New Bedford Mayor’s Race Practically Neck and Neck During Preliminary Election

NEW BEDFORD - The results of the preliminary election for Mayor of New Bedford were tallied Tuesday night at City Hall as two of the three candidates were voted to move on to the final elections.

New Bedford residents cast their votes throughout the day for mayor while residents of Wards One, Two, Four, and Five voted for a councilor to represent their respective wards.

Mayor Jon Mitchell has a formidable opponent for this year's final election in candidate Charlie Perry. Combining to make up for over 95% of the votes, Mitchell and Perry were only separated by a thin margin of 331 votes. Mitchell gained the most with 2,707 (50.99%), while Perry finished with 2,376 (44.75%) votes. The third candidate now eliminated from the race, Mitchell Garner, received 209 (3.94%) votes, respectively.

“This is a good showing, I'm very proud of this,” said mayoral candidate Charlie Perry of the voter turnout. He says that he'll begin his preparations for the final election as early as tomorrow to get “off-and-running” for the final stretch.

Perry also credited his ability to interact and connect with people throughout the Whaling City to making it past the preliminary election. He says if elected he would carry the same trait into the Mayor's office.

“What I try to do is listen first and say 'look, I can help you out with those problems, I know I can', Perry explained. “That's what I try to do. I want to listen to you first as a homeowner and as a resident of this city.”

A total of 5,309 votes were submitted in the preliminary election for mayor this year. Of that total, 17 (0.32%) were cast as write-ins.

The final election for Mayor of New Bedford is scheduled for November 3rd.