Kim Janey Has 1st Day as Acting Mayor of Boston

Acting Mayor Kim Janey arrived at Boston City Hall on Tuesday for her first full day as the city's executive, in what former Mayor Marty Walsh called a "smooth transition" between administrations.

Janey became the first woman and the first person of color to hold the city's top job at the 55th time of asking Monday night.

Janey wrote in a Boston Globe op-ed published online the minute Walsh resigned: "Today is a new day. We are making history. I am being sworn in as the first woman and first Black mayor of Boston in the city that I love. I come to this day with life experiences different from the men who came before me."

In her column, the new acting mayor promised "a citywide agenda of recovery, reopening, and renewal," and highlighted city contract reform and policing reform among the areas she wants to focus.

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Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly Budd, who made history as the first Black woman to lead the state's highest court, is scheduled to administer Janey's ceremonial oath of office at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday on the third-floor mezzanine of City Hall. Janey and Budd will be joined by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

City Councilor Kim Janey sat down for an interview with Latoyia Edwards before taking over as acting mayor of Boston following the confirmation of Marty Walsh as U.S. labor secretary.

Walsh flew to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning and was sworn in Tuesday evening after an emotional goodbye to the city.

“I want to thank each and every city employee. I love all of you. You do amazing work," Walsh said in his farewell news conference Monday.

In recent weeks, Walsh said he was working with Janey to ensure a smooth transition. Walsh, the city's 54th mayor, said in his farewell address that the city is in good hands with now Janey, who had been president of the Boston City Council.

Walsh was confirmed by the Senate Monday as President Joe Biden's labor secretary and officially resigned as Boston's mayor at 9 p.m. In his resignation letter, Walsh called his seven years in the post "the honor" of his life and a "childhood dream come true."

Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh flew to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning after an emotional goodbye to the city, while Acting Mayor Kim Janey began her first day in the role.

He also talked about some of his accomplishments and priorities over the years as mayor; including investing in education, climate change, beginning to address systemic racism and managing the coronavirus pandemic in the city.