New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
The New Bedford municipal elections will be held on November 8th, 2011. A list of the candidates can be found here. New Bedford Guide does not endorse candidates and we offer our site for any candidate to publish articles. Articles can be submitted to info@newbedfordguide.com. Here is an article submitted by Tony Cabral who is running for mayor. Learn more about him on his website and Facebook page.
My name is Tony Cabral, and I am running for Mayor of New Bedford, because I love our city.
I have been involved in this community for nearly forty years. For the past twenty years, I have been serving and fighting to bring new jobs and dollars to our city.
In the legislature I passed tax credits that help grow jobs in this city. I have met with corporate CEOs, business leaders, and developers to discuss expansion. Just last month I secured $2 million for a new market on Acushnet Avenue.
As Mayor, I will use my experience and contacts to grow jobs in New Bedford; to cut red tape, so new and existing employers can expand and grow jobs quickly. I will continue to fight for our fishermen and hold NOAA accountable. And I will pursue new, innovative industries – including green energy and marine science.
But we must remember that education is the DNA of economic development. I’ve been in the classroom, and I understand the challenges we face.
In the legislature, I supported education reform, brought additional funds to New Bedford, and fought to expand full day kindergarten.
As Mayor, I will reform our public schools.
I will identify best practices from successful schools and adapt them for New Bedford. I will focus new funds on reducing class size for grades K-3. And we will promote changes that engage students and keep them on the path to graduation.
I will also fight to improve public safety.
In the legislature, I wrote and led passage of the bill that helps our district attorney keep dangerous gun offenders off our streets, and I sponsored successful legislation that protects our kids from bullying.
As Mayor, I will reestablish community policing in our neighborhoods. I will work with our district attorney to clear more than 10,000 outstanding warrants in our city, and bring all our public safety agencies together to address the problems of guns, drugs, and gangs.
I also understand that our residents are struggling, and they need some help. That’s why I have introduced a plan to cut property taxes for 95% of New Bedford homeowners by introducing a residential property tax exemption. This exemption already exists in 13 Massachusetts communities, including Boston, Somerville, Everett, Chelsea, Somerset, and Malden. Congressman Mike Capuano, the former Mayor of Somerville, called the proposal, “a winner for every city.” I believe it will be a winner for New Bedford, encouraging home ownership in our city and offering tax relief to our residents.
New Bedford is a city of first-class residents, and I am running to be Mayor of all our people. I am absolutely convinced that our city is poised for a new era of prosperity, and I hope that you will join me in this campaign to build a better, stronger New Bedford.
Thank you, and I ask for your vote on Tuesday, November 8.
