Me, just under 4 years ago, as my birthplace of Fall River dumped its qualified mayor for 23-year-old Jasiel Correia: I Hope You Know What You’re Doing, Fall River
Tonight, as reported by the Boston Globe’s Michael Levenson:
Jasiel F. Correia II, the twice-indicted mayor of Fall River, said he plans on Tuesday to take a leave of absence from office and suspend his reelection campaign as he fights federal charges of extortion, bribery, and tax evasion.
In an interview, Correia, a 27-year-old Democrat first elected in 2015, continued to deny federal prosecutors’ allegations that he extorted local vendors hoping to open marijuana businesses and defrauded investors in his technology startup.
He said he plans to retain the title of mayor — and his $119,000 annual salary — until his term expires in January. But he said he will hand most of the mayor’s powers and day-to-day functions to the City Council president, Cliff Ponte, who would assume the title of acting mayor until the new mayor is elected in November and takes office in January.
Whether it’s Jasiel Correia or Donald Trump, when communities who (fairly or not) see themselves as marginalized try to stick it to the elite by electing an idiot outsider … look, the elite are gonna be fine. It’s the rest of us who get hurt when the idiots start smashing & grabbing.
School Committee member Paul Coogan seems to be the mayoral favorite, is immensely qualified, and will hopefully provide the steady leadership the city has lacked for years.
I still don’t get how a majority was enough vote to recall while a plurality was enough to retain him. Such a stupid vote. Hope you guys can turn it around. It’s a great community.