After 27 Years As Mayor, Medford's McGlynn Is Not Seeking Re-Election

After nearly three decades in office, Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn will not seek another term, he announced on Monday.

Inaugurated in January 1988, McGlynn is serving in his 15th term as mayor. He is the longest-serving mayor now in office statewide.

McGlynn also served six terms in the state's House of Representatives, according to a statement from his office.

“We live in a great city with a diverse population, rich with history and I am grateful to all of Medford’s residents for the privilege to serve them,” McGlynn said in the statement.

“I met President-Elect John F. Kennedy, on Jan. 9, 1961, at the State House with my father Jack McGlynn who was then the mayor and the state representative, and with my godfather/uncle state Rep. Michael Catino," he continued. "That night, before bedtime, I told my father I wanted to be the mayor of Medford. He said, ‘Go to bed, we will talk about it in the morning.’ Thank you JFK, Dad and the city of Medford.”'

His father, John McGlynn, served as Medford's mayor in the 1950s and '60s, the statement said.

“Mayor [Michael] McGlynn is a legendary leader and a tireless public servant. Whether it is building new schools, transforming polluted brownfields into Rivers Edge, or revitalizing areas like Station Landing, Mayor McGlynn is a mayor for ages," U.S. Sen. Edward Markey said in a statement. Markey, who grew up in nearby Malden, was a congressman whose district included Medford.

With reporting from the WBUR newsroom and Michael Norton of the State House News Service