Politics
“I’m all in on working as hard as ever for the next 394 days as your Mayor. There is much to do,” Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller wrote Tuesday.
Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, who became the first woman elected to the position in 2017, said Tuesday that she won’t be seeking re-election. Her second four-year term will go through 2025.
Before serving as mayor, Fuller was a Newton City Councilor for eight years. She did not give a reason for her decision to not to run in her announcement Tuesday, but said she looks forward to spending time with her grandchildren, children, and her husband.
“I can confidently say that today I am prouder than ever to be a Newtonian and enthusiastic about our future,” Fuller said. “I look forward to continuing to serve our common goals, our common good, and our Commonwealth in other ways.”
In 2017, Fuller narrowly defeated Scott Lennon after Setti Warren, the first Black mayor in the state, stepped aside to run for governor. In 2021, she more handily won re-election to the office against Amy Mah Sangiolo, who was recently elected as a state representative.
Since then, Newton hit the national spotlight during an educators strike earlier this year, which closed schools for 11 days. The Newton Teachers Association clashed with the School Committee and Fuller, who was blamed in part for some stalls in negotiations.
In her announcement, Fuller, a Democrat, highlighted her investment into five new and renovated school buildings and adapting policy like restrictions on cell phone use in schools. Her administration also prioritized affordable housing and public transit, including plans to rebuild the Newtonville Station on the Framingham-Worcester Line.
She also touted…