Somerville Mayor Responds to Presidential Election

SOMERVILLE, MA – Like many Americans, particularly in Massachusetts, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone was stunned by the outcome of Tuesday's election.

Curtatone has been vehemently anti-Trump throughout, unafraid to criticize the president-elect on social media during his campaign as the Republican nominee. But on Wednesday, the mayor took to Facebook with a message of hope for residents and a promise of inclusion in Somerville:

Like many of you, I'm disheartened by yesterday's election. I won't add to the Wednesday morning quarterbacking other than to say it's not right that the candidate who got the most votes didn't win. Yet I've learned the only direction we get to move in this life is forward.
If bad policies and entrenched inequities take root at the federal level, it's incumbent upon states like Massachusetts and cities like Somerville to show there's a better way. We're not going to stop investing in our community and we're not going to stop treating everyone with respect. We know it works. If you're down about this election, if you think it will visit problems upon us, then figure out how to be part of the solution.
That's the beauty of the American system. We're not perfect and we never have been. However, when people get knocked down it provides the opportunity to pick themselves up and come back stronger. That's where my focus is today. I'm going to work on as many positive things as I can and I'm not going to stop. I invite anybody and everybody to join me.

Curtatone, a Democrat, has served as mayor of Somerville since 2004.

Image via Joseph Curtatone Facebook page