BOSTON (
MyFoxBoston.com) -- In his first State of the City, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh touted advances in education, public safety, and diversity, among other topics.
The Democrat from Dorchester went down the list, pushing his success in reaching contracts with police and fire, boosting business, helping seniors, the homeless, fixing a long neglected animal shelter system, and filling more than 19,000 potholes.
And when he laid out his vision for the future, it included Olympic dreams..
"Our vision of a 21st century affordable sustainable games went up against our nation's greatest cities, and we won. Boston now competes against the world as a global leader," Walsh said. "I commit to you that we will hold transparent conversations on impact in every neighborhood. When we talk about 2024, we'll be talking about what Boston needs today. And what Boston needs in 2030, 2040, and 2050."
It was only a mention.
And no word of the lawsuit the mayor just filed against the mass gaming commission over the Wynn casino project in Everett.
Instead the mayor's speech focused heavily on improving the city's schools.
"Next month I will get the names of final candidates [for school superintendent.] The Boston public schools can do much better for our kids," Walsh said.
During his first year in office, Mayor Walsh had to confront big challenges: The anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings and the Beacon Street fire that killed two firefighters.
On hand were the families of Lt. Ed Walsh and Firefighter Michael Kennedy, and Martin Richard.
Mayor Walsh speaking directly about the city's protests in the wake of Ferguson and New York City, he is setting up a citywide conversation focused on healing.
"I know from my own life you can't move forward unless you reach out and deal honestly with the past. The truth is, when it comes to race and class, Boston has a lot of unfinished business. We must not be afraid to talk about it."
