Mayor Carlo DeMaria has announced that he will be seeking a third term for mayor.
The announcement comes as absolutely no surprise as the mayor as has been forward and open about his wanting to seek another term.
Presently, he will be pulling papers and subsequently gathering signatures as he puts together another campaign.
Who will be challenging him?
It is difficult to tell, except to say right now, he is running unopposed.
Of course, it is far too early to convince others who in their own minds would like to be mayor of this city that the mayor is going to be given a free ride in this bid.
In officially announcing his bid he is making the case that he will seek added development opportunities along the parkway, job creation on the Malden River and a revitalization of two of the city’s major squares.
He is also pledging to continue making changes at city hall in order to run the most effective and efficient city government in the area.
To a large degree, DeMaria’s terms in office have been marked by a great stability, both financial and social.
Everett is changing rapidly and the mayor has learned how to change his policies to better run the city.
There are many competing constituencies in this city today, and to his credit, again, the mayor has opened his office to them all so that no group feels left out of the circuit by city hall.
The business community is largely satisfied with the mayor’s performance.
Real estate people throughout the city have been hoping for a reduction in the commercial tax rate. Something difficult for the mayor to deliver in a big enough way to make a dent in their collective misery.
Even on this subject, the mayor and every commercial property owner is held hostage by the economy and the lack of speculation in the marketplace. Without speculation, there is no run up in the price for real estate.
However, the local economy is coming out of recession, very slowly but very surely, and so, commercial property will ultimately come back but it could take a while.
The mayor has presided over one of the least contentious modern periods of political calm in the city’s history.
The divisiveness that marked Everett politics for longer than a decade beginning at the tail end of the 1990’s has been replaced by DeMaria’s attention to the city’s business devoid of the political mechanics of his many predecessors.
He is a younger guy who has come to understand how to make this place run and to have it run without rancor.
The city is now considering perhaps its most dramatic change in 100 years as the city charter is about to be voted on.
Should voters return DeMaria and at the same time change the charter, it will be the harbinger of a great new era in this city’s long history.
We wish the mayor the best in his third run.