Mayor: While Mr. Jansen brought up a few criticisms of the current administration, only one was provably accurate. Immigration. I believe Scott Lang does see the illegal alien problem as a non-issue at best. I also have to note that on the Greater New Bedford Workforce Council are two radical advocates for illegal aliens, Corinn Williams and Helena Marques. Many of Mayor Lang's projects are incomplete or have yet to begin but I think that is more indicative of the slow churning bureaucratic problems than his fault. I do believe Fairhaven Mills is becoming somewhat of a problem for Lang as he insisted we'd see almost instant construction by ambitious developers and to this point, Fairhaven Mills is Lang's "singing frog". The policing results are evident in the statistics and things seem to be going in the right direction, although gang activity is alive and well they are not as brazen as in recent years past. As plants and companies fold their tents Scott Lang puts on a brave face and twists these into 'opportunities', but I'm not sure this will be bought for much longer by the masses.
It is the job of the mayor to put on a brave face when these things occur but it is also the job to sell the city to commercial venturers. In light of the violent crises the city faced since Lang's tenure began, I see him as a man who should be in a place of authority as he seems to be at his best then. The jury is still out on this deeply connected Democrat Mayor Scott Lang but based on my observations of him, he is smart, capable and deserves another term- Pick: Scott Lang

Ward 2:  While admittedly I have not studied this race, I have listened to enough people "in the know" who have. There aren't many differences in the two candidates and the votes and performance would be similar for Ward 2 residents.- Pick: Carlos Mota or Steve Martins.

Ward 4: Jo Jo Fortes has some gaping holes in his character with all of the press about domestic violence, workers compensation issues and the retraction and contradiction surrounding the Miranda gun case makes things uncomfortable for him. I think Mr. Fortes will be favored to returned to the job based on a dominant vote in the primary. He was quite active and visible and seemed to care about how his performance was judged but ..it is, in my mind, time to see if new blood can improve things- Pick Bruce Duarte

Councilor at Large: My 5 picks: 

1) Brian Gomes Brian has shown that he will stand up against any power, is constantly present for constituents, explains why he voted the way he did in detail, and has earned trust which is rarely accomplished in politics.
 2) Dennis Lawrence: Dennis brings an intelligence and has shown no arrogance that comes with being re-elected. He demonstrates command of the issues and I find myself agreeing with him on his positions.
3A) Kathy Dehner: New blood. I think new blood is a good thing for any political body and while I am not endorsing many changes, I think I would like to see what this bright woman can do in the council.
3B) Naomi Carney: Yeah, she's been there done that and lost last time but she is also the only one promising to try to find different revenues for the city instead of raising taxes for homeowners which several have promised! Whether she can do it or not, isn't it great to have that mindset protecting the citizen on a council that decides the rate?
4) Viola Pina: I think the minority community needs to be represented and Viola does it well. She is not highly educated but she is intelligent, pleasant and has a street smart quality. I'm inclined to think she is learning how government works and think she is doing fine at this point in her political career.
5) David Alves: I don't think there is any getting around the fact that David Alves knows how New Bedford government works. I'm not sure it would be healthy for the city to lose this man's knowledge and abilities without a clear replacement for what he brings to the chamber. Real estate issue or not, Dave has value.

School Committee:

Tom Clark: Attorney, father, veteran; voting him in is a No brainer

Jill Ussach: The city deserves her and after losing in some tight races here, she deserves a shot at this. Qualified, frugal, smart and dedicated.

Ramona Silva: Eye brow raising lapse of memory in submitting her nomination papers but considering who is waiting in the wings to implement radicalism into the committee, please put Ramona back.