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City councils

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh Delivers Final State of the City Address Amid Transition to New Role

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

As Boston Mayor Marty Walsh prepares to leave his position after accepting the Secretary of Labor nomination for the incoming Biden-Harris administration, he delivered his final State of the City address, highlighting the city's successes and challenges. Walsh acknowledged the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing the over 1,000 Bostonians who lost their lives to the virus. He expressed optimism for 2021, calling it "a year for healing" and reaffirming the city's commitment to learning, economic recovery, and addressing systemic racism.

Key Takeaways:

  • Mayor Walsh outlined his priorities for the coming year, including providing free COVID-19 testing, expanding access to vaccines, and safely returning students to Boston Public Schools.
  • The city aims to have all students return to in-person learning by April, with the Boston Public Schools releasing an updated timeline on Monday.
  • Walsh thanked Black Bostonians who rallied for change after the police killing of George Floyd and encouraged the community to commit to fighting racism.
  • He announced that Boston is taking new steps forward in affordable housing, becoming the first city in the United States to write fair housing requirements into its zoning codes.
  • The city received $8.5 billion in new investment in 2020, which has the potential to create 35,000 new jobs, and small businesses received $26 million in resources to combat the recession.
  • Boston City Council President Kim Janey will take over as acting mayor if Walsh is confirmed by the Senate, making her the first female and first Black mayor in the city's history.

Statistics:

  • Over 1,000 Bostonians died of COVID-19.
  • The city aims to provide free COVID-19 testing and expand access to vaccines.
  • Boston Public Schools expects to return all students to in-person learning by April.
  • $8.5 billion is the amount of new investment in the city in 2020.
  • 35,000 is the potential number of new jobs created by the investment.
  • $26 million is the amount of resources provided to small businesses to combat the recession.

Sources:

  • The Boston Globe (no specific date mentioned)
  • @MichelleWu (tweet, Tuesday, January 19)
  • @AndreaCampbell (tweet, Tuesday, January 19)
  • OLIVIA FALCIGNO/ DFP FILE (photo credit)

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