Let's start out at the top. Mayor Scott Lang who is just completing his first term as mayor. Scott has not accomplished a few key things he was elected to do and a couple of key issues have surfaced out of thin air since he was inaugurated but before we get there, let's look at why he was elected and what he has done.
He was able to capitalize on several gaping holes in the 2005 incumbent mayor Fred Kalisz's record.
1) Violent streets
2) Poor morale in the city
3) Ties to former solicitor George Leontire
4) Keith Middle School site

As for the violent streets, the mayor has to be given partial credit, not all. He has put a bounce back into the police force of the city and clearly the inter-action of law enforcement entities, local, state and federal has been more cohesive.
Murders are less frequent since his tenure began and if a mayor takes the blame he can take the credit as well.
As for the morale of New Bedford, well volunteerism is up and any local citizen is likely to say the optimism is due to Lang. People would like to think their leader is a better person than them (as rare as it is) and many see this in Scott Lang.
Mayor Kalisz may have had a skilled, Boston trained solicitor who could bark orders and silence critics while forcefully getting the agenda through but many, many bridges were burned and this was shown as Lang dominated the 2005 elections, winning in virtually every single precinct of New Bedford.
The near fascist indifference to the concerns of those who pleaded for Mayor Kalisz to reconsider building the Keith Middle School over a toxic dump was a microcosm of how the Kalisz administration went from good to bad.


In the 2005 electoral season, Lang showed great command of the issues and had already been deeply woven into the fabric of the city. The transplanted New Yorker (who fellow New Yorker and current state representative William Straus credits for bringing him to Massachusetts) has been a successful lawyer in a powerful firm for twenty years here and his love for children's sports organizations benefited many. After winning the election, Lang had some of his campaign supporters leave him and some with disdain. Promises or mis-communications but I am not qualified to state which was which. Scott has much closer ties to the Kennedy family than most know and has been a respected Democrat on the national scale for decades.
I personally find him to swing right of center only on national and international issues of which he has no control over. He has led the city of New Bedford with a compassionate liberal style and openly offers all city assets to anyone who asks, legally here or not and quite unapologetically.

His action once in office was swift. Lang quickly reopened the two police sub-stations in the North and in the South ends of New Bedford and soon after negotiated a contract with the police department which had gone through irreconcilable differences with the predecessor of the office. Some key national stories, all negative, struck New Bedford putting Mayor Lang into the national spot light on a regular basis. The gay night club (Puzzles) attack being the first. Then the murder of an incarcerated gang member's mother (Bunny DePina) in her home apparently in broad daylight only several blocks away from the mayor's home. After this was the mayor's civil defiance of the MCAS tests which he lost at least on the round when the media turned on him immediately. Not long after this was a pre-meditated multiple murder/suicide at an adult entertainment club (The Foxy Lady) on the city line. Perhaps the largest issue was the now well documented Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on the leather and textiles company, Michael Bianco Incorporated.

His handling of the Puzzles attack was an indication of a leader. Bringing a delegation down to Arkansas to the funeral of the fallen police officer who was killed by the same Jason Robida who ravaged the gay club, was a class act even by any sensible critic of Lang's. A+

As for what limits he has in office, he then dealt with the murder of a well liked citizen with some mixed results. The killer(s) ares till yet to be named by police and are likely free today. Mayor Lang took too much grief from frustrated activists who jumped at the opportunity to scream about a lousy effort by police. This was clearly not the case as forensics and many other department members scrambled for nearly three straight days at the crime scene. Lang doesn't seem to understand that he is sure to be lined up with others that  are accused of failing to find the murderer of yet another African American. He has failed to volunteer  information or updates without being asked and this can be costly. B-

Taking on MCAS which is the only barometer to understand what kids are learning and how well was an error. One man crusades often crash and burn and this was no different, at least for the time-being. Going on WRKO and getting verbally smacked around by John "fat lesbian" DePetro was a poor decision. Print and live media let him have it for the most part. F

The ICE raid was perhaps one event which Lang would have reacted to differently if not for his ties to Ted Kennedy and Deval Patrick but we can only judge what he did and , as importantly, what he didn't do. He didn't stop the illegals from rallying on the front steps of city hall demanding citizenship several months earlier. In fact he was basically quite accomodating. He has promised us all that illegal aliens put New Bedford first. He has opened the public schools for illegal aliens and their advocates to vent when laws are enforced. He wouldn't touch the "America First" rally with a ten foot pole. I said it on the air and I'll say it now. Being the mayor of a hardened, recessed neglected North East urban city requires some compassion found only in a liberal. The guy wants to help as many as he can. We part ways on how best to do that and who he should be helping but I won't fault him or anyone for trying to help people in distress.
C...OK wait,  C-

We are still waiting on the "Fairhaven Mills" project to develop.
I think the mayor is wrong not to aggressively go after a casino for New Bedford.
I don't agree to the $10M increase in city spending next year.
The majority of the city council which was once with him, has turned on him.

He does make himself available to the public every week on WBSM.
He has brought some ferry service back to New Bedford.
Streets are safer.
Downtown is busier and more shops, taverns and restaurants are opening.

My feeling is the people are going to give the mayor another turn to further his vision no matter who runs against him


Michael "Shut the *$%# up" Jansen, Michael Zarritt and Cathryn Gould included.