Boston Holds Farewell Ceremony for Mayor Kim Janey, City's Historic First

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston bids farewell to Mayor Kim Janey, the city's first Black and first woman mayor, at a Roxbury ceremony Tuesday. Janey, the 55th mayor of Boston, delivered a farewell address recounting eight months that included a citywide COVID-19 vaccination campaign, expansion of first-time homebuyer down payment assistance from $10,000 to $40,000, a free bus pilot on the Route 28 route, and passage of BERDO 2.0, the city's building emissions ordinance. She congratulated Mayor-elect Michelle Wu as "the first woman of color elected to the office of mayor" and recognized an incoming city council class that includes the first Haitian-American, first Muslim, and first Cape Verdean-descent members elected to the body. "Michelle, I am proud to pass the baton," Janey said. The ceremony, emceed by WCVB-TV anchor Karen Holmes Ward and held at a Roxbury venue, included an original composition, "Walking in the Light," written for Janey by Danny Rivera and performed by vocal artist Nia Ashley.