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By Joseph A. Curtatone

Mayor Curtatone was sworn in for his ninth term on Monday, January 6. Below are excerpts from his inaugural address. You can find the full speech at www.somervillema.gov.

It is just as much of an honor to serve you now as it was back in 2004 when I was first sworn in.

The importance of the daily work we do to provide core services has not changed. Things like offering flu shots, picking up the garbage, stretching every dollar in the City budget, and educating our children. People are just as concerned about those things today as they were during my first campaign for Mayor.

And I’m still just as determined that Somerville does those things better than anyone else. We’ve been dubbed the Best Run City in Massachusetts and I aim to keep it that way…

But residents don’t want us just to provide those core services; they also want us to defend our community’s values…

I heard from so many who are worried, angry, or cynical, about how federal policy is failing us. Frankly, I’m angry too.

But the amazing thing – the thing that should make every one of us so proud to be in Somerville – is this. The message that came loud and clear from you wasn’t defeat.

It was: If our values are under assault, then let’s roll up our sleeves and fix it.

Housing

So, let’s start with the housing crisis that has put all of greater Boston in jeopardy. Nothing else we do here matters for someone who can’t afford to live here.

Costs are exploding in every city and town in this region. The federal and state government have failed our residents on this front and it’s up to us – the local officials, government employees, and residents, who are seeing this crisis play out in our neighborhoods – to do something.

In Somerville, we’re lucky to have residents and a state delegation that understand the severity of the housing crisis. I want to thank the community for speaking up and Sen. Jehlen, and Representatives Barber, Connolly, and Provost for their tireless efforts on this issue.

Make no mistake, our representatives are fighting for us at the State House,

just as U.S. Senators Markey and Warren are fighting for us in Washington…

In the new session, I hope to see swift action on Rep. Connolly’s bill to restore the ability of city government to implement rent control. California and Oregon recently passed statewide rent control measures because they work.

All we’re proposing in Massachusetts is the freedom to do it at the local level…

Renters need stability. They need immediate relief. And I’m confident that cities and towns can develop rent control policies that still allow landlords to protect their investments and earn rental income while also protecting our residents from steep rent increases.

And if the state is going to drag its feet on this, we need to take rent control to a statewide ballot.

Opioid Crisis

We need to think differently about addiction treatment and drug policy. We need to admit that what we’ve been doing is not working and look for new strategies.

We need to do things differently, but we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Outside of the U.S., several countries have adopted more humane drug policies.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when I started learning about some of their strategies around harm reduction, like supervised consumption sites.

But I learned that although people visit these sites to use drugs, there are people there who can intervene in case of an overdose. There are also people there who can point visitors to recovery services when they are ready.

And it turns out, when you treat people with compassion, show them you value their life, and try to understand their needs, they respond. Data from Canada and Europe show decreases in overdose deaths when a supervised consumption site is opened, as well as increases in people seeking treatment.

Just as we will continue to offer and expand our traditional recovery and support services, and just as we will continue to police with a focus on recovery, not criminalization, we are also moving with purpose toward having a supervised consumption facility in Somerville, hopefully this year.

Immigration

For anyone who insists their ancestors came here and followed the rules and it was fine, they didn’t have rules like this. For anyone who says, “Why don’t they stand in line like my ancestors did?” let me be clear – there is no line to stand in.

The rule now is the Trump administration wants you out, and however they’ve got to stack things against you to make that happen, that’s what they’ll do…

So that immigrants in our city and the rest of Massachusetts don’t have to live in fear, it’s time for the State to pass the Safe Communities Act.

We are going to continue to engage our immigrant residents in the neighborhoods where they live and where their children attend school to make sure they’re getting the support and services they need to stay – and contribute – in our community.

We’re going to continue to help them open businesses, get job training, apply for housing, and find legal help when they need it.

We’re going to ensure immigrants continue to breathe life and hope into the fabric of our city.

Climate Change

The time to shift to clean power generation is now.

The technology is here and the prices will continue to drop. There is no excuse to put it off. Fossil fuel is a relic of the past and one we cannot afford to keep around.

We also have to take on the gas leaks dotting our neighborhoods. For too long, natural gas leaks have been accepted. It would be easy to throw our hands up and say cities can’t do anything about it, but we have to take a stand.

We will continue to work with advocates such as Mothers Out Front to push for an end to gas leaks, but also the outdated use of gas to heat our buildings.

This year, I will work with the City Council to create restrictions on new natural gas hookups – and we will create a model for doing this with an eye to equity. We can’t live in a Somerville where clean, efficient homes are just for those who can afford it.

Transportation

We’ll be providing core transportation services while continuing to push for the big ideas – like free fares on public transit – that could spark a huge mobility shift. It’s time to figure out how to put big ideas into action.

To do that we need more resources and more staff working on transportation issues. We must match our investments to our values. I’ve heard that from you. I’ve seen it on our streets. Our City Council has voiced this. Our staff have studied this.

It’s time to take this to the next level. I am calling for an unprecedented focus and investment in safe and sustainable transportation in Somerville.

This year we will create a new Transportation Department that will put the best talent, the most effective solutions, the smartest mobility policies, and your input and ideas to work for us right here in Somerville.

We’ve made our Climate Forward commitment. Since the first days of Shape Up Somerville, we’ve been fighting for healthy options for how we get around. And we have joined roughly 40 other U.S. cities in vowing to pursue VisionZero, meaning we are striving to put an end to traffic deaths and serious injuries in our cities.

We must now match our resources to the enormity and the importance of those critical tasks.

College Tuition

For many, college can be a step in fighting back against a system stacked against them. But too many people are barred from higher education and economic opportunities because of the cost of college.

We must change this…

Our schools already strive for excellence in our vocational training, and we’ve launched programs so that our current students can take free college courses. That’s a start. But right here, right now I’m proposing our next big opportunity to make a bold difference.

I am calling on us to make sure that any Somerville High School student who wants to attend college can do so. Last month, the Superintendent and I submitted a proposal to the city’s Job Creation and Retention Trust, which is funded by developer fees. We’ve asked them to allocate funds to pay for community college tuition for any and all Somerville High School graduates who choose to go.

The outsize cost of college has been baking inequality into our society for far too long, but in Somerville, I say we can – and will – ensure the door to higher ed is open for all of our graduates.