Mayor Christenson sworn in for fourth term in historic Inaugural Night of ‘firsts’

Joins City Councillors, School Committee members in official start at signature municipal event

By Steve Freker

The full circle was quite apparent at Tuesday night’s biennial City of Malden Inaugural Ceremonies. Sitting in the first row of dignitaries on stage, about to be sworn in to a historic, fourth four-year term of office in the city’s top post was Malden Mayor Gary Christenson. Seated to his left was the man he succeeded in the post, former seven-term, 16-year Malden Mayor Richard Howard.

It was Howard who helped launch what will approach a near quarter-century of local public service for Mayor Christenson when he finishes his newest term of office, following November’s landslide election victory. In 1999, Howard appointed Christenson to an unexpired vacancy as Ward 1 School Committee member. Four years later, in 2003, Christenson won the first of four terms as Ward 1 Councillor. The mayor’s seat came next in 2011 and well, as they say, the rest is history, for real.

“It is the honor of a lifetime that I stand before all of you this evening,” Mayor Christenson told the audience of over 300 in the Jenkins Auditorium at Malden High School Tuesday night, after he was officially sworn in by Malden City Clerk Carol Ann Desiderio.

Mayor Christenson is the first Malden mayor to be elected to four consecutive four-year terms since the mayoral years were changed, by ordinance, from two years to four years in the mid-2000s.

“I promise to continue to give you my all in serving the residents of Malden and to do whatever it takes to keep this community on the right path,” Mayor Christenson added. “We will continue to live our motto, ‘Strong Past, Proud Future.’”

In addition to Mayor Howard, also in attendance and sitting two seats away from Christenson, was another former Malden Mayor, Ed Lucey. From Mayor Lucey’s terms of office (1992-1996) to Mayor Christenson’s latest term (2012-2024), some 32 years of mayoral service was represented on the Malden High stage.

Some members of Malden’s State House delegation were on hand for the Inaugural Ceremonies: state Sen. Jason Lewis (D-5th Middlesex) and state Reps. Steve Ultrino (D-Malden, 33rd Middlesex) and Paul Donato (D-Malden, Medford, 35th Middlesex). Other special guests on hand and onstage for Tuesday’s event were third-year Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy and members of the 2024 Inaugural Committee: Kathleen Manning Hall, Lisa Cagno, Shirley Dorai, Maria Luise, Paul Hammersley and Ron Cochran.

Hall, Luise and Cochran are members of the Mayor’s Office Staff, Cagno is the City Council Clerk of Committees, Hammersley is a member of the staff of the Malden Board of Health and Dorai is Executive Assistant to the Supt. of Schools. Also serving on the Committee was outgoing Ward 5 Councillor Barbara Murphy. She and Ward 5 School Committee member Adam Weldai chose not to run for reelection in November’s municipal election.

As another nod to Malden municipal service history, Tuesday evening also marked the debut of former longtime Malden City Councillor Neal Anderson as the official City Messenger, whose distinctive top hat and tails got the night off to its ceremonial start. Anderson welcomed and led the soon-to-be-sworn-in Mayor, City Councillors and School Committee members onto the stage, presenting them to outgoing City Council President Barbara Murphy and Weldai “to be qualified.”

Members of the Malden Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts led the auditorium in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Malden resident Jennifer Dhanjee led those in attendance in a fitting rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” our National Anthem. The evening’s Invocation was delivered by Fr. Anthony Mecha of St. Joseph’s Parish in the Maplewood neighborhood. Mayor Christenson was then sworn in by Clerk Desiderio, and after he spoke a performance was given by members of the Malden High School Choral Arts Society, under MHS Choral Arts Director Todd Cole. The Mayor then administered the swearing-in of the members of the Malden City Council and School Committee.

Taking the oath of office for the 2024-2025 term of office for the City Council were: Craig A. Spadafora (At Large), Carey McDonald (At Large), Karen Colón Hayes (At Large), Peg Crowe (Ward 1), Paul Condon (Ward 2), Amanda Linehan (Ward 3), Ryan O’Malley (Ward 4), Ari Taylor (Ward 5), Steve Winslow (Ward 6), Chris Simonelli (Ward 7) and Jadeane M. Sica (Ward 8). Sworn in for the 2024-2025 term of office for the Malden School Committee were: Michael Drummey (Ward 1), Robert McCarthy Jr. (Ward 2), Jennifer Spadafora (Ward 3), Dawn Macklin (Ward 4), Elizabeth Hortie (Ward 5), Joseph Gray (Ward 6), Keith Bernard (Ward 7) and Sharyn Rose-Zeiberg (Ward 8). First-term elected officials included newly sworn-in Ward 5 Councillor Taylor, with all other Councillors returning for another term. Ward 5 School Committee member Hortie stepped in immediately after the November 7 election to fill the unexpired term of Weldai and will now serve her full, elected term in 2024-2025.

Following the swearing-in, Pastor Gerry Whetstone of the Malden Church of the Nazarene – located in Ward 7 – delivered a prayer and blessing. The audience was then entertained by performing members of the Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy, who gave a rendition of “The Dragon Dance.”

Following a brief recess for organizational purposes, the members of the Malden City Council returned and the announcement made that Ward 6 Councillor Steve Winslow was elected as Council President for 2024 by his fellow Council members, the first time he will be serving in that role. The School Committee members returned from their caucus and it was announced that Vice Chair Jennifer Spadafora (Ward 2) had been reelected to another two-year term in that post. In Malden, the Mayor serves as School Committee chairperson and Mayor Christenson will continue in that role for the 2024-2025 term.

During the recess, the audience was entertained by a delightful performance by the Malden High School AO Step Team, a cultural dance group that has performed at many school and civic events through the years. On Tuesday they performed under the direction of seventh-year Malden High School Principal Chris Mastrangelo.

Outgoing Councillor Murphy and School Committee member Weldai both received gifts as appreciation for their services. A Benediction was then delivered by Pastor Edwin Menon, of Community City Church, an evangelical church at 150 Cross St., Malden. The inaugural Ceremonies closed with a stirring rendition of “God Bless America” led by the MHS Choral Arts Society.

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