City Inauguration Sunday, January 3
Medford City Hall. Photo by Paul Rapatano.
AG, Medford Resident, US Senate Candidate Coakley to Swear in Mayor
– Allison Goldsberry
Medford’s elected officials will take their oath of office in an inauguration ceremony on Sunday, January 3.
The ceremony will take place at 11AM in the Council Chambers and will be immediately followed by a reception.
The Mayor, along with each newly-elected City Councilor and School Committee member, will take an oath of office for their respective two-year terms.
Martha Coakley, Attorney General and Democratic nominee for the United States Senate, will swear in the Mayor. McGlynn is the longest-serving mayor in the state and will succeed Mayor John Barrett of North Adams as “Dean of the Massachusetts Mayorsâ€.
“It is a great honor to have Martha Coakley swear me into office, as she stands for honesty and commitment to good government. She has always been there for the citizens of Medford, Middlesex County and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I can not wait to continue to work alongside her when she becomes the next United States Senator from Massachusetts,†said Mayor McGlynn.
In addition to the Mayor, the Medford City Council and Medford School Committee will be sworn in by the City Clerk Edward Finn. The Treble Makers, a city wide children’s choir and Saint Joseph’s Teen Ensemble will provide musical selections, while Reverend John Page of the Shiloh Baptist Church and Pastor Joseph Foster of Saint Francis of Assisi will offer prayers.
Everyone in the community is invited to attend the ceremony, which will also be broadcast live on Channel 16, the city’s municipal channel.
Mayor Michael McGlynn will be sworn in for his twelfth consecutive term. Each of the seven City Councilors- Robert Maiocco, Breanna Lungo-Koehn, Michael Marks, Paul Camuso, Robert Penta, Stephanie Muccini Burke, and Frederick Dello Russo, Jr.- were re-elected and will be sworn in for another term.
Four new School Committee members will receive the oath of office alongside returning veterans Ann Marie Cugno and Paulette Van der Kloot. George Scarpelli, Bill O’Keefe, Sharon Guzik, and John Falco will each be sworn in for their first terms as School Committee members.
McGlynn has done some great things for Medford, no doubt, but there comes a complacency with too many years in one office. Where Martha Coakley continues to move on to different positions in life, Mr. McGlynn has stayed in place for so long it is almost like he is treading water. The vibe around Medford is different from surrounding cities and towns, and not in a good way. Certain elements of Medford life are confronting stagnation. Mr. McGlynn needs to recognize this in 2010 and find a way to bring some vibrancy and new energy to our city.
When I met with Mayor McGlynn in October of 2006 he bristled at the subject of “Term limits” when it was part of the discussion. Crop rotation is an essential part of good farming as the richness of diverse ideas helps a community grow. January 3, 2009 would be an excellent opportunity for the Mayor to discuss Judge Jackson’s report with Martha Coakley, especially since the Judge referenced the AG specifically.