Final Communication to My Fellow Councillors (12/16/19)

Communication that I placed on the agenda for my last regular City Council meeting on Monday, December 16, 2020:

December 16, 2019

To Mayor McGovern and all the city councillors who have served with me since 2016 — Dennis Carlone, Leland Cheung, Craig Kelley, David Maher, Alanna Mallon, Nadeem Mazen, Sumbul Siddiqui, Denise Simmons, Tim Toomey, and Quinton Zondervan:

In my last official communication in office, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all on the record for your service and commitment to the City of Cambridge. The past four years have taught me a great deal about what it means to represent, to serve, and to lead, and each of you has contributed to shaping and enriching my experience as a city councillor. 

No one who has not sat in our awkwardly oversized chairs knows better than we do what it feels like to be part of the “improv troupe” that assembles in the Sullivan Chamber on Monday nights and on countless other afternoons and evenings for live performances of “Local Government In/Action.” It is an experience and a role unlike any other, one I am honored grateful that voters in Cambridge twice cast me in. I am proud to have fully committed to “faithfully and impartially performing and discharging the duties of, according to the law and the best of my ability.” 

Craig: Seven consecutive terms on the Council is an impressive length of service that few have bettered. I respect your persistence and what you have accomplished. You and I didn’t always agree, but I appreciate that you always continued to look for common ground and never seemed to hold a grudge. I look forward to comparing notes as we both transition back to civilian life.

To the returning councillors: I wish you the very best as you start another season with two new members, and I will watch with interest how the story unfolds. Carrying the spirit of this season into the next term, I know you will be generous with and forgiving of each other.

And last but not least, to City Manager DePasquale and all his staff too numerous to name here but far too important not to thank and acknowledge for working so hard to respond to our many, often conflicting demands, with grace and good humor. 

Cheers —

Jan Devereux, Vice Mayor

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Jan Devereux
City Councillor
Cambridge, MA