LYNN — Jay Walsh will serve another year as city council president following a vote from the City Council Tuesday evening.
Walsh was first elected president on Jan. 3, 2022, taking over the seat held by Darren Cyr for four years. Now, Walsh enters his fourth year as president.
The nomination and vote fell as expected. “As required in the city charter at the first calendar meeting of the year, these elections are required, and it’s my honor to nominate my Ward 7 Councilor John ‘Jay’ Walsh as our council president for 2025,” Councilor Brian Field said.
The nomination was immediately seconded by Councilor Obed Matul, and the ensuing vote was unanimous.
Similarly, Ward 5 Councilor Dianna Chakoutis was nominated to serve another year as vice president, with councilors also re-electing her in a unanimous vote.
For his part, Walsh said he was “humbled that my colleagues [allowed] me to be in this position first of all.”
“It’s a position with a lot of work behind it, but it’s also a position where you have to have the backing of your colleagues who believe in you to be in that job,” Walsh said.
He added that it is a humbling experience to have ten other people who are very involved in the community believe that you should be the guy up there.
“There’s only been so many people at that podium,” Walsh went on to say. “There’ve been a lot of councilors, but only so many have had this opportunity.”
He said that this year was going to be a continuation of the last, with things left over from COVID money and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
“There’s a lot of work going on in our parks and our fields right now,” Walsh said. “We took a vote to place money there, but it’s also our responsibility to make sure that it’s followed through.”
He said that it’s the councilors’ job to check on things and to keep an eye on what’s happening in their area to ensure it’s being done the way that was promised and the way the people want it to be.
“Myself personally, I’m really big into that park on the waterfront,” Walsh said. “That’s coming to a point where it’s going to be open to the public…Being someone that grew up on boats and down on the waterfront, I really want to follow that through.”
Walsh said that there are still going to be important needs moving forward and that he wants to make sure councilors are attentive to what they need financially to complete them. He turned particular attention to the boardwalk along the edge, which isn’t part of the monies directed toward the landfill park.
“It’s not my ward, but it’s something I want to make sure that I’m still involved in,” Walsh said. “Councilor Hogan, that’s his ward, and he’s been really good about letting me be involved in it and I thank him for that.”
Walsh said that they would continue to keep watch over projects that have been approved to make sure they are done correctly. The council will also be ready to combat any new challenges down the road.
Councilor Constantino Alinsug was also elected as representative to the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission.
