1. Biographical Information:

       Name: Joseph A. Curtatone

       Date of Birth: June 28, 1966

       Address: 20 Prospect Hill Avenue

2. Where did you grow up? If Somerville, how does that affect your work with the city. If someplace other than Somerville, what does your past add to your experience in the city? I was born and raised in Somerville, and with the exception of a year of college in Syracuse and a fair amount of traveling—mostly to Italy—I never left. My life in Somerville affects my work everyday, simply because I want nothing but the very best for this City and all the people who live in it.  I am a person who believes in making change, in being part of the solution. So I guess you could say I am in the right place.

3. What’s the best book you’ve ever read and why did you like it so much? The best book?—that is too hard to say. I love reading anything that has to do with history.  I just started reading Common Ground, by J. Anthony Lucas. It is a great book about race relations in Boston in the 70s and 80s. I haven’t gotten too far, but ask me again in 6 months and I’ll tell you if it is one of my favorites. (I don’t have a lot of free time these days, so it may take me that long).

4. What is the best part of being Mayor of Somerville? The best part—that’s hard to say. If I had to choose one, I would say having the ability to help people. Also having grown up here all my life, it is great to have the chance to rid the “Slummerville” tag once and for all. I lived through those years, and it infuriated me. Gene Brune and Mike Capuano brought us out of those dark days, and we are never going back. Now you say “Somerville” and people think you are hip. 

5. What’s the most challenging aspect of being Mayor? Not being able to do 30 things at once. I can only do 25. I would also like to be able to be in 4 places at one time. My record is three.

6. What do you do like to do for fun? Spend time with my family and anything athletic. Most recently, I have been doing Tae Kwon Do. Even with the minor break I was forced to take last May when I ruptured my calf muscle in class, I am working towards my Black Belt.

7. Would you describe yourself as a dreamer or a pragmatist? Why?

Neither, really. I am the kind of guy who means what he says, and does it to the best of my ability. I have big goals for myself and for the city, but I believe they are all within reason. You have to have dreams, of course, but you also have to be practical. I am constantly challenging myself.

8. If you have a credo, a maxim, that you try and live by what is it?

Do the right thing, and get the job done. This is what I tell myself, and this is what I say to those around me.

9. If you could be alive in any historical era, what era would it be, and what would you be doing there? Right here, right now. I cannot imagine anything better than being the Mayor of Somerville in 2004. (Ok, I might be in Italy for a little while.)

10. What issues confronting Somerville right now are of most concern to you and why? Youth issues in this city are of great concern to me. Somerville has high rates of suicide and drug abuse, particularly related to OxyContin and Heroin. When I came into office, I realized that more of our kids would be lost if we didn’t do something about it. We have since established a Trauma Response Network, a group of community volunteers including educators, coaches, health professionals, and police officers—all of who have taken the city’s three-day course in how to respond to suicides, suicide attempts, drug overdoses and other traumatic incidents.   We are making progress in this area, but it is an issue that we have to continue to monitor closely.

The city’s fiscal stability is also an issue that is a concern. Last fiscal year we delivered a balanced budget with no lay-offs, but this year will be no picnic. If the state keeps cutting back on local aid, we’ll have more and more trouble maintaining services and avoiding layoffs. That is why fostering commercial development—at Assembly Square and elsewhere—is key to our future growth. You can’t cut you’re your way to success. We need to grow our tax base if we want to prosper. 

11. Where do you see the city in twenty years? I see Somerville leading the way as one of the most livable cities in the country. I see the city having a top-tier education system, a new neighborhood at Assembly Square that is an example of smart growth development for the entire region, new jobs and opportunities at a revitalized Innerbelt. While I am at it, I see a Green Line train running through the city providing connections to all Somerville destinations.

12. What is your single biggest success? In life—my family. In politics—being the Mayor of Somerville.

13. Your biggest defeat? When it didn’t snow.

14. If you were not involved with your current career what sort of work do you think you would find most rewarding? If I were not Mayor I would still be coaching high school athletics.

15. How do you want to be remembered? I would like to be remembered as someone who was dedicated to everything he did and gave everything he had to make Somerville a better place for years to come.

16. Who is your hero and why? My hero is my father. No one worked as hard as he did. (Don’t tell my mother I said that because she actually worked just as hard and she’s still going strong.) He was always working two or three jobs at a time. And he had tremendous entrepreneurial skills and great instincts, which I like to think I bring to the job of being Mayor. He also had unusual people skills and put dedication to his family above all else.

17. If you could ask that person one question what would it be? If my father were still alive, I would ask him for advice on how to raise my son.