Hey, there! Log in / Register

City Councilor Matt O'Malley takes hat out of ring

Matt and Margot O'Malley

Matt and Margot O'Malley

Matt O'Malley, who has a 6 tattooed on his arm for the city-council district he has served for ten years, announced today he won't be running for re-election next year.

In e-mail to supporters, O'Malley, long one of the council's leaders on environmental issues, said he is proud of the work he's done for the residents of Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury and the rest of the city, but that fatherhood - and ensuring a future for all children - beckons. Earlier this fall, he and his wife Kathryn are now the proud parents of Margot Gillian, born earlier this fall:

Simply put, Margot’s birth is the greatest moment of my life. As difficult as any pregnancy during the pandemic can be, we had additional early complications as well as the memory of a devastating miscarriage. Thankfully, Margot is strong, healthy, and has stolen our hearts!

Building a just, sustainable, and more equitable planet for Margot and every other child is what drives me, now more than ever. The work ahead of us is daunting, but we can and must do it. I look forward to continuing this work, albeit in a different role in 2022.

This wasn’t an easy decision to make, but the right one for me and my family. While politics (particularly in Boston) can be rough and tumble, the support and votes of confidence this district has given me time and time again is a lot to walk away from. I am forever grateful. Parenthood offers one helluva perspective. As proud as I am to be called Councilor, being called Dad will be the greatest title I can ever earn.

Kendra Hicks of Jamaica Plain was already running for the District 6 seat.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

He’s done so much.

I’m sorry. Hahaha

But, sincerely congratulations on the kid Matt. Hopefully he doesn’t get teased like you did on Knoll.

up
Voting closed 0

Good luck Matt.

up
Voting closed 0

What you would see here if UHub accepted Emojis: 2 red hearts, 3 gold stars, 2 red balloons, flag of Ireland, flag of USA.

up
Voting closed 0

Adding emojis to the current setup would take more database and configuration fiddling than I'm comfortable with. There's a new version of the software that does support emojis natively, and one of these days, I'll upgrade to that and then watch out, world (I actually started work on setting up the new software and it was going swimmingly, until I tried to import data from the live site and it decided, no, not today, Satan, so I need to try again and see if I can figure out what broke and then, if that doesn't work, hire an expert to do the migration).

up
Voting closed 0

FWIW, I usually appreciate the absence of Emojis on UHUB. Just thought it would be nice to try it one time in honor of baby cuteness. But of course it's your call, and they have, for better and worst become a standard of linguistic expression. ;)

up
Voting closed 0

One of the few councilors that got actual things done instead of just bloviating about this, that, and the other thing. Best of luck to him and his family.

up
Voting closed 0

I thought this might be a prelude to running for mayor, but having read his comments I think not.

up
Voting closed 0

Now we get to see that sweaty leprechaun, Marty Keogh, embarrassing himself with another campaign run this summer.

up
Voting closed 0

?

up
Voting closed 0

Reverse?

up
Voting closed 0

I was already going to vote for her, but I hope that now you will too.

up
Voting closed 0

She seems like a bit of a fringe candidate for a district containing neighborhoods described by the Globe in their article about this as "perhaps the city's most conservative communities"

up
Voting closed 0

Isn’t conservative, it’s just nit full blown socialist.

And yes, she’s a fringe candidate with no chance.

up
Voting closed 0

West Roxbury not conservative? Maybe if it were in Alabama, but, nah, it's not.

up
Voting closed 0

Jamaica Plain is not the city's most conservative community and West Roxbury has been changing. She will get enough support there to win if she can get out the vote in the other neighborhoods.

Definitely not fringe- Similar to Nika.

up
Voting closed 0

This is the red head white male of Irish descent seat.

up
Voting closed 0

We get it. You don’t like red heads. Getting tired. Moving on...

up
Voting closed 0

If being the "Co-Director of Radical Philanthropy" (what ever the hell that is) at Resist, Org. isn't fringe, then what is?

She a community organizer with no real work experience!

up
Voting closed 0

I found this spreadsheet, created and posted by Anthony Collins, who notes that

“it's clear that folks who think a strong, progressive Black woman cannot win this district are simply incorrect.”

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1QhjTkEWMGl6mIqv1gj442kmpx6bL...

up
Voting closed 0

On her Twitter, as recently as 2 days ago, she criticized Obama saying "why won't he stop" because of his comments on "defund the police" while running in neighborhoods that are known for having a large number of law enforcement officers and establishment Democrats living in them...

up
Voting closed 0

Jamaica Plain is certainly not conservative - West Roxbury and Roslindale, in our Massachusettsan Bostonian bubble, lean more in that direction

up
Voting closed 0

One tweet with 7 likes about how Westie has become progressive? Mm...

Also, I don't think this has anything to do with anyone's race... if anything, she's further distancing herself from many of the WR voters she'll have to convince with this rhetoric

up
Voting closed 0

What a beautiful picture !
Best wishes to the new parents.

up
Voting closed 0

Reading his comments I suspect he already has a plan in place. I could see him filling some lower mid position with the Biden administration. On the other hand his words sound like those of a person either looking to start a non profit or take on the helm of a non profit dedicated to issues affecting children or the environment.

He is one of my favorites and I am sorry to see him leave. I wish him the best in the next step.

up
Voting closed 0

This is the most convincing "resigning to spend more time with my family" announcement I've seen in a very long time. Wonder if he'll be back to politics in a few years?

up
Voting closed 0

I get him. It's not easy to raise a small child in JP. Just trying to avoid all environmental dangers is a part-time job.

up
Voting closed 0