Women are being rightfully empowered and given due recognition in leadership across various spheres across the world and we couldn’t be more proud!
It’s been nearly 200 years since Boston Mayor role was created, 54 white males have clinched position of City Executive, but now it’s all changed!
The US senate has confirmed the appointment of Boston’s 54th Mayor Marty Walsh as President Joe Biden’s labor secretary. The news was made known Monday night.
On the heels of his resignation, City Council President Janey steps into his shoes as Acting Mayor of Boston. She is the first woman and first black person to hold the position.
The fifty six year old from Roxbury today March 24 has been officially sworn in, according to the city.
“Today is a new day for Boston,” Janey said in the Globe. “As your mayor, I promise to bring my life experiences and passion to make this city better for everyone. I will strive to make positive change across our city.”
“I come to this day with life experiences different from the men who came before me,” Janey wrote in a Boston Globe op-ed about her new role.
“We certainly still have work to do, but it is a really exciting time for our city,” said Mayor Janey. “So I, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be stepping into this role.”
“Certainly, the title changes, my office changes, I have a much bigger team, and that’s exciting, because there is a lot of work to do,” Janey said. “But I’m still Kim, and I believe that we have to stay focused on the work. And that’s what I hope to do, and to bring my lived experience, my passion, and all that I can to this work, because it is so important.”
Janey’s priorities include getting children to school safely and distributing vaccines effectively, according to a statement from the city.
Mayor Walsh has served since 2014. Janey was elected to the city council in 2017 and was the first woman to represent her district.
“It’s going to be wonderful to see how she will transition from a city council-district city council into the mayor,” said Priscilla Flint-Banks of the Black Economic Justice Institute. “But we remember Menino did it. So, you know, it can be done. It is possible.”
Janey’s appointment as a black woman in the corner office is long overdue for Boston, advocates say.
“It’s very historic, but there are so many other Black women mayors in other parts of the country,” said Flint-Banks. “It just seems like it took something like this for it to come to a reality in Boston, you know, so that, what does that say about Boston?”
Janey will serve as acting mayor until the November election. Six people have already announced their candidacy for Boston mayor
