Wearing his signature blue suit, the mayor read an hour and a half long speech detailing his administration’s victories and dreams and describing as well down to the last bit of minutiae everything done during the past year as well as everything planned for the future.
It was an excruciatingly long marathon of reading from a prepared text – a bit like reading the hundred page long city budget from start to finish, detailing each and every city spending initiative.
What began shortly after 6:00 p.m. ended at 7:45 p.m.
Nearing the end of this epic regurgitation of facts and figures, sensing that the crowd was growing tired of listening and wondering when it would finally end, the mayor grew tired of reading and rushed the speech to its blessed conclusion.
The crowd was generous with applause and respectful of the mayor, whose family accompanied him into the Council Chamber.
“Nothing I do comes from me,” the mayor told the crowd. “It usually comes from wife,” he said, thanking his wife for her guidance as well as her common sense.
In fact, he said his wife was responsible for bringing Steve Wynn to Everett by insisting that he, the mayor, meet with him.
The mayor revealed he will be running again in less than two years.
The speech detailed Everett’s tendency toward innovation and action.
He made a strong plea for health and food initiatives and programs intended to make the people of the city healthier.
He said he would be setting up an office of diversity to fight racial and gender inequities.
He predicted a new, mobile city hall will be created to bring city hall to a broader segment of the population.
The Wellness Center will be expanded to include classrooms and an immigrant learning center and that the Connolly Center would be redone to give more health and wellness opportunities to those attending the center.
He said that Everett Memorial Stadium would be replaced by a full service sports facility and that cost, estimated at $50 million, would be carried almost fully from the proceeds of taxes to be collected from just half of the eight acres the old stadium sits on. He estimated the value of the present stadium site at $40 million.
A new police station is now being designed, he told the crowd. Urban renewal for Everett Square is high on the mayor’s agenda, he said.
He sees himself heading a transportation revolution. He envisions Everett as a place where many newcomers will not own automobiles. He said population density would increase as transportation modalities improved and he predicted the center of Everett’s major roads would become bus lanes to expedite such a situation.
He spoke of more cooperation between city hall and the school department.
He noted that the newly chosen Superintendent of the Everett Public Schools Priya Tahiliani was in attendance.
Distinguished guests included, Senator Sal DiDomenico, the rep, Interim Superintendent Janice Gauthier and assistant superintendents
Charlie Obremski and Kevin Shaw and Jean Christiano of the city’s Veterans Affairs office.
Also in attendance were Police Chief Steve Mazzie and Fire Chief Anthony Carli, the city’s chief financial officer Eric Demas and Dr. Omar Easy, the assistant principal at Everett High School.
The invocation was done superbly by Bishop Robert Brown of the Zion Church Ministries.
His benediction, from the Old Testament, finished the evening with these ancient
Hebrew words and phrases:
May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and to be gracious to you; May the Lord shine his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Amen.