In continuing to streamline his transition into City Hall, Mayor-elect Marty Walsh has announced his inauguration committee team, as well as an open town hall meeting for this coming Saturday. The inauguration committee chairs, comprised of some familiar and unfamiliar faces, will be charged with incorporating the theme of neighborhood and community service in its inauguration events. For those looking to attend Saturday’s comprehensive town meeting, registration is required.
Though both events appear to be situated on opposite ends of the mayoral spectrum, the new buzzword the Walsh camp has fervently adopted and applicable to all of these undertakings is transparency.
According to Walsh’s press secretary, the inauguration committee chairs is tasked with planning and executing the official swearing-in ceremony for the Mayor-elect as well as the Inaugural Gala and related neighborhood and community service events, though, what those events are exactly remains unclear at this time.
The actual chairpeople of the committee are Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo, Reverend Jeffrey Brown, Congressman and Mrs. Michael Capuano, Congressman Stephen Lynch and Barbara Lynch, LGBTQ activist Arline Isaacson, business leaders John and Kathy McConnell, entrepreneur and community organizer Larry Moulter, labor union official Rich Rogers, WBZ media personality Sarah-Ann Shaw, and insurance CEO Richard Soo Hoo.
Each member was chosen because of their unparalleled success across a variety of institutions and industries, as well as their community activism and managerial acumen.
As for the town meeting format, a promise Walsh has made good on during his transition, it’s all about getting as many Bostonians together to hear exactly what they want and have to say in terms of development, policy, and service.
The public forum, taking place at Roxbury Community College, is an all-day affair in which the Mayor-elect and Ed Glaeser, Director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, will kick things off with an opening and introductory event, followed by Issues Working Groups sessions based on 11 different policy areas, and will wrap up with the open town hall meeting format to engage directly with Walsh and his constituents.
But what’s most important with all of these gatherings is that Walsh gains and idea of what exactly is needed in Boston on the street level, and that those very people understand what Walsh will do to try and make it happen for them. For example, in regards to his inauguration, at a joint press conference with Senator Elizabeth Warren he admitted to nixing some of the scheduled events when the price tag began moving in the direction of $50,000 at the expense of Boston taxpayers.
Be sure to check out the schedule and register for Walsh’s upcoming town meetings and Issues Working Groups sessions. And stay tuned to BostInno for more information regarding the Mayor-elect’s imminent inauguration celebrations.
