In a continued effort to push his Issues Working Groups down the transitional, mayoral pipeline, Mayor-elect Marty Walsh has announced an immediate schedule for six public hearings in the style of town meetings to better understand the issues of Boston. Walsh’s hearings, to be conducted by the most part by his transition team, will start December 9 and run until past his inauguration, at which point he’ll be the first person to succeed incumbent Mayor Tom Menino in 20 years.
Walsh and his transition team have already made it abundantly clear that these meetings will be used to help make sure he and his administration hit the ground running in the disciplines of “Arts and Culture; Basic City Services; Economic Development; Education; Energy, Environment and Open Space; Housing; Human Services; Public Health; Public Safety; Transportation and Infrastructure; and Youth.”
According to Walsh’s press secretary, the following schedule will take place until further notice:
• Economic Development: Monday, December 9, 2014, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.; English High School, 144 McBride Street, Jamaica Plain
• Education: Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; English High School, 144 McBride Street, Jamaica Plain
• Transportation: Monday, December 16, 2013, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; Atlantic Wharf, 280 Congress Street
• Environment: Tuesday, December 17, 2013, 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.; English High School, 144 McBride Street, Jamaica Plain
• Public Health: Wednesday, December 18, 2013, 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.; location to be announced
• Human Services: Saturday, January 11, 2014, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; Haitian Multi-Service Center, 185 Columbia Road, Dorchester
These hearings are intended to be a forum for Boston residents to directly speak with members of the mayor-elect’s transition team to help him better focus on the pressing changes that ought to occur in Boston, in order to keep the city looking forward on the statewide, nationwide, and worldwide stage.
In that same respect, Mayor-elect Walsh recently held a joint press conference alongside U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on the topics of housing, public safety, and education, amongst others, to help foster a relationship between governments on both the municipal and federal level. During that time, in between Warren’s vehement denials of a potential 2016 presidential run, Walsh mentioned his intent on picking up where Mayor Menino will leave off, most notably on the gun controlinitiatives Menino and outgoing Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg have undertaken.
Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP on Walsh’s transition website found here. Those who are unable to attend may submit their ideas online to the website in the form of an email here.
