Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone took time on Monday night to deliver his personal observations and well wishes to those gathered in person and online.

By Jim Clark

Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone gave a farewell address to the Somerville community in the brand-new Somerville High School auditorium on Monday evening.

Curtatone is wrapping up his ninth term as mayor this month, handing over the reins to his successor, Mayor-elect Katjana Ballantyne after the first of the year.

Additional speakers, included Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and City Council President Matthew McLaughlin.

The event was originally intended to be open to the public, but out of an abundance of caution in regards to recent upticks in the numbers of COVID-19 infections and the emergence of the Omicron variant throughout the region, it was changed to a virtual event broadcast online. A limited number of attendees were allowed to participate as members of the audience.

City Council President Matthew McLaughlin opened the event with remarks praising the outgoing mayor’s record of accomplishments, while also sharing personal recollections of his past history with the mayor.

“We’re here to bid not goodbye, but see you later to Mayor Joe, who will remain in this community and continue to contribute,” McLaughlin began his remarks. “But it’s a fond farewell for his 20-year tenure as mayor in this city.”

City Council President Matthew McLaughlin (L) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (R) shared their thoughts about Mayor Curtatone at the farewell event. — Photos courtesy of Somerville GovTV

“I’m happy to be here, because my relationship with Joe goes way back, more than 20 years to my time when I played football for the Somerville High football team,” McLaughlin continued. “And I remember Joe very well back then and he says he remembers me very well, but I’m pretty sure he’s thinking about my brother Danny.”

McLaughlin went on to cite the many accomplishments of the mayor, including his efforts to revitalize Assembly Square and Davis Square, of his helping to make the Green Line Extension into the city a reality, and the construction of the new high school facilities.

The councilor emphasized how much he admired Curtatone’s decisiveness and his ability to make the hard choices and stick with them, particularly when dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was great to have somebody in a leadership position who was willing to make decisions,” McLaughlin said. “And that’s not something you find in all leaders. So that’s definitely his defining characteristic.”

McLaughlin cited other admirable policy decisions by Curtatone, and then introduced Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who shared her thoughts about the mayor.

Pressley echoed McLaughlin’s praise of the mayor. “Whenever I’m looking to offer an example of a North Star that we should be following, and to call out a pacesetter, whether it’s on housing justice or racial justice and facial recognition technology, or disrupting the school of confinement pathway, climate justice,” Pressley remarked. “You know, I have had colleagues ask me ‘Do you represent any community other than Somerville?’ because every example I have provided has been about the pace setting, a visionary example of Somerville.”

Pressley credited Mayor Curtatone with the vision and stewardship that has made these and many other things possible.

The mayor took the stage and promptly stepped out from behind the podium to deliver his unscripted remarks more directly to the assembled audience.

“I said to my team ‘I can’t do a speech tonight.'” the mayor began. “I’ve given a lot of speeches this time of year for a long time. Whether as a member of the Board of Aldermen or as a mayor during inauguration. I wanted nothing between myself all of you and the community watching.”

The mayor thanked the community for watching out for one another in these unprecedented times.

“I know we’re all done with COVID, it is not done with us,” said Curtatone. “I ask us all to continue to check on each other. Wear masks where appropriate. Get tested. Get vaccinated. 99 souls in this city have passed on. we will be approaching 20,000 in Massachusetts, 800,000+ in the nation and 5 million worldwide.”

The mayor thanked the members of his family for all their support. He also thanked those in his administration and others who he felt taught him how to best serve the community.

“Leadership is about listening,” the mayor said. “It’s about having empathy. It’s about accepting one’s opposing view – they don’t agree with your decisions about the pandemic, or perhaps they want us to do things more, to fight for affordable housing faster than we’re doing it – with grace, as Dr. King would say.”

The mayor wrapped up his talk by saying, “I wish you all safe, happy holidays, and pray that the new year brings a promise of a better future for everyone.”

A video of the entire event is available on our website (www.thesomervilletimes.com) and on the city’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4vLyIM6dKM.