Christopher Cotter
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Christopher Cotter is an at-large member for the New Bedford School Committee in Massachusetts. He won his first term on the board in the general election on November 3, 2015.[1]
Cotter ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the school committee on November 5, 2013.
Biography
Cotter earned an associate degree in criminal justice and police science from Cape Cod Community College in 1986. He later earned a B.A. in sociology and criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and a master's degree in criminal justice from Bridgewater State University. Cotter has been a detective with the New Bedford Police Department since 2000.[2]
Elections
2015
The New Bedford School Committee consists of seven members, six of whom are elected to four-year terms. Each of those six members are elected at large by all residents in the school district. The seventh member is the mayor of New Bedford. A primary election was scheduled for October 6, 2015, but was unnecessary as no more than two candidates filed per seat up for election. The general election was held on November 3, 2015.
The seats of incumbents Joaquim Livramento, Bruce Oliveira, and Marlene Pollock were up for election.[3][4] Livramento and Oliveira filed for re-election, while Pollock announced that she would not seek re-election. Both incumbents won re-election. They faced challengers Christopher Cotter, Celia Dos Santos, George Rogers, and Warley Williams in the general election; Cotter won the third seat up for election.[1]
Results
| New Bedford School Committee, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Bruce Oliveira Incumbent |
22.2% | 6,064 |
| Joaquim Livramento Incumbent |
21.4% | 5,849 |
| Christopher Cotter |
18.7% | 5,105 |
| Warley Williams | 12.9% | 3,526 |
| George Rogers | 12.8% | 3,507 |
| Celia Dos Santos | 11.7% | 3,211 |
| Write-in votes | 0.3% | 81 |
| Total Votes | 27,343 | |
| Source: New Bedford Election Commission, "Unofficial Results," November 3, 2015 | ||
Funding
The New Bedford Election Commission does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Endorsements
Cotter did not receive any official endorsements in this election.
2013
Cotter ran unsuccessfully against five other candidates for one of three at-large seats in the general election on November 5, 2013. Another challenger, Michael Janson, finished in last place in the primary and did not continue on to the general election.
Results
General election
| New Bedford Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Lawrence J. Finnerty Incumbent |
19.3% | 4,489 | |
| Nonpartisan | Josh Amaral |
19.3% | 4,472 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jack Nobrega Incumbent |
16.9% | 3,921 | |
| Nonpartisan | Maria H. Mojica-Mosquea | 15.9% | 3,687 | |
| Nonpartisan | Christopher A. Cotter | 15.1% | 3,514 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brian Pastori | 13.4% | 3,107 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 33 | |
| Total Votes | 23,223 | |||
| Source: New Bedford Guide, "2013 New Bedford Election Results," accessed November 6, 2013 | ||||
Primary election
| New Bedford Public Schools, At-Large Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Lawrence J. Finnerty Incumbent |
19.9% | 2,682 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jack Nobrega Incumbent |
18.5% | 2,486 | |
| Nonpartisan | Josh Amaral |
16.2% | 2,183 | |
| Nonpartisan | Christopher A. Cotter |
13.8% | 1,856 | |
| Nonpartisan | Maria H. Mojica-Mosquea |
13% | 1,750 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brian Pastori |
11.7% | 1,569 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Janson | 7% | 938 | |
| Total Votes | 13,464 | |||
| Source: New Bedford, Massachusetts, "Preliminary Election," accessed October 9, 2013 | ||||
Funding
Cotter reported $0.00 in contributions and $16.01 in expenditures to the City of New Bedford, which left his campaign with $16.01 in debt.[5]
Endorsements
Cotter did not receive any official endorsements for his campaign.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Christopher Cotter' OR 'New Bedford Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- New Bedford Public Schools, Massachusetts
- New Bedford Public Schools Elections (2013)
- New Bedford Public Schools elections (2015)
- Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
- What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 South Coast Today, "Who's running for office in New Bedford?" August 18, 2015
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Christopher Cotter," accessed October 21, 2015
- ↑ New Bedford Public Schools, "New Bedford School Committee," accessed March 13, 2015
- ↑ Daniel Anderson, "Fax correspondence with the New Bedford Election Commission," March 11, 2015
- ↑ City of New Bedford, "Campaign Disclosures," accessed February 11, 2014
| 2015 New Bedford Public Schools Elections | |
| Bristol County, Massachusetts | |
| Election date: | Primary election: October 6, 2015 General election: November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Joaquim Livramento • Incumbent, Bruce Oliveira • Christopher Cotter • Celia Dos Santos • George Rogers • Warley Williams |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
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