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Brockton Candidate for Mayor Cancels Fund Raiser Over Supporter’s Online Posting for English-Only

October 22, 2019

A candidate for mayor of Brockton who voted against a sanctuary-city resolution earlier this year cancelled a fund raiser after a supporter organizing the event host posted a message online saying “America speak English or go back home” over an image of the candidate’s campaign sign.

This online posting by a supporter of Brockton mayoral candidate Robert Sullivan has roiled the campaign.

Robert Sullivan, 47, president of the Brockton City Council, distanced himself from the comment, which was noticed and publicized by a supporter of Sullivan’s opponent, Jimmy Pereira, 27, who was born in the United States but whose siblings and mother were born in Cape Verde.

It’s not clear that Pereira has accepted Sullivan’s gesture. Pereira took shots at Sullivan’s campaign in comments to the Brockton Enterprise.

“It’s a shame to see the division in Brockton. But my campaign and team has been respectful. We are a diverse group of people. In my events, you see a variety of faces from all backgrounds. It’s something we don’t see too much from the other side,” Pereira said, according to the Brockton Enterprise.

Pereira, a transportation planner, refrained in a recent debate from announcing a position on a proposed sanctuary-city resolution that the Brockton City Council rejected in May, instead saying that it’s a dead issue. Sullivan as a city councilor voted against it.

Brockton’s municipal elections are nonpartisan, which means that candidates do not run as nominees of a political party. Sullivan and Pereira are Democrats, however.

During a debate last week, Pereira appealed to elderly voters on fixed incomes by saying that if elected he plans to avoid increasing the city’s property tax levy the maximum amount allowed by state law, which is 2.5 percent plus allowances for new growth.

In tweets earlier this year, Pereira has at least indirectly expressed support for conventional left-of-center positions. He retweeted, for instance, tweets supporting legal abortion and policies designed to combat climate change. Here are examples:

 

 


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