Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…
The recent article concerning the travel of Mayor Jon Mitchell has left me wondering what the point of this article was. As an investigative piece it was at best an ineffective and sensationalized attempt to create a controversy where there is none and at worst an ill-directed criticism of a fundamental responsibility of holding the job of mayor of New Bedford — to advocate for and promote our city and its economic growth. Without debating if the total annual amount of just over $14,000 should be deemed “excessive” or not, I found this article to be completely off base in that it failed to mention the very real — and necessary — reasons why elected officials should indeed travel beyond the boundaries of the cities that they govern.
New Bedford is fortunate to have two industries — commercial fishing and offshore wind — that are also some of the most highly regulated and challenged industries in the country. The mayor has pursued an economic development strategy that supports the Port of New Bedford, commercial fishing, and offshore wind and has resulted in a port-driven economy that generates $11 billion in economic activity. In addition, there has been over $100 million invested in dredging and port infrastructure. His travel and advocacy in face-to-face meetings in Washington, D.C. with regulators and legislators are essential to advocate for these industries…