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State of the City: New Bedford excels by specializing, mayor says

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, center, greets guests at the One SouthCoast Chamber table, including Chamber board member Gail Fortes, executive director of YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts (seated near the mayor), prior to his State of the City Address, Jan. 29, 2025.
Jennette Barnes
/
CAI
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, center, greets guests at the One SouthCoast Chamber table, including Chamber board member Gail Fortes, executive director of YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts (seated near the mayor), prior to his State of the City Address, Jan. 29, 2025.

The strength of New Bedford lies in specializing in things the city does well, Mayor Jon Mitchell said Wednesday in his annual State of the City address.

He heralded the city’s accomplishments, but also touched upon some of its challenges, including the cost of housing and the Trump administration’s effort to at least temporarily stop the construction of new offshore wind farms.

To help create more housing, the mayor plans to propose ordinances this spring to lower the minimum lot size and the number of parking spaces required in multifamily neighborhoods.

He said that over the long term, more apartments should help put downward pressure on rent, but New Bedford can’t solve the region’s housing problems alone. The city is seeing growing demand among people from surrounding suburbs, Cape Cod, and northern Bristol County.

“Housing policies in the suburbs that exacerbate income segregation are neither in the interest of the city nor the region generally,” he said. “Nor is it good for the people who are forced to move away from the places they cannot afford to live.”

He said New Bedford is willing to provide nearby towns with technical assistance to help remove impediments to new housing.

New Bedford High School students from the school's Academy of Hospitality and Tourism served lunch at the State of the City address, Jan. 29, 2025.
Jennette Barnes
/
CAI
New Bedford High School students from the school's Academy of Hospitality and Tourism served lunch at the State of the City address, Jan. 29, 2025.

With regard to offshore wind, the mayor said he looks forward to discussions with the Trump administration about how the industry can continue to build responsibly. Addressing climate change and energy demand is a long-term proposition, and offshore wind is here to stay, he said.

Mitchell took questions from reporters after his speech. When asked about the near-term prospects for offshore wind, he said that in addition to Vineyard Wind, which is already operating, he will continue to support SouthCoast Wind and the proposals by Avangrid (New England Wind 1 and 2).

“I'm going to do what I can to advocate for the advancement of those projects,” he said. "They are in areas that will help New Bedford. They’ll be doing business here. But they also are … sited in places that really don't interfere all that much with commercial fishing.”

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell gives the 2025 State of the City address at New Bedford High School on Jan. 29.
Jennette Barnes
/
CAI
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell gives the 2025 State of the City address at New Bedford High School on Jan. 29.

The mayor responded to a question about potential immigration raids under President Trump’s new policies by saying he’ll follow the law on immigration, but not give city police a major role.

“We will share information with federal law enforcement,” he said. “As a former federal prosecutor, I can well appreciate that — the need to share information among law enforcement agencies. But at the end of the day, our Police Department has lots of work to do. We won't be … out leading those raids.”

During his address, Mitchell highlighted achievements in public safety, housing, the city’s physical appearance, finances, and schools. And he spoke of New Bedford’s economic competitiveness on and off the waterfront, including the city’s arts and culture scene — a mention that brought applause and a cheer from the audience.

One of the main reasons why New Bedford is — let me just say this emphatically — one of the reasons that New Bedford is the coolest place in America is our arts and cultural sector,” he said.

Guests greet one another prior to New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell's State of the City address, Jan. 29, 2025.
Jennette Barnes
/
CAI
Guests greet one another prior to New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell's State of the City address, Jan. 29, 2025.

He paid particular attention to the rebuilding of the Port of New Bedford for marine commerce.

In 2024 alone, the city completed the expansion of North Terminal and started North Terminal 2, another bulkhead expansion nearby. The port has seen dozens of vessel berths dredged and municipal fishing piers renovated. And the state committed to expand the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, which handles staging of turbines and other services for offshore wind.

“We are rebuilding the port of New Bedford at a blistering pace,” Mitchell said. “Ordinarily, the city would go years, sometimes decades, between major port projects like this. This was just last year.”

Over the last decade, the more than $1.2 billion in port investments represents a level of activity not seen since the city's whaling days, he said.

He said it’s all part of an economic strategy to accentuate the city’s positive attributes to competitive advantage.

Jennette Barnes is a reporter and producer. Named a Master Reporter by the New England Society of News Editors, she brings more than 20 years of news experience to CAI.