After poor showing in preliminary, City Councilor Pam Laliberte withdraws from election

FALL RIVER — City Councilor and former council president Pam Laliberte withdrew her candidacy for a fifth term, six days after coming in 13th place out of 19 candidates in last week’s preliminary.

Her withdrawal now makes way for newcomer Joseph Salvador to have his name placed on November's City Council ballot. Salvador placed 19th out of 19 candidates for the 18 slots to run in the city’s municipal election.

Laliberte delivered her one-sentence notice of withdrawal on Monday, the last day that preliminary winners could remove their name from November’s ballot, according to Board of Elections Chairman Ryan Lyons.

Fall River preliminary election: Coogan and Sutter move on to November election. Full results.

Laliberte's history on Fall River's City Council

Laliberte was first elected to the Council in 2015.

Laliberte had also served as City Council vice president before she was elected president during inauguration ceremony in 2022.

At the time, Laliberte and then-Vice President Michelle Dionne made history being elected as the first two women in the top leadership roles on the City Council.

Laliberte's admission: Fall River city councilor admits in court to harassing wife of an ex-lover last year

Laliberte stepped down as City Council president in September 2022 after less than nine months in the seat.

Laliberte's recent criminal charges: harassment in love triangle

At the time, Laliberte was embroiled in a criminal case against her by Westport police that involved a scandalous love triangle involving a married ex-lover and former business associate. She was charged with harassing the man’s wife using a “burner app” that disguised her real phone number, which are misdemeanors.

Originally, she was also charged with two counts of felony obstruction in addition to harassment charges.

In May, Laliberte admitted in Fall River District Court that she harassed her ex-lover's wife, and the two felony counts were not pursued by the Bristol County District Attorney’s office.

Laliberte, 50, who works as a real estate agent, could have been removed from her City Council seat if she’d been found guilty of the felony charges, per the city charter, and may have lost her real estate license.

When news that Laliberte was charged by Westport police, a number of councilors called for her resignation from office, but she refused.

While Laliberte admitted to the harassment misdemeanor charges, a judge in the May hearing ordered that her case be filed until Dec. 29, meaning no further action will be taken regarding the case until that time. If Laliberte should get into any more criminal trouble, the case could go to trial.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River City Councilor Pam Laliberte withdraws from Nov. election