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Councillor John T. Saunders was first elected to the New Bedford City
Council in 1983. He served as President of the City Council in 1990, and he is
now serving his 15th year as Councillor -at-Large.
John is a lifelong resident of New Bedford, born in 1961 to Paul F. Saunders
and the late Anne Beedem Saunders. He has four brothers and five sisters.
Councillor Saunders is married to Kristen Farnworth Saunders. They have been
married for fifteen years, and they have three children, Courtney, Andrew and
Liam Saunders.
Councillor Saunders was educated at schools in New Bedford and is a graduate
of Bishop Stang High School. He has also attended the University of
Massachusetts at Dartmouth and Northeastern University. He worked as a
commercial fisherman until his election to the City Council in 1983. In 1984,
he began working for the Division of Marine Fisheries while also working as the
Assistant to the Harbor Master of New Bedford. At that time, John established
the Mariner's Assistance Program, which was run by Child and Family Services of
New Bedford. As the program's manager and sole employee, Mr. Saunders provided
fisherman and their families with counseling and referrals for drug and alcohol
abuse, space for treatment programs, AIDS education, job placement and
retraining, and financial assistance. Because of this work, John was chosen as
one of twenty recipients for a $10,000 "Points of Light" Award for
outstanding community service. He was presented with this award by President
George Bush, in Washington, DC. John's work with the Mariner's's Assistance
Program has left him with a passion for helping people. For the past eleven
years, he has worked in the social service field. Councillor Saunders is active
in the community, raising funds for various local non-profit agencies for which
he feels a strong commitment to. John is a board member of the Boys and Girls
Club of New Bedford., as well as an active member of the Friendly Sons of St.
Patrick and Access.
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS: Chairman of Shellfish
and Fishing Industry; Vice-Chairman of Youth and Neighborhood Issues; and sits
on the following committees: Appointments and Briefings, Finance, Internal
Affairs, Ordinances, Public Safety, Special Committee on Sporting Activities
and the Golf Course |
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