NEW BEDFORD (1420 WBSM) — After beginning his run for the New Bedford City Council as a roommate of a friend, Ward 3 candidate Jacob Ventura will officially move into his own unit in The Lofts at Wamsutta Place next month.

Ventura, who is running for the Ward 3 city council seat vacated by Hugh Dunn’s resignation, provided WBSM with a copy of the addendum to his lease application for The Lofts that shows he will move into a third-floor unit on January 6 on a 12-month lease.

He had previously been on the waitlist for an apartment in the complex.

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According to Ventura, he had moved into the apartment of a friend in the complex in mid-September while waiting for an apartment to open up. He provided WBSM with a letter from the property manager of The Lofts at Wamsutta Mills on December 7, stating that he was a resident of the complex.

Ventura registered to vote in New Bedford on November 28, and took out papers for the Ward 3 special election on November 29.

Ventura is vying against six other candidates in a preliminary election scheduled for January 24, which will whittle the race down to two candidates that will face off in the special election on February 28.

Also running for the seat is former Ward 3 Councilor Kathy Dehner, along with Robert Cabral, Shawn Oliver, Robert Bromley, John F. Robinson and Carmen Amaral.

Some had called Ventura a "carpetbagger" for moving into New Bedford just prior to the election, especially after he had previously moved from Dartmouth to Attleboro in June 2017 before running in a special election there for a state Senate seat in September 2017.

Ventura has denied moving to either Attleboro in 2017 or New Bedford this past fall in order to run for office.

Top SouthCoast Stories on WBSM Dec. 12 - 18

Check out the top stories of the past week on WBSM.com and on the WBSM app. Click on the title or photo to read the entire story.

Top SouthCoast Stories on WBSM Dec. 12 - 18

Check out the top stories of the past week on WBSM.com and on the WBSM app. Click on the title or photo to read the entire story.

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