sitting up at the State House” awaiting action from the Massachusetts Legislature, which must approve it for it to be enacted.

READ MORE: New Bedford Recall Provision Petition Heads to State House

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Committee Assignments and Corrections Department Status

Pereira also rejected the idea that he would strip Oliver of his committee assignments or in any way limit his power as a city councilor.

“The people of Ward 3 have elected a representative to the city council. Until there is a mandate and that person is no longer there, they will have full right to authorize their office as being a city councilor. That includes membership on committees, that includes their vote on the city council,” Pereira said. “There is no other action that will be taken from myself or from the council in that regard.”

“What happened was an unfortunate situation. Mistakes were made. I guarantee you, (Oliver) would be the first to admit it,” Pereira said. “And at the end of the day, the voters had a clear mandate that sent him to the city council, and until that changes, there will be no change from this president.”

READ MORE: Writing in a New Candidate for Lieutenant Governor Would Invalidate Your Vote for Mike Minogue

As for his job with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the New Bedford Light reported Oliver “has been placed on restricted work duty at his job at the Massachusetts Treatment Center,” a “medium-security facility in Bridgewater” that “houses criminally sentenced male sex offenders and people civilly committed as sexually dangerous persons.”