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NEW BEDFORD -- The rift between the City Council and Mayor Rosemary S. Tierney over needle exchange has widened to impede progress on other fronts, even issues dealing with drug treatment, city officials concede.
As city councilors were extolling the virtues of drug treatment and the need to take a more active role in that process last week, the council swept aside the only two city positions devoted exclusively to helping drug addicts.
The positions of director and human services coordinator in the New Bedford Prevention Partnership -- formerly the Mayor's Drug Free Partnership -- already have been passed to a second reading which normally precedes final approval. Last Thursday, however, those positions were sent back to committee without final approval for no substantial reason.
"It's frustrating," said Partnership Director Carl Alves, who's been working without pay for two months now. "Certainly there was a message sent by the City Council because nothing went through."
Mr. Alves' position is a part-time one while the human services coordinator is a newly created full-time post. Both positions total about $40,000, Mr. Alves said.
Carl Bizarro, head of a neighborhoods group, said the council's actions are little more than politics as usual.
"They're holding us up because of needle exchange," he said. "It's a big run-around."
The needle exchange issue has sparked a divisive battle between the council and Mayor Tierney, who vetoed the program and then worked on a petition drive to place the question on the ballot when the council overrode her veto.
Councilor David Alves made the motion to refer the two positions, along with other posts, back to committee.
"After all this discussion over needle exchange, I was very disappointed that the mayor made no effort to get that position passed," he said, noting Mayor Tierney never spoke to him about approving the posts nor did she have a representative at last week's meeting to lobby for its approval.
"My problem with it was that I wanted to see if the mayor was sincere in her commitment for treatment," he said. "I was testing the waters."
The councilor said he plans to sever those positions from the others at the next committee meeting and bring it back to the council for adoption.
"I don't think (the mayor) cares (about treatment). She's making a real issue of it, but it's a hollow commitment," he said.
Council President George Rogers characterized the council's actions as "a shot across the bow" noting that he cannot debate the issue from the chair and his job is preside over the meeting, not direct the vote.
The mayor's active opposition to needle exchange is manifesting itself in various ways and referring these positions back to committee could be an example, he said.
The petition drive to put the needle exchange issue on the Nov. 5 ballot is on track. Election Commissioner Maria Tomasia expects to certify the needed signatures today.
So far more than 3,500 signatures of the 8,500 turned in have been verified as qualified voters. About 4,900 registered signatures are needed to send the issue back to the City Council which can rescind its vote or call for a special election.
The council already has voted to inform the mayor that it intends to call for a special election to be held in conjunction with the Nov. 5 general election.
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