With Michelle Wu on vacation, Boston’s acting mayor duties are split between two officials
The Boston City Council president and city clerk are splitting acting mayor duties this week while Mayor Michelle Wu takes a family vacation in Maine.
City Clerk Alex Geourntas assumed acting mayor duties for the first half of the week because both the city’s mayor and Council president, Ruthzee Louijeune, were out of town, Geourntas told the Herald Wednesday.
“The mayor is on vacation this week and the Council president is back today,” Geourntas said in an email. “The Council president will be back around 3:30 p.m. (Wednesday) and will be acting mayor until Sunday.”
Wu left the city at approximately 9 a.m. on Monday and is set to return to Boston at 2 p.m. on Sunday, according to a letter of absence she filed with the city clerk.
The mayor’s office confirmed Wu was out of town on Tuesday. Her absence wasn’t announced but became noticeable when the mayor wasn’t present for a Wu campaign event held near City Hall.
“The mayor is in Maine for the week with her family,” city spokesperson Emma Pettit said in a statement. “She is available and in close communication with the team.”
It’s unclear why Louijeune was out of town for the first half of this week. Her office did not respond to a Herald inquiry on her absence.
Typically, acting mayor duties fall to the Council president when the mayor is out of town, per the city charter.
In the event that both are absent, the charter dictates that the city clerk may serve as acting mayor, Geourntas said last August when a similar situation occurred.
In that instance, it was a presidential election year and both Wu and Louijeune were out of town as delegates at the Democratic National Convention.
“Historically, under similar circumstances, the city clerk has served in this capacity as needed,” Geourntas said last August about his prior stint as acting mayor.
Related Articles
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu calls on Josh Kraft to release tax returns, disclose business ‘entanglements’
Massachusetts revenue commish disputes claims that Boston is ‘secretly penalizing’ commercial properties with tax spikes
Boston pushing for more Everett stadium mitigation, heightening tensions with Krafts
Boston installs new bike washing machine
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu holds 30-point lead over Josh Kraft, new poll finds
Louijeune will be acting mayor for the remainder of the week, and part of Sunday. Her office did not respond to a Herald inquiry about whether she plans to take official action in her acting role as the city’s chief executive.
An acting mayor, per the city charter, “shall possess the powers of mayor only in matters not admitting of delay.”
Louijeune has assumed the role of acting mayor on multiple occasions over her two-year term as Council president, which wraps up at the end of this year.
