In the News
After painful defeat, Morad looks to re-enter public sphere
By Matt Camara
mcamara@s-t.com
The Standard-Times/September 30, 2013
This is one in a series of profiles of candidates in this year's city elections.
NEW BEDFORD — Linda Morad's ill father never saw the results from the 2002 election that put her on the City Council.
"He didn't make it to see them, but he was the one that encouraged me to run," Morad said of the infirm father she became a caregiver for in 2001.
Now, almost 11 years after that first election, and following a stinging defeat during the 2011 mayoral preliminary, Morad is hoping to get back into the political game by snagging an at-large City Council seat.
"When she lost the primary, that really affected her," said long-time Morad supporter and close friend Phil Paleologos. "She took it very, very hard emotionally, as anybody would."
Paleologos said that voters can expect to see a new, re-energized Morad as the 59-year-old starts hitting the streets to meet with residents this campaign season.
Morad met with a Standard-Times reporter earlier this week at the paper's Elm Street office. Sporting a campaign button and business attire, she alternated between talking policy, her three rescue dogs and how she played varsity ice hockey for Providence College—where she graduated in 1976 with a bachelor's in hospital administration.
Morad said she also used to be a frequent skier, although no longer, saying "you know how the legs get."
Morad said she supports last year's 44 percent pay raise, but opposed the automatic cost of living adjustment that came with it. On the school budget, Morad said she supported the council's decision to strip $4 million from the School Department's funds earlier this year—the money later was put back in—as a way of "getting their attention."
The former councilor added that the schools, in past years, provided what she considered so little information with their budget that she was unable to ask "pertinent questions," something she said she hopes will change after this year's struggle over funding.
And although some may consider her an ally of the current council, Morad maintained that she is not "part of any group" or faction within city politics and called herself an independent.
Morad named repairing the council's relationship with Mayor Jon Mitchell a priority. But she added that it was a "two-way street," that the mayor would need to engage the council as well.
She said the back-and-forth criticism between Mitchell and herself during the mayoral race is over.
"That was all part of the campaign, he was trying to get himself elected and I was trying to get myself elected," she said.
Throughout the meeting, Morad repeatedly paused to mention that she needed a picture of the interview for her Facebook page, eventually getting one when a staffer passed by on his way into the office.
Morad's failed bid for mayor has likely given her a perspective on city-wide issues, said former Mayor Fred Kalisz.
Kalisz added that he and Morad had a "good relationship" while she was on the council and that the former councilor was excellent at constituent services. He noted, however, that the relationship was not without its "challenges."
"We can leave it at that," he said.
A local neighborhood leader also gave Morad high marks on constituent services.
"She was always at everything, she always returned calls," said Suzanne Braga, chairwoman of Neighborhoods United, stressing that she was speaking for herself and not her organization.
"She would always say how much she loved what she did and I saw in her face how honest she was," Braga said. "She's a very strong lady, I'll tell you."
By Matt Camara
mcamara@s-t.com
The Standard-Times/September 30, 2013
This is one in a series of profiles of candidates in this year's city elections.
NEW BEDFORD — Linda Morad's ill father never saw the results from the 2002 election that put her on the City Council.
"He didn't make it to see them, but he was the one that encouraged me to run," Morad said of the infirm father she became a caregiver for in 2001.
Now, almost 11 years after that first election, and following a stinging defeat during the 2011 mayoral preliminary, Morad is hoping to get back into the political game by snagging an at-large City Council seat.
"When she lost the primary, that really affected her," said long-time Morad supporter and close friend Phil Paleologos. "She took it very, very hard emotionally, as anybody would."
Paleologos said that voters can expect to see a new, re-energized Morad as the 59-year-old starts hitting the streets to meet with residents this campaign season.
Morad met with a Standard-Times reporter earlier this week at the paper's Elm Street office. Sporting a campaign button and business attire, she alternated between talking policy, her three rescue dogs and how she played varsity ice hockey for Providence College—where she graduated in 1976 with a bachelor's in hospital administration.
Morad said she also used to be a frequent skier, although no longer, saying "you know how the legs get."
Morad said she supports last year's 44 percent pay raise, but opposed the automatic cost of living adjustment that came with it. On the school budget, Morad said she supported the council's decision to strip $4 million from the School Department's funds earlier this year—the money later was put back in—as a way of "getting their attention."
The former councilor added that the schools, in past years, provided what she considered so little information with their budget that she was unable to ask "pertinent questions," something she said she hopes will change after this year's struggle over funding.
And although some may consider her an ally of the current council, Morad maintained that she is not "part of any group" or faction within city politics and called herself an independent.
Morad named repairing the council's relationship with Mayor Jon Mitchell a priority. But she added that it was a "two-way street," that the mayor would need to engage the council as well.
She said the back-and-forth criticism between Mitchell and herself during the mayoral race is over.
"That was all part of the campaign, he was trying to get himself elected and I was trying to get myself elected," she said.
Throughout the meeting, Morad repeatedly paused to mention that she needed a picture of the interview for her Facebook page, eventually getting one when a staffer passed by on his way into the office.
Morad's failed bid for mayor has likely given her a perspective on city-wide issues, said former Mayor Fred Kalisz.
Kalisz added that he and Morad had a "good relationship" while she was on the council and that the former councilor was excellent at constituent services. He noted, however, that the relationship was not without its "challenges."
"We can leave it at that," he said.
A local neighborhood leader also gave Morad high marks on constituent services.
"She was always at everything, she always returned calls," said Suzanne Braga, chairwoman of Neighborhoods United, stressing that she was speaking for herself and not her organization.
"She would always say how much she loved what she did and I saw in her face how honest she was," Braga said. "She's a very strong lady, I'll tell you."
Former Ward 1 councilor said she is running for at-large seat
By Natalie Sherman
nsherman@s-t.com
The Standard-Times/August 20, 2013
NEW BEDFORD — A former Ward 1 councilor and mayoral candidate said Monday she will run for an at-large City Council seat, as today's deadline to declare candidacy in this fall's elections hits.
As of Monday afternoon, fiscally conservative Linda Morad was the final name on the 61-person long nomination sign-up list. Candidates must file official papers by today.
"I'm hoping to come back and again be a voice of reason and independence on the council," Morad said. "I'm hoping that the voters remember me and I'm hoping they remember what I stood for, which is an independent voice that represented all of them."
Morad, a four-term Ward 1 councilor who lost her 2011 bid for mayor in the preliminary election, closed last year with more than $35,000 in the bank, much of that sum monies leftover from her mayoral run. She adds her name to a potentially crowded field: 18 people have drawn papers indicating interest in one of the five at-large spots on the council.
"I think she'll be a strong candidate because she's run citywide before, because she enjoyed high voter approval in Ward 1 ... (and) because of her point of view about moderation in government spending," politico Tom Hunt said, noting that Ward 1 has some of the most significant voter turnout in the city and that councilors are more vulnerable this year due to voting themselves a pay raise last year.
In the past, at-large incumbents have beaten their closest challenger by about 2,000 votes, with Denis Lawrence Jr. and Debora Coelho finishing in the bottom in 2011 and Lawrence Jr. and John Saunders finishing in the bottom in 2009.
Her entry and name recognition may refocus the race, but At-Large Councilor Coelho—who also bills herself as an independent councilor—said she was not worried about the challenge.
"Money is good but it does not elect you. Campaign signs are good but they don't vote," Coelho said, accusing Morad of trying to use the council as a "stepping stone" to further political office. "I'm sure the people of New Bedford will see through that," Coelho said.
As of Monday afternoon, 17 of the 61 people on the nomination sign-up list had officially filed, including seven incumbents.
From the at-large field, those people included New Bedford Chamber of Commerce employer specialist Ian Abreu and Ralf Rho, an analyst for Fall River's Building Blocks Initiative, as well as incumbent Debora Coelho. Candidate Pete Wilde, who previously withdrew citing health reasons, also filed formal papers.
By Natalie Sherman
nsherman@s-t.com
The Standard-Times/August 20, 2013
NEW BEDFORD — A former Ward 1 councilor and mayoral candidate said Monday she will run for an at-large City Council seat, as today's deadline to declare candidacy in this fall's elections hits.
As of Monday afternoon, fiscally conservative Linda Morad was the final name on the 61-person long nomination sign-up list. Candidates must file official papers by today.
"I'm hoping to come back and again be a voice of reason and independence on the council," Morad said. "I'm hoping that the voters remember me and I'm hoping they remember what I stood for, which is an independent voice that represented all of them."
Morad, a four-term Ward 1 councilor who lost her 2011 bid for mayor in the preliminary election, closed last year with more than $35,000 in the bank, much of that sum monies leftover from her mayoral run. She adds her name to a potentially crowded field: 18 people have drawn papers indicating interest in one of the five at-large spots on the council.
"I think she'll be a strong candidate because she's run citywide before, because she enjoyed high voter approval in Ward 1 ... (and) because of her point of view about moderation in government spending," politico Tom Hunt said, noting that Ward 1 has some of the most significant voter turnout in the city and that councilors are more vulnerable this year due to voting themselves a pay raise last year.
In the past, at-large incumbents have beaten their closest challenger by about 2,000 votes, with Denis Lawrence Jr. and Debora Coelho finishing in the bottom in 2011 and Lawrence Jr. and John Saunders finishing in the bottom in 2009.
Her entry and name recognition may refocus the race, but At-Large Councilor Coelho—who also bills herself as an independent councilor—said she was not worried about the challenge.
"Money is good but it does not elect you. Campaign signs are good but they don't vote," Coelho said, accusing Morad of trying to use the council as a "stepping stone" to further political office. "I'm sure the people of New Bedford will see through that," Coelho said.
As of Monday afternoon, 17 of the 61 people on the nomination sign-up list had officially filed, including seven incumbents.
From the at-large field, those people included New Bedford Chamber of Commerce employer specialist Ian Abreu and Ralf Rho, an analyst for Fall River's Building Blocks Initiative, as well as incumbent Debora Coelho. Candidate Pete Wilde, who previously withdrew citing health reasons, also filed formal papers.