In a January 20 Traffic Commission meeting, New Bedford City Councilor Linda Morad shockingly came out against modest accommodations being made for her disabled constituents, stating, I dislike the millions of handicap parking spaces across the city (see 20:11 of the video below).
After her stomach-turning ableist tirade, Morad remained completely silent on the issue, making no effort to clarify or apologize for her comments.
Now, just under five weeks later, it appears Councilor Morad s assault on the city s disabled community may not be over. Ahead of the New Bedford City Council s March 11 meeting, Morad filed a letter on the record from a constituent, requesting it be referred to the Traffic Commission. This letter, written anonymously, is full of comments equally as discriminatory and disgusting as the ones Morad made earlier this year.
After shockingly disparaging residents with disabilities earlier this year, New Bedford City Councilor Linda Morad couldn’t help herself but to snidely insult yet another seemingly impossible-to-criticize group of local residents: the men and women of the New Bedford Fire Department, who have been working nonstop to keep the city from being reduced to cinder.
When the motion was put forward at Thursday’s City Council meeting by Councilor Brian Gomes to oppose the closure of Engine 8 at the North End fire station, every city councilor with the exception of Morad cosigned in support. Councilor Morad has also been on the record voting against a similar motion in August.
It’s been two weeks since New Bedford City Councilor Linda Morad took a hardline stance against her constituents with disabilities, and she wants you to forget that she did.
A quick recap: in a January 20 Traffic Commission hearing, I was speaking on behalf of a friend who was petitioning for a handicapped parking space in front of their home. This petitioner had several surgeries resulting in a rod through their midsection, and screws through their ankle, neck, and spine. The vote was 4-1 in favor for the petitioner but failed because five voters are needed to approve. The vote was essentially filibustered by Manny Silvia, a DPI superintendent known for flexing his power by being boisterous and unnecessarily contentious in Traffic Commission hearings – essentially, the Linda Morad of the Traffic Commission.