{"id":390,"featured":1,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:57:16","latitude":41.635452549999996563201420940458774566650390625,"longitude":-70.927508410087085621853475458920001983642578125,"title":"Firsts in Politics","subtitle":"Rosalind Poll Brooker and Rosemary S. Tierney","fullsize":"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/fullsize/d3bc3b3b95abde8245951c62efc490f2.jpg","address":"City Hall, 133 William St. New Bedford, MA 02740","all_locations":[],"zoom":9,"creator":["Tom Begley with Ann O'Leary"],"description":"With careers marked by a series of firsts in New Bedford politics, Rosalind Poll Brooker (1928-2016) and Rosemary Tierney (1932-2020) were trailblazers for women in law and politics. Rosalind, the first woman elected to the City Council, the first female City Council president, and the first female City Solicitor; and Rosemary, the first and only woman to be elected mayor, as of 2021, used political office to mobilize change from within the walls of City Hall.
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\r\nRosalind Poll Brooker overcame every obstacle to make her community a better place. Not only did Rosalind enter the fields of law and politics at a time when women were expected to focus on home and family, she also did not let polio, which left her using crutches, hold her back. She began her public service career in 1969 when she was elected to the New Bedford City Council. Although she was first passed over to be City Council president, Rosalind was elected to the role at the next opportunity. Her colleagues described her as tough, kind, fair, and tenacious.
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\r\nMayor John Bullard, who named Rosalind as New Bedford’s first female City Solicitor, the chief legal officer of the city, stated “As a city councilor she had a strong personality. She was a great lawyer and a dynamic person.” Former New Bedford City Solicitor Irene Schall remembered Rosalind as an intelligent leader dedicated to advancing women attorneys. Shortly after her 1969 election, Rosalind stated, “I’m not going down in history, I’m going up.” She continued to rise up throughout her life bringing other women with her.
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\r\nCommitted to public education, Rosemary Tierney was elected to the New Bedford School Committee in 1971, where she served for several years. Beginning in 1984, she was elected to the Massachusetts Governor’s Council three times. Rosemary’s trademark grassroots campaigning style, which she perfected in these early elections drove her to victory in the 1991 mayoral race. Former Mayor Scott Lang remembered Rosemary as someone who "understood that door-to-door neighborhood campaigning and personal relationships drove public policy. No one in the City has ever built coalitions to drive an issue like Rosemary Tierney."
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\r\nRosemary succeeded in the arena of male-dominated politics by working hard to create programs and policies that included all New Bedford residents. During her first year in office, she unveiled her “Cornerstone for Change” plan to rebuild New Bedford. Perhaps her most important accomplishment was restoring New Bedford’s financial stability through tough budgetary controls.
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\r\nAs firsts in their offices in New Bedford, Rosalind and Rosemary encouraged other women to be politically active by supporting female lawyers and harnessing the networking power of women and women’s groups to strengthen grassroots campaigning. They brought traditional community-based organizing into the formal halls of city government, opening new avenues for women to enact change in areas dominated by men.","sponsor":"Lighting the Way: Historic Women of the SouthCoast, an initiative of New Bedford Whaling Museum.","accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"

www.historicwomensouthcoast.org

","related_resources":["

Carvalho, Jonathan. “Three South Coast women reflect on being ‘first.’” SouthCoast Today. Posted March 27, 2014. https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20140327/NEWS/403270372.

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Corey, William. “The Tierney Years: New Bedford’s Tenacious Mayor Left Her Mark.” SouthCoast Today. Updated January 11, 2011. https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/19980111/NEWS/301119981.

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Lang, Scott W. “Eulogy of the Honorable Mayor Rosemary S. Tierney.” Scott W. Lang. Posted February 22, 2020. http://scottwlang.com/2020/02/eulogy-of-the-honorable-mayor-rosemary-s-tierney/.

","

O’Leary, Ann. “Rosalind Poll Brooker.” New Bedford Whaling Museum. Lighting the Way. https://historicwomensouthcoast.org/rosalind-poll-brooker/.

","

O’Leary, Ann. “Rosemary S. Tierney.” New Bedford Whaling Museum. Lighting the Way.  https://historicwomensouthcoast.org/rosemary-s-tierney/.

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“Rosalind Poll Brooker, 88 - Obituaries.” SouthCoast Today. Updated October 18, 2016.  https://www.southcoasttoday.com/obituaries/20161017/rosalind-poll-brooker-88.

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“The Honorable Rosemary S. Tierney, 87.” SouthCoast Today. Posted February 18, 2020. https://www.southcoasttoday.com/obituaries/20200218/honorable-rosemary-s-tierney-87.

","

Urbon, Steve. “Rosalind Poll Brooker remembers as tough, smart, fair.” SouthCoast Today.  Posted October 18, 2016. https://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20161018/rosalind-poll-brooker-remembered-as-tough-smart-fair.

"],"factoids":["

Factoid: Rosalind Poll Brooker was active in Republican Party politics beyond the local level. She was a confidant to Republican state and national politicians, including U.S. Senator Edward Brooke. Governor Francis Sargent appointed her as Administrative Law Judge and Governor Michael Dukakis reappointed her to that position.

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Factoid: Rosemary Tierney’s $27.5 million “Cornerstone for Change” strategy included renovation of city buildings, parks, and beaches as well as the creation of an art museum downtown, the New Bedford Art Museum, founded in 1993. Over the course of three mayoral terms, Rosemary focused on numerous projects including the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park designation, completion of the wastewater treatment plant at Fort Rodman, and the opening of UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST).  All these projects were possible because Rosemary successfully erased a $6 million inherited deficit to improve the City’s financial standing.

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Factoid: Both Rosalind and Rosemary were trailblazers for women’s participation in politics. However, women still lag far behind men in representation in political offices. In 2020, six of the eleven New Bedford City Councilors are men. To learn more about women in politics in Massachusetts watch this video “Breaking Into The Boys' Club” and read the accompanying article.

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Tip: Educators can find supplemental resources, suggested lessons and activities, and connections to Massachusetts Standards at https://historicwomensouthcoast.org/education/organizing-new-bedford/.

"],"files":{"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/fullsize/d3bc3b3b95abde8245951c62efc490f2.jpg":{"id":1631,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Rosalind Poll Brooker and Rosemary Tierney","description":"Rosalind Poll Brooker (1928-2016) and Rosemary Tierney (1932-2020) advanced to become two firsts in New Bedford City Hall. Rosalind Poll Brooker was the first woman elected to City Council and Rosemary Tierney was the first woman elected to be Mayor. | The Standard Times | Composite image by New Bedford Whaling Museum. Rosalind Poll Brooker photo, The Standard-Times. Rosemary Tierney photo, The Standard-Times, photographer Hank Seaman. ","thumbnail":"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/square_thumbnails/d3bc3b3b95abde8245951c62efc490f2.jpg"},"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/fullsize/699be63fb840edfff35f8bdf2f26695e.jpg":{"id":1606,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"New Bedford City Hall","description":"New Bedford City Hall has been the seat of city government since 1906. Originally the public library, the central part of the building dates to 1857. | 2020","thumbnail":"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/square_thumbnails/699be63fb840edfff35f8bdf2f26695e.jpg"},"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/fullsize/a1f7eb4cd9016de71fdb3becaa80e32d.jpg":{"id":1607,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Rosalind Poll Brooker pictured in September 1980","description":"Rosalind became the first woman elected to New Bedford City Council in 1969. She is seen here in action as Councilor-at-large in 1980. | https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20140327/NEWS/403270372 | September 1980","thumbnail":"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/square_thumbnails/a1f7eb4cd9016de71fdb3becaa80e32d.jpg"},"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/fullsize/9b4ce45c42d05b9e54511efbc1ae8dad.jpg":{"id":1608,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Rosalind Poll as a member of the New Bedford High School Debating Team","description":"Rosalind graduated from New Bedford High School in 1946, where she had been a member of the Honor Society, the Student Council, the French Club, the Debating Team and president of the Debating Society. As a child, she had polio and was left with physical challenges evidenced by the brace she is wearing. | The Crimson Log | June 1946 | New Bedford High School","thumbnail":"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/square_thumbnails/9b4ce45c42d05b9e54511efbc1ae8dad.jpg"},"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/fullsize/412d2c94cb57fdeb513b881ccb8f1096.jpg":{"id":1609,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Mayor Rosemary Tierney at her desk","description":"In 1991, Rosemary was elected the 47th Mayor of the City of New Bedford, the first and only woman to be elected mayor in the city’s 173-year history, as of 2020. | http://scottwlang.com/2020/02/eulogy-of-the-honorable-mayor-rosemary-s-tierney/","thumbnail":"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/square_thumbnails/412d2c94cb57fdeb513b881ccb8f1096.jpg"},"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/fullsize/9cecf15ba7139e3efec559705e8013bb.jpg":{"id":1610,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Rosemary Tierney was active in community causes decades before she became mayor.","description":"Rosemary Tierney is seen in 1966 on Maple Street in New Bedford volunteering for the March of Dimes. | The Standard-Times | 1966 | New Bedford High School","thumbnail":"https://www.rhodetour.org/files/square_thumbnails/9cecf15ba7139e3efec559705e8013bb.jpg"}}}