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Reported by us | New Bedford

Councilor Leo Choquette asks Shawn Oliver to resign from the New Bedford City Council

Choquette is the first of Oliver's council colleagues to publicly ask him to leave. City officials say the council has no way to remove a member, and a recall measure still needs the Legislature's approval.

By the SC360 Town Hall Desk | Published Oct. 23, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 23, 2026, 8:20 a.m. ET

NEW BEDFORD Ward 1 City Councilor Leo Choquette asked Ward 3 Councilor Shawn Oliver on Thursday to resign from the New Bedford City Council, the first of Oliver's council colleagues to publicly do so since his arrest on an OUI charge after a rollover crash on Dartmouth Street on Oct. 17.

"After several days of reflection, and hearing the comments of former Mayor Scott Lang, I formally request that the Ward 3 City Councilor Shawn Oliver resign from the New Bedford City Council," Choquette wrote in a statement released before Thursday night's council meeting.

Choquette's call came hours after former Mayor Scott Lang said on WBSM's SouthCoast Now with Chris McCarthy on Thursday morning that Oliver should resign. The station, which received Choquette's statement that evening, reported that Lang was the first elected official, current or former, to say Oliver should step down and that no councilor had done so before Choquette. Oliver has kept serving and has not said whether he will step down.

What Choquette and Lang said

Choquette called Oliver "a friend and colleague who has been a respected leader on the floor of the chambers for several years." He went on: "However, the events which he set in motion this weekend have accelerated beyond his control, and I pray he and his family step back and address them."

"The business and the work of the City of New Bedford and continuity of local government MUST take precedence over the consequences of any individual elected official's actions," he wrote. Putting the other councilors through "a gauntlet of reporters, protestors, and national scrutiny" is "wholly unnecessary and counterproductive for the 100,000 residents who expect professional representation co-equal to that of the Office of the Mayor," he wrote, adding, "I believe Shawn will have more chapters to write in his political journey."

Asked by an NBC 10 News reporter on Monday whether Oliver should resign, Choquette had said, "I have no opinion. I have no comment on that. It's not my decision, and I don't have the power to do it anyway."

"What's good for the city is Shawn Oliver taking care of his legal and personal issues, whatever they are, and resigning from the city council," Lang said on the radio. He cited what he said is a $32 million city budget deficit this fiscal year and said the council does not "need the distraction." He also praised Oliver's work: "Shawn has done a good job as a city councilor. He shows up, he's responsible."

Oliver's side

Oliver has attended every council meeting this week, the station reported: the Finance Committee on Monday, Appointments and Briefings on Tuesday, the Audit Committee he chairs on Wednesday and the full council Thursday night. After Monday's meeting, asked by the same television reporter what message he had for constituents, he said, "I have no comment at this time."

"After careful reflection, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Lieutenant Governor. This election is too important to be overshadowed by personal matters," Oliver said in a statement Sunday, Oct. 18. "I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported me throughout this journey and ask that my family's privacy be respected during this difficult time." His name stays on the Nov. 3 ballot because the deadline to withdraw passed Sept. 4.

South Coast 360 asked Oliver on Friday whether he plans to resign and how he responds to the calls. Any reply will be added to this story.

The court case

New Bedford police charged Oliver with operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf at his arraignment Monday, Oct. 19, in New Bedford District Court, WCVB and CBS News Boston reported. The case was transferred to Fall River District Court on Tuesday, Oct. 20, the docket shows. Prosecutors filed a motion the same day for his medical records, and the docket showed no ruling on it. Before the transfer, the New Bedford docket listed a pretrial date of Nov. 16, and the transfer entry does not say whether that date stands. Oliver is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

What the council can and cannot do

New Bedford runs under Plan B, one of the optional city charters in Chapter 43 of the General Laws, which places the city's legislative powers in an 11-member council, with one councilor from each ward and the rest elected citywide. The Plan B removal section lets the mayor, with the approval of a majority of the council, remove "the head of a department or member of a board" before the end of a term, and it does not mention city councilors.

City Public Information Officer Jack Thuon has said New Bedford has no legal process to remove a sitting councilor and that no one has the authority to force Oliver out. Council President Ryan Pereira said Monday, "There is no mechanism for removal," and he has said he would not ask Oliver to resign or take away his committee assignments.

A recall measure the council approved in June needs the Legislature's approval as a home rule petition before it takes effect. A spokesperson for state Rep. Antonio Cabral said the petition had not been formally filed because legislative staff were clarifying its language with the city. As of Friday, the recall measure was not among the New Bedford bills before the Legislature, which had two: one on a police detective's retirement benefits and one on vacancies in the mayor's office. Under the measure, a Ward 3 recall would start with affidavits from at least 300 registered voters, then need a petition signed by 15% of the ward's voters, or 1,943 of its 12,948 registered voters as of September. It bars a recall within eight months of the end of a term, so a vote on Oliver would have to happen by the end of April 2027. The New Bedford Light reported the spokesperson's and Thuon's comments and the measure's thresholds.

If a ward seat comes open "before the last six months of the term," Section 59A of Chapter 43 says, "the city council shall forthwith order an election to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term."

Mayor Jon Mitchell has not called for Oliver to resign. "The allegations against Councilor Oliver are deeply concerning, and the public deserves to hear his explanation of what happened," Mitchell said in a statement Oct. 18. South Coast 360 has asked Pereira and Mitchell's office what, if anything, the council or the city can do, and will add their answers.

Related: Would Oliver have to leave the council if elected lieutenant governor?; His OUI case moves to Fall River District Court; A timeline from the crash to the arraignment

What happens next

The state election is Nov. 3, and unless the Ward 3 seat opens sooner, its voters next choose a councilor in the fall 2027 city election.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Choquette's words are quoted from his written statement as he gave it to the radio station that published it in full late Oct. 22. Lang's words are as the same station published them Oct. 22, from his appearance that morning, and Pereira's Oct. 19 remarks are as it published them Oct. 20. Thuon's and Roth's comments, the recall measure's thresholds and Mitchell's position are as a New Bedford newsroom published them Oct. 22. The council's powers, the removal section and the ward vacancy rule are quoted from Chapter 43 of the General Laws. New Bedford's Plan B form shows in a 2025 mayoral vacancy bill filed with the mayor's and council's approval, which sets aside the Plan B vacancy section for the mayor's office, and in the Massachusetts Municipal Association's directory, which lists an 11-member council. The list of New Bedford petitions is the Legislature's own, read Oct. 23. The charges, the plea, the transfer, the motion and the Nov. 16 docket entry come from the court records and reports in our Oct. 20 stories, as do the statements of Oliver and Mitchell and Choquette's Oct. 19 remarks. We read every source Oct. 22 or Oct. 23. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: Oliver, Council President Ryan Pereira and Mayor Jon Mitchell's office, whom South Coast 360 asked for comment Oct. 23; their answers will be added here.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (9)

  1. Bills by City/TownMassachusetts Legislature, 194th General Court. New Bedford entries: H.2864 (retirement benefits for a police detective) and S.2509 (vacancies in the office of mayor). Read Oct. 23, 2026, 6:25 a.m. to 6:35 a.m.
  2. M.G.L. c. 43, s. 59: City council; number; election; tenure (Plan B)Massachusetts Legislature. Legislative powers vested in the council; 11 members in a city of seven wards or fewer, one from each ward. Read Oct. 23, 2026, 6:25 a.m. to 6:35 a.m.
  3. M.G.L. c. 43, s. 59A: Vacancies in office of mayor and council; procedure for fillingMassachusetts Legislature. The ward councilor vacancy sentence. Read Oct. 23, 2026, 6:25 a.m. to 6:35 a.m.
  4. M.G.L. c. 43, s. 61: Removals (Plan B)Massachusetts Legislature. Removal of "the head of a department or member of a board" by the mayor with council approval. Read Oct. 23, 2026, 6:25 a.m. to 6:35 a.m.
  5. S.2509: An Act relating to vacancies in the office of mayor in the city of New BedfordMassachusetts Legislature, 194th General Court. Filed April 11, 2025, with the approval of the mayor and city council; Section 1 opens "Notwithstanding section 59A of chapter 43 of the General Laws." Read Oct. 23, 2026, 6:55 a.m.
  6. New Bedford community profileMassachusetts Municipal Association. Mayor and council form of government; 11-member city council. Read Oct. 23, 2026, 6:54 a.m.
  7. Shawn Oliver's OUI case moves to Fall River District Court, docket showsSouth Coast 360, Oct. 20, 2026. The four charges, the Oct. 20 transfer, the Commonwealth's motion for medical records and the Nov. 16 pretrial entry, from the New Bedford District Court docket, docket 2633CR003747; the not guilty plea as WCVB and CBS News Boston reported it. Read Oct. 23, 2026, 6:25 a.m. to 6:35 a.m.
  8. Would Shawn Oliver have to leave the City Council if he's elected lieutenant governor?South Coast 360, Oct. 20, 2026. Oliver's Oct. 18 statement and Oct. 19 remarks, Choquette's Oct. 19 remarks, Mitchell's Oct. 18 statement, the Sept. 4 withdrawal deadline and New Bedford's Plan B form of government, with the original publishers credited there. Read Oct. 23, 2026, 6:25 a.m. to 6:35 a.m.
  9. Also reported by: NBC 10 News, WBSM, The New Bedford Light, WCVB.

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