Mayoralty of Marty Walsh

Marty Walsh
Mayoralty of Marty Walsh
January 6, 2015 – March 22, 2021
PartyDemocratic
Election2013, 2017

This article is part of a series about
Marty Walsh
Massacusetts State Repressentative (1997–2013)
Mayor of Boston (2013–2021)
U.S. Secretary of Labor (2021–2023)

Marty Walsh served as mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 2015 through 2021.

Walsh was regarded as friendly towards real estate developers, and the city experienced a building boom during his mayoralty. In 2021, Walsh successfully added to the city's zoning code policies inspired by the federal affirmatively furthering fair housing policy. While Walsh supported Boston's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, he ultimately reneged on his commitment to signing the Host City Contract's financial guarantee which contributed to the collapse of the bid. In 2016, Walsh's administration and General Electric struck a deal that saw corporation to move its headquarters to Boston. Walsh supported the passage an ordinance in the city council which regulated short-term rental of housing units, which he signed into law in 2018.

As mayor, Walsh successfully negotiated for a 40-minute school day extension in Boston Public Schools. However, his overall handling of the city's schools has been assessed as poor. Walsh served on the leadership of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. During much of Walsh's mayoralty, Boston struggled with homelessness at Mass and Cass, a matter that was unresolved at the time Walsh departed from office. Walsh supported the city retaining its status as a sanctuary city. In 2015, Walsh supported the passage of a city ordinance to provide municipal employees with paid parental leave, which was passed and signed into law by Walsh. At the end of his tenure, Walsh dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts on Boston.

As mayor, Walsh referred to himself as the city's "54th mayor", a numbering for which he cited Wikipedia's article on mayors of Boston (which had listed him as such at the time he adopted that numbering).[1] Walsh was regarded to be a popular mayor,[2] which was reflected in opinion polling.[3]

  1. ^ Ryan, Andrew (January 6, 2014). "Is Walsh mayor 54? Or 48? Or 58?". Boston.com. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  2. ^ Zuylen-Wood, Simon van (3 April 2016). "Marty Walsh Is NOT Tom Menino". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  3. ^ Keller, Jon (22 March 2021). "Keller @ Large: Marty Walsh A Worthy Successor To Boston Legend Tom Menino - CBS Boston". CBS News. Retrieved 18 July 2023.