Marcus Coward
RUNNING FOR OFFICE IN 2027
for New Bedford
My Platform for 2027
I PROMISE TO...
Promote honesty and transparency in city leadership, while also promoting policies supporting the everyday, New Bedford citizen.
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Stand against ICE and any other entity that means harm to the people of my city based off their race, ethnicity, or background.
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Prioritize affordability for working-class New Bedford residents, business owners, and landlords.
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Improve public safety by supporting youth programs.
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Raise voter turnout drastically through community building and voter education by increasing public knowledge of city resources like city leaders, city meetings, and the NB Connected app.
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Balance the city budget while not at the expense of our schools or public workers.
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Support a humane and dignified solution for unhoused people in the city.
My Political Career
"Be the change you wish to see in the world. With love and honesty, always."
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"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."
I left the army in August of 2022. And it took me a few months to fully reintegrate into civilian life and find my purpose. In doing so, I committed myself to my ongoing sobriety from alcohol; I started going back to church and engaging more with family; and I volunteered at Nativity Prep, the middle school in New Bedford I had went to.
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I start to go back to school at Bristol Community College in downtown New Bedford. I start my YouTube channel Wake Up New Bedford! to create some positive news about the city. I continue to volunteer with the New Bedford Health Initiative and am made the Director of Operations. I am unanimously voted in by the City Council and approved by the Mayor's office to become a member of the Human Rights Commission. And in the midst of everything, Nativity hires me to be a paraprofessional for the following year, now 2023 headed into 2024.
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As I'm working downtown, I run into a protest outside of city hall, and learn about the B.I.D. (Business Improvement District) proposal, and how so many small business owners and community members are against it. This issue -- it being in my hometown, my natural interest with politics, having left the army with a deep sense of duty and service, fellow protestors encouraging me to run, as well as my first hand experience as a paraprofessional -- made me interested in running for office. I wanted to run to inspire others to get more involved politically and civically in the city.
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So, I ran for School Committee for Public Schools in New Bedford in 2025, and was able to gain 3,183 votes on my first time running for office; I lost by less than 1% of the vote. And even when there was a special election in January of 2026 -- to decide on a replacement for Bruce Oliveira, a School Committee member who passed right after the election in November of 2025 -- I gained a lot of support, and just narrowly lost by a 9-8 vote that the city leadership had taken part of. Nevertheless, I am undaunted by the fight. And instead of running away from it, I am running toward it at full speed and running for office in 2027.
New Bedford. I am here to represent you. This is my home. You are my people. Let's work together to make our city the best it can be!
