Mayor Carpenter did it all

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Gateway Cities movement lost a beloved hero last week with the passing of Bill Carpenter. Leading the great Gateway City of Brockton since 2014, Mayor Carpenter earned well-deserved acclaim for his work advancing substance abuse treatment, combating family homelessness, and fighting for public education funding. This short list doesn’t do justice to Mayor Carpenter’s many achievements. Running a city is indisputably the hardest job in America…Mayor Carpenter did it all.

Brockton has had many great leaders over the years. Mayor Carpenter selflessly built on their work, positioning the city for a wave of reinvestment. He was equally determined to help other Gateway Cities. We could always count on Mayor

Carpenter’s attendance at Gateway Cities Innovation Institute events. He joined us not to elevate his own profile, but simply to learn and exchange ideas. Whenever our collaborative Gateway City efforts could benefit from a mayor willing to speak out, Mayor Carpenter was quick to answer the call.

What we saw was entirely consistent with tributes from Mayor Carpenter’s family. They describe a deeply caring man who relentlessly fought for the underprivileged in both his public and private life.

Mayor Carpenter will lie in state tomorrow from noon until 6 pm at Brockton City Hall. A public funeral service for Mayor Carpenter will be held at Brockton High School at 11 am on Friday. In lieu of flowers, donations in the Mayor’s memory can be sent to city hall in care of the Champion Plan, the Brockton police-assisted service he established in 2016 to help those suffering from addiction access treatment.