By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Every Somerville achievement has had multiple hands that have held it, examined it and forged it. As Mayor, I rely on the intrinsic wisdom in our community, the values that the people in our community hold dear, and return to that wisdom and those values every time we face a choice or a challenge. I have partners everywhere—from individual members of the public who advocate for policies and initiatives, to grassroots organizations who rally around an issue, to my fellow elected officials who represent the values of their constituents.

Somerville is now losing one of those dedicated elected officials who has helped forge many of our community’s accomplishments, but our city’s loss is Massachusetts’ gain. Rep. Carl Sciortino announced last week that he is leaving the state Legislature to become executive director of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, bringing his tireless devotion to justice, fairness and equality to one of the most pressing health care issues of our time.

As Mayor and CEO of Somerville, I need to be able to pick up the phone, call members of our state delegation, have them lend an ear and go up on Beacon Hill to fight for what our city needs. Carl has done that and done it with alacrity and resolve over the past decade. Despite the fact that Somerville is only a small part of Carl’s district, he has represented our city in full at the Statehouse and championed our causes.

Too often, politicians are more worried about re-election and choose the easier wrong instead of the more challenging right, or faced with challenges like an uncertain fiscal landscape, let fear paralyze them. That has never been Carl. He does not shrink from doing the right thing just because it isn’t always the easiest thing. One great example of this, among the many examples from Carl’s tenure in office, is his advocacy on education and transportation issues and his keen understanding how that affects the job market.

Our state has been too content over the years to pick around the edges when it comes to funding our transportation and education systems, holding back our opportunity to build the academic foundation and transportation network we need to support a 21st century economy. Last year, after Gov. Deval Patrick put forth a bold plan to provide the funding our transportation system sorely needs, the Legislature cut the proposed funding by a full one-third and then refused to take steps to ensure adequate funding in the future by simply accounting for a potential loss in toll revenue that the state already agreed upon.

But not Carl. He was willing to have the hard conversation that others avoid about revenue, investment and fairness. Carl put out a petition that called upon the Legislature to not undermine Gov. Patrick’s proposal, and instead go back to the table, work with Gov. Patrick and develop policy that would produce a meaningful, long-term solution for transportation and education funding, while simultaneously creating a fairer tax system—in a state that already has a regressive tax system—that would take less from low-income earners.

That’s just one example of Carl’s persistence and devotion to fairness and long-term solutions. He has done so much for Somerville. His advocacy helped secure funding for the Green Line extension, bringing environmental and economic justice to our residents. Carl helped secure millions in state funds that allowed us to renovate Foss Park, providing residents in our densely populated city with the high-quality open space they deserve. He brought in grant money that created a gang intervention project at the Teen Empowerment Center, extending that helping hand to our at-risk youth and making quality of life better for all our residents. Carl was instrumental in the passage of legislation that made possible a land swap between Federal Realty and the Department of Conservation and Recreation unlocking the ability to create a waterfront park at Assembly Square that reconnects Somerville with its waterfront on the Mystic.

Carl embodied Somerville’s values of equality and fairness. When we defied Gov. Romney’s edict and married same-sex couples from outside Massachusetts, Carl supported us before he was elected. He continued on Beacon Hill the battle for civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members of our community, and authored the Transgender Equal Rights bill. Carl actively supported passage of the Community Preservation Act, which passed in Somerville by the second-highest margin of any community that has adopted the CPA, and helped take the lead on the pro-family, pro-public safety TRUST Act. He represented our community’s values, and did so with statesmanship that is increasingly hard to find these days.

We are fortunate in Somerville to still have Sen. Pat Jehlen, Rep. Denise Provost and Rep. Tim Toomey representing us on Beacon Hill, and Congressman Mike Capuano representing us in Washington. Our state and federal delegation continues to embody and advocate for the values of Somerville, but we will all sorely miss Carl. We all need to thank Carl for his advocacy and leadership in his work over the past decade on behalf of our community, and wish him well as he brings that passion, advocacy and leadership to the AIDS Action Committee. People from all over Massachusetts will now have an opportunity to learn what we already know—there is no a better person than Carl Sciortino to have on your side, fighting for you.