Sullivan wins landslide victory in Brockton mayoral race, Teixeira wins councilor at-large

BROCKTON — Twenty-seven-year-old Angela Goncalves said she cast her ballot for Mayor Robert Sullivan in Tuesday's election because she believes he has the knowledge and expertise to lead Brockton, with his long record as a public servant.

"I think that he deserves another term to prove what I know that he will be able to," said Goncalves of Sullivan, who won a landslide victory over his opponent, Councilor at-large Tina Caroso, in Tuesday's municipal election.

"I feel like what he's been doing in the community has been working. It's making a difference," she said.

But Goncalves was clear that she also likes and respects Cardoso.

"I supported Tina when she was councilor. I love Tina. I know Tina personally. She gives me aspirations. I'm a nurse. She's a nurse. She's a mom, I'm a mom," she said. "I just feel like up against Robert Sullivan, he just edges her out just a little bit."

Based on unofficial results in Tuesday's municipal election in Brockton, Sullivan received approximately 8,100 votes, or 70%, while Cardoso received about 3,200 votes, or 28%. The proportions of these votes match those of September's preliminary election.

In the councilor at-large race, incumbents Rita Mendes, Moises Rodrigues and Winthrop Farwell Jr. were reelected, and newcomer David Teixeira was elected to Cardoso's vacant seat.

Turnout was low, with only 11,506 of 58,151, or 20%, of registered voters casting ballots.

More: 'Proven leadership:' Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan makes bid for second term

"I am very honored and thankful that the residents of Brockton have spoken loud and clear and have decided to continue to put their trust in me as we work together to recover from COVID and rebuild and reimagine our city for the future," Sullivan said in a statement Tuesday night.

In the at-large race, Mendes received the most votes, with approximately 5,900, about 51%. The other incumbent councilors at-large weren't too far behind, with Rodrigues getting around 5,500 votes, or 48%, and Farwell with about 5,000, or 43%.

"Tonight’s victory is for all of us...We will move forward bringing a vision for a better tomorrow based and founded upon an uncommon common sense approach to solving the many issues which face our City," Mendes said in a statement Tuesday night.

"Together we will continue to make Brockton a leader in education and public safety."

"My sincere appreciation to the voters for their support and the honor of serving another term as councilor at-large," Farwell said in a statement Tuesday night. "It is a job I enjoy, and there are many challenges remaining."

While these numbers approximately match that of the preliminary election, Teixeira's win does not. In Tuesday's election, Teixeira received just under 4,000 votes, about 35%. In the preliminary, Teixeira came in third out of the challengers, with only 26% of the vote.

In September, Teixeira finished behind Gary Keith Sr., who Tuesday finished third with around 2,800 votes, or 24%, despite coming in first among the challengers in the preliminary.

In the preliminary, Teixeira also finished behind Jean Bradley Derononcourt, who previously served on the city council, but came in second among the challengers Tuesday with around 3,600, or 31%.

The other two challengers, Michael Nunes and Jamal Brathwaite, received 1,900 votes, or 16.5%, and 1,200 votes, or 10%, respectively.

In the Ward 1 councilor race, school committee member Tom Minichiello handily beat Marlon Green for the open seat, getting about 1,300, or 63% of Ward 1's votes. Green received about 550, or 27%.

"I am very thankful for the generous support I have received from so many wonderful people. We share a vision that we can and will continue to bring Brockton forward together," Minichiello said in a statement Tuesday night.

In the Ward 2 councilor race, Maria Tavares beat Jamie Hodges. Tavares received 670 votes, or 56%, while Hodges received about 400, or a third of the vote.

In Ward 3, school committee member Mark D'Agostino finished far ahead of Gerson Monteiro for the open seat. D'Agostino received about 1,200 votes, or 63%, and Monteiro received about 570 votes, or 30%.

In the Ward 4 councilor race, incumbent Susan Nicastro finished with a large victory over challenger Mike Smith. Nicastro received about 1,000 votes, or nearly two thirds of the vote, while Smith received 430 votes, or 28%.

The Ward 5 councilor race was uncontested, but incumbent Jeffrey Thompson still received about 73% of the vote.

Incumbent Jack Lally crushed challenger John Troxell in the Ward 6 councilor race. Lally received about 1,300 votes, or 72%, while Troxell received about 400 votes, or 22%.

"Thank you Ward 6! I am honored and humbled to have been reelected to keep serving you, and to have received the amount of support that I did," Lally said in a statement Wednesday. "...I had the opportunity to talk to my opponent, and we had a good conversation about the Ward moving forward, I look forward to talking again soon."

In the Ward 7 race between incumbent Shirley Asack and challenger Bri Nichols, Asack came out on top by far. Asack received about 950 votes, or 63%, while Nichols received about 330 votes, or 22%.

In the Ward 2 school committee race, incumbent Cynthia Mendes handily beat challenger Grisel Quinones. Mendes received about 800 votes, or about two-thirds of the total, while Quinones received only about 170 votes, or 14%.

In the Ward 3 race, Jared Homer came out on top against Alan Greene. Homer received about 960 votes, or 50%, while Greene received about 700 votes, or 37%.

The Ward 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 school committee races were uncontested, but all the candidates in these wards received more than 70% of the vote.

What was on voters minds

Tuesday night, The Enterprise spoke to voters outside polling locations to find out who Brockton voters voted for and why.

Between the races for mayor, councilor at-large, ward councilors and school committee, there were plenty of candidates for voters to get passionate about.

In addition to supporting Sullivan in the mayor's race, Ward 2 resident Angela Goncalves was out supporting incumbent Councilor-at-large Moises Rodrigues in his bid for reelection. She said she's known Rodrigues since she was a child, as they both attend St. Edith Stein Parish in Brockton.

"He's always been a present person, not only in the church, but in the community as well," she said. "He gives 100% into our community, not only being Cape Verdean, but also in Brockton in general."

Goncalves said she agrees with Rodrigues on issues like term limits. If an incumbent is doing their job well, they should be able to keep running, she said.

She also likes the way he explains issues to help the community understand them.

"With issues that seem so complicated, he breaks it down for you in order to understand it a little bit more easily," she said.

A Ward 6 resident, 36-year-old Monica Tavares, was also out supporting Rodrigues Tuesday night. She said she likes that he is a minority politician who served in the military.

"He's able to relate to different communities that we have, not just the Cape Verdeans, but also the Haitians, Hispanic people," she said. "He's willing to advocate for everybody and anybody. He's not afraid to speak up."

For mayor, Tavares supported Sullivan. She said she felt that because of the pandemic, he wasn't able to do all things he wanted to do for the city. She said she also felt that Cardoso was out of touch.

"Everybody has good ideas. I get it, but they have to be realistic. They have to be realistic and doable. And I think she doesn't really grasp how government works," she said.

Ward 6 resident and preliminary candidate for Ward 6 councilor Elizabeth Laso was out supporting John Troxell, who was challenging the incumbent, Lally, for the Ward 6 councilor seat.

"John has been able to identify many of the issues that are out there that haven't been addressed," she said. "He has plans and has a vision of how to make right what's been done so wrong for so long."

Laso said she and Troxell agree on a lot of issues, such as the city having too many stalled developments and unfair processes for determining taxes.

For mayor, Laso supported Cardoso. She said she agrees with her on issues like giving greater scrutiny to the hiring practices at City Hall and the city's spending.

"I believe she is a voice of change for the people," she said. "She has critical ideas about things that need to be addressed in the city that haven't been addressed."

For similar reasons, Laso said she supported newcomer candidate Jamal Brathwaite for a councilor-at-large position.

"He's the one who's brought a lot of issues to light to the public that the public didn't really even know about," she said.

Another Ward 6 resident, 24-year-old William Hardiman, was supporting Lally for Ward 6 councilor. He said he knew Lally growing up in Brockton, and described him as "a consummate professional."

"He's just a good guy. He answers your phone when you call him and he always calls you back if you miss him," he said.

Hardiman said he thinks Lally is able to handle whatever issues come up for both the Ward and the city regardless of how big or small they are. One such issue has been keeping the fire station near his home in Ward 6 open to keep the residents of the ward safe in an emergency.

Ward 6 resident John Drusinkas, 68, was out Tuesday night showing support for Sullivan. He said he liked that Sullivan chose not to pause construction during the pandemic.

"He led the city through the pandemic. He's done a great job as far as moving the city forward," he said.

Drusinkas was also there supporting Troxell for Ward 6 councilor.

"I think we need change. I think we need more transparency on the Council. I think John is the person that will give us that," he said.

Ward 7 resident, 67-year-old Michael Lally, who is Jack Lally's uncle, was out supporting Shirley Asack for reelection. He said her experience, especially as a former City Council president, made him more confident in her ability to be the Ward 7 councilor.

For mayor, Lally supported Cardoso.

"She's a nurse, and with all this COVID stuff I figured she'd be able to give some insight into medical issues," he said.

Suze Jean-Louis, 57, was one of many people out Tuesday night supporting Derononcourt for councilor-at-large. When Derononcourt was a councilor, she said, he did a good job supporting the Haitian community and elderly people, not to mention the rest of Brockton.

Mirlaine Joseph, 40, was also out supporting Derononcourt, and said she also thinks he did well as a councilor-at-large.

"I'm voting for him because he believes in Brockton and he is working hard for all of us."

Jessica Troxell, daughter of Ward 6 councilor candidate John Troxell, said she supported Derononcourt because she liked what he had to say at the NAACP forum last month.

For mayor, the 18-year-old supported Sullivan.

"I feel like Robert Sullivan's done a pretty good job with what he's done in the time that he's been there, and I feel like he's a good dude," she said.

Enterprise staff writer Susannah Sudborough can be reached by email at ssudborough@enterprisenews.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @k_sudborough. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton election: Sullivan wins mayor, Teixeira councilor at-large