LYNN — Mayor Thomas M. McGee says the effects of the coronavirus pandemic played a large role in his decision not to seek re-election as mayor of the city.
After serving one term as mayor, McGee announced March 15 that he is not seeking re-election. However, he said last week that he has been able to accomplish — with help from his team — many of the goals he articulated when he ran for mayor.
“I came into the job and, from day one, worked to put together how we were going to address the financial crisis the city faced,” McGee said.
In the last four years, McGee said his team has worked hard to turn around the financial crisis, address health insurance challenges, hire 30 new police officers and 20 firefighters, create a permanent planning department for the first time in decades, make infrastructure investments and more.
“There have been so many things that I think were the focus of my campaign four years ago that we’ve addressed and are moving in the right direction,” he said.
McGee said the work he and his team did during his term represented “building blocks for the future” and could be taken further by his successor.
McGee said early in his term, his team focused on getting investments from the state to complete street improvement projects, and he highlighted the success of existing development and his hopes for future projects, including the YMCA of Metro North, the North Harbor Site, and the reconstruction on Western Avenue, Essex Street, Broadway and Euclid Avenue.
McGee said that his administration was committed to making infrastructural investments, but were “looking outside the box to make sure that the dollars (were) available from the state and federal government. We actually went out and worked hard to get those dollars and make them available for the community.”
McGee said he is going to focus on reimagining the Lynnway, putting the housing plan in place and making sure racial justice is a priority in the community as he finishes out his term.
McGee listed all of these pieces of work throughout the last four years as building blocks for the future of Lynn.
“I’m really proud of that work,” he said.
In the last year, COVID-19 has presented challenges in Lynn and throughout the world. McGee said the pandemic brought on hurdles no one anticipated.
With about nine months left as mayor, McGee said he is completely focused on continuing his work, but feels it is time to move on after that.
“I think the pandemic has been a real challenge for a lot of leaders in so many communities,” McGee said.
McGee said he is happy and proud to look at what he has been able to do in the 27 years as an elected official in the House and the Senate. He said that leaving was not an easy decision to make, but feels that it is the right thing for him to do right now.
“It has been amazing to serve this community that I love and the people that live in this community,” he said. “When I first ran for state representative, I was only married six months, and now my twins are 23. I made a decision that — at this point, in discussions with my family — it was time to take a step back.”
As for the next step, McGee said he doesn’t have any specific future plans.
“I’ve been here in Lynn 65 years,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere. I love this city, I love the people in the city. The strength of Lynn is the people that live here.”
McGee said he plans to stay involved in the community any way that he can as the city continues to grow.
“It’s been such an honor and I am so proud to be able to say I’ve been able to represent the City of Lynn and the good people that live here,” he said. “I believe that we are definitely going in the right direction. We’ve set a good course for a better today and tomorrow, and I know that the next mayor, working with everyone in this community, will continue to build on a really strong and bright future for the city.”
