MassVoter.com← New Bedford City CouncilNew Bedford City Council · 2020–2021 Council · Organizational meeting · 7:01p.m.
January 11, 2021
6 recorded votes, 0 with disagreement.
Sources: Official minutes (PDF) · City meeting page
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
Your New Bedford ballot: 15 quizzes, about a minute each.
Start my ballot →Attendance
Note on these minutes: Each list of yes votes in these minutes reads “Lime Lopes”; we read it as Councillors Lima and Lopes, since all 11 councillors were present and every count is 11–0.
Present: Ian Abreu, Derek Baptiste, Naomi R. A. Carney, Debora Coelho, Hugh Dunn, Maria E. Giesta, Brian K. Gomes, Scott J. Lima, Joseph P. Lopes, William “Brad” Markey, Linda M. Morad
Absent: None
Every vote, in order
Election of officers
Waiving Rule 5 so a councilor may serve two consecutive terms as President
To waive Rule 5 (for a Councillor to serve for two consecutive terms)
From the minutes
“Roll call is taken on Waiving Rule 5 (for a Councillor to serve for two consecutive terms, Yeas 11, Nays 0.).”
Election of the 2021 City Council President
To elect Councillor Joseph P. Lopes as 2021 City Council President
From the minutes
“Councillor LIMA Nominates Councillor Lopes. Councillor DUNN seconds the Nomination. Councillor GOMES moves to close Nominations. Councillor LIMA seconds the Motion to Close. Roll call is taken on Waiving Rule 5 (for a Councillor to serve for two consecutive terms, Yeas 11, Nays 0.) Councillor Joseph P. Lopes, ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL FOR 2021 by a roll call vote of Yeas 11, Nays 0. YEAS: Councillors Abreu, Baptiste, Carney, Coelho, Dunn, Giesta, Gomes, Lime Lopes, Markey and Morad..” (Motion: Lima, second: Dunn)
Communication, Mayor Mitchell, submitting the Reappointment of Attorney Eric Jaikes, New Bedford, MA 02740, as Assistant City Solicitor for a one-year term expiring December 31, 2021.
Rule 38 and 40 Waived, Reappointment Confirmed
Yes: Abreu, Baptiste, Carney, Coelho, Dunn, Giesta, Gomes, Lima, Lopes, Markey, Morad
From the minutes
“Rule 38 and 40 Waived, Reappointment Confirmed – Yeas 11, Nays 0. YEAS: Councillors Abreu, Baptiste, Carney, Coelho, Dunn, Giesta, Gomes, Lime Lopes, Markey and Morad. (Matter #0002).”
Communication, Mayor Mitchell, submitting the Reappointment of Attorney Kreg R. Espinola, New Bedford, MA 02740, as Assistant City Solicitor for a one-year term expiring December 31, 2021.
Rule 38 and 40 Waived, Reappointment Confirmed
Yes: Abreu, Baptiste, Carney, Coelho, Dunn, Giesta, Gomes, Lima, Lopes, Markey, Morad
From the minutes
“Rule 38 and 40 Waived, Reappointment Confirmed – Yeas 11, Nays 0. YEAS: Councillors Abreu, Baptiste, Carney, Coelho, Dunn, Giesta, Gomes, Lime Lopes, Markey and Morad. (Matter #0003).”
Communication, Mayor Mitchell, submitting the Reappointments of Daniel Mcnaught, Lakeville, MA; Ian Mcnaught, New Bedford, MA and Eugene Medeiros, Fairhaven, MA as Weighers of Merchandise for a one-year term expiring December 31, 2021, from L & S Industries, Inc.
Rule 38 and 40 Waived, Reappointments Confirmed
Yes: Abreu, Baptiste, Carney, Coelho, Dunn, Giesta, Gomes, Lima, Lopes, Markey, Morad
From the minutes
“Rule 38 and 40 Waived, Reappointments Confirmed – Yeas 11, Nays 0. YEAS: Councillors Abreu, Baptiste, Carney, Coelho, Dunn, Giesta, Gomes, Lime Lopes, Markey and Morad. (Matter #0004).”
Written Motion, 2020 Council President Lopes, submitting the Reappointment of Attorney David J. Gerwatowski, New Bedford, MA 02745 as Legislative Counsel to the City Council for a one-year term, expiring December 31, 2021.
Rule 38 and 40 Waived, Reappointment Confirmed
Yes: Abreu, Baptiste, Carney, Coelho, Dunn, Giesta, Gomes, Lima, Lopes, Markey, Morad
From the minutes
“Rule 38 and 40 Waived, Reappointment Confirmed – Yeas 11, Nays 0. YEAS: Councillors Abreu, Baptiste, Carney, Coelho, Dunn, Giesta, Gomes, Lime Lopes, Markey and Morad. (Matter #0005).”
From the official minutes kept by the New Bedford City Clerk (agendas and minutes). The minutes are text documents; we read every action, check every roll-call count against the councilors named, and quote the exact wording. Most items pass by voice vote, and the minutes record only the result for those; how each councilor voted is shown only for roll calls. MassVoter never grades officials; votes and attendance are shown exactly as the minutes record them. Councilor photos: cropped from the City of New Bedford's official 2026 City Council photo (newbedford-ma.gov). The 2024–2025 group photo, and the photos of Maria E. Giesta and Linda M. Morad cropped from it: City of New Bedford, provided by the City Clerk.
How to read these pagesWhere the votes come from, how we check them against the official minutes, what isn't included yet, and how to report a mistake.About city pages →