BROCKTON’S CHAMPION
Mayor, dead at 62, leaves a lasting impact
Ann Marie, a patron at Tommy Doyle’s pub in Brockton, fondly remembers when Bill Carpenter was a bartender at the spot also known as Sidelines.
“He liked to talk,” she said, laughing. “He was very nice.”
Carpenter, the mayor of Brockton who died Wednesday at 62, left a lasting impact across the city, noted in the words of political colleagues, prominent locals and the people at his favorite pubs.
“He used to hold political events here,” said Linda McCarthy, a bartender at Tommy Doyle’s. Campaign signs for Carpenter, who recently filed to run for a fourth term as mayor, were posted on a lawn near the pub. “He was such a great guy. … He will be missed.”
The mayor was found unresponsive at 7:29 a.m. in a vehicle parked at the Arnone School after dropping off his grandson, and was later pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Medical Center, according to Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruz’s office. No foul play was suspected.
City councilors, saddened by the news, lauded his work ethic and success in Brockton, including his work fighting addiction.
“Brockton’s the city of champions, and he was a champion,” said John Lally, Brockton’s councilor for Ward 6.
The mayor, who served three terms, created the “Champion Plan” in his second term, a police-assisted recovery program to help those with substance-use disorders obtain addiction treatment. Lally said the program inspired similar efforts across the country.
Carpenter received national recognition for his work fighting addiction, and made presentations about the programs launched in Brockton to conferences and Harvard’s medical and government schools, according to his biography.
Timothy Cruise, city councilor for Ward 1, said Carpenter put his heart and soul into what was a difficult job, making the city a safer place.
“He also wasn’t someone who put his head in the sand,” Cruise said. “He recognized the problems and was always ready to face those problems.”
According to Carpenter’s biography on the city website, he was widely known as the former radio voice of Brockton High sports for 17 years and as a radio talk show host, first on WBET and then on WXBR.
Carpenter is also known as a former professional boxing ring announcer, having called over 100 nationally televised fight cards.
“He had that kind of bulldog mentality that I think you pick up from sports,” Cruise said. “He brought it to the mayor’s office and operated like a bulldog.”
At Brockton City Hall Wednesday, staff members were in tears and embraced each other as they closed the office early at noon. Flags there were lowered to half-staff.
A few blocks from city hall sat another large campaign sign for Carpenter, in front of the porch of Joe Angelo’s Cafe on Crescent Street. Tara Mitchell, working behind the bar, said Carpenter would stop by often, hang out and say hello, or watch a game.
“He was always here,” Mitchell said, tearing up. “We all loved him.”
Numerous local and state politicians — including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and former Red Sox announcer Don Orsillo — posted tributes to Carpenter on Twitter.
Brockton Council President Moises Rodrigues said in a statement posted to the mayor’s account the city will keep Carpenter’s administration moving forward.
Carpenter, who was a 32year resident of Brockton, leaves behind six children and his life partner, Juli Caldwell, the city of Brockton said.
“The city will miss the mayor,” Cruise said, “and the family will miss an uncle, a dad, and a grandfather.”