Though a slate of new candidates ran for seats on the New Bedford city council, much of the council will remain the same after Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial results.
All but one of the incumbents stayed in office. In Ward 2, Councilor Maria Giesta lost her seat to newcomer Scott Pemberton in a tight race decided by less than 20 votes. Leo Choquette was re-elected in Ward 1; Joseph Lopes was re-elected in Ward 5.
Four at-large council incumbents — Ian Abreu, Shane Burgo, Brian Gomes and Naomi Carney — held off a wave of new challengers. But the fifth at-large seat, which was open, went to newcomer James Roy, a former public school teacher. Roy finished with the second-highest vote total of the 10 candidates.
Overall, activist Marlene Pollock from the Coalition for Social Justice said the city’s voters weren’t quite as ready for change as she hoped.
“When we were going to the doors, a lot of people said they wanted change,” Pollock said. “But it didn’t seem like that’s what most people wanted, so…”
The vast majority of New Bedford’s voters stayed home for the election, with just 11% casting ballots, according to unofficial results.
