Mayor Thomas M. McGee announced on Monday he won’t run for re-election and the news wasn’t exactly a surprise. The consummate consensus-builder in the Statehouse, he never seemed to fully immerse himself in the rough-and-tumble job of being a medium-sized city mayor.
McGee worked hard in early 2018 to sort out the city’s financial mess. But in the last three years, he never cast himself as a take-charge, my-way-or-the-highway mayor in a manner that resembled such predecessors as Patrick J. McManus and Edward J. Clancy Jr.
His announcement makes McGee a lame-duck mayor and officially opens the 2021 municipal campaign season.
We earnestly hope it will be a spirited campaign complete with a crowded candidate field and an exciting fall-primary election leading up to a November showdown.
It’s time for the ballot to reflect the city of Lynn, by which we mean it should include candidates of color, and especially women of color.
The upswing in development that occurred under McGee’s watch needs to accelerate and discussions on the role the city should play — or not play — in that acceleration should loom large in the mayor’s race.
Police reform, public safety, the city’s housing needs and its financial stability are issues demanding attention during the election year.
Lynn residents deserve a crowded mayor’s race this year with lively debate over the city’s issues. The curtain has risen on the political stage.
Let the actors assemble.
