Boston has a new mayor in Kim Janey, who became the city鈥檚 first female and first person of
Marty Walsh resigned Monday evening to become President Joe Biden鈥檚
Walsh, the latest in a long line of largely Irish-American Boston mayors stretching back the better part of a century 鈥� with one notable Italian-American exception 鈥� said he welcomed the change.
鈥淗istory will be made tonight," Walsh said earlier in the evening. "We're an extremely diverse city from different backgrounds and different nationalities and different skin
Janey took to Twitter to wish Walsh well following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
鈥淐ongratulations on your confirmation, Secretary Walsh. You are a proud son of Dorchester who will bring our city with you,鈥� she tweeted. 鈥淭he working people of America will benefit greatly from your passion.鈥�
鈥淣ow, we look ahead to a new day 鈥� a new chapter 鈥� in Boston鈥檚 history,鈥� Janey, a fellow Democrat, added.
Walsh said for the past two months he's had regular meetings and conversations with Janey. The two have also held extensive planning sessions, he said.
"Together the council president and myself and our teams have worked diligently to ensure a smooth transition,鈥� he said.
By any typical political stopwatch, Janey's rise has been lightning quick. She was first sworn in as a city
Although Janey, 55, is holding the office only on an interim basis, she's widely seen as hailing a new chapter in Boston鈥檚 political history.
Those actively seeking the office include three women of
Janey has a long history of activism in Boston, with deep roots in Roxbury, the heart of the city鈥檚 Black community.
He grandfather, Daniel Benjamin Janey, was a member of Twelfth Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worshipped while attending Boston University. Her father was one of only eight Black students to graduate from the city鈥檚 prestigious Boston Latin School in 1964.
While spending time in her great grandmother鈥檚 home in the city鈥檚 South End
During the second phase of Boston鈥檚 tumultuous school desegregation era, Janey would recall the rocks and racial slurs she said were hurled at her as an 11-year-old girl riding the bus to the largely white
Janey began her career in advocacy with Massachusetts Advocates for Children, pushing for policy changes she said were aimed at ensuring equity and excellence for public school students in Boston.
In 2017, she won a 13-candidate race and became the first woman to represent her district, which includes most of Roxbury, parts of the South End, Dorchester, and Fenway areas of the city.
Although she hasn鈥檛 said yet if she鈥檒l run for mayor in the fall, there is precedent for an interim mayor using the temporary post as a stepping stone to winning the seat outright.
When former Mayor Raymond Flynn stepped down to become President Bill Clinton鈥檚 ambassador to the Vatican, then-city council president Thomas Menino stepped in as interim mayor in July 1993, won the mayoral election later that year, and ended up serving in the office longer than anyone in the city鈥檚 history.
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This story has been corrected to show that Kim Janey is 55 years old, not 56.
Steve Leblanc, The Associated Press
