Joseph Anthony Curtatone (born June 28, 1966) is an American politician from

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

who formerly served as the city's mayor from 2004 until 2022.

Early life and education

Curtatone was born and raised in

and graduated from Somerville High School in 1984. He later earned his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in 1990, his J.D. from the

New England School of Law New England Law Boston (formerly New England School of Law, and styled as New England Law Boston) is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Portia School of Law in 1908 and is located in downtown Boston near the Massa ...

in 1994, and his MC/MPA from

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

in 2011.

Career

After serving as an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for the city of Somerville for eight years, Curtatone was elected mayor in 2003. At 38, he was the second youngest mayor in Somerville history. He concluded his ninth and final, term as mayor in 2022 after 18 years in office. In 2006, Somerville was recognized by ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

Magazine'' as the Best Run City in the Commonwealth. On March 1, 2021, he announced that he would not seek another term as mayor of Somerville."Curtatone, Somerville's longest-serving mayor, says he will not seek reelection"
Boston Globe. March 1, 2021. Accessed March 2, 2021.

Sanctuary city

In January 2017, Curtatone reaffirmed Somerville's

sanctuary city A sanctuary city is a municipality that limits or denies its cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration law. Proponents of sanctuary cities cite motives such as reducing the fear of persons which illegally immigrated fr ...

policy saying "will not waver" in the support for documented and undocumented immigrants. The city will not cooperate with President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's executive order reducing grant funding to sanctuary cities and changing deportation standards.

Alliance for Climate Transition

In January 2022, Curtatone was named President of the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC), a 501(c)3 nonprofit and hybrid trade organization focused on building a "cluster of clean energy companies and climatetech startups through programs centered on innovation and entrepreneurship, industry research and development and workforce development." NECEC was rebranded as ACT (The Alliance for Climate Transition) in 2024 as part of a strategic launch of new initiatives to combat climate disinformation, empower grassroots sustainability policy activists, and support a participatory campaign for their members and public for the climate transition. In 2025, Curtatone was active in local public discussions around energy battery siting, advocating for their net benefits and addressing concerns about battery fires.

References

External links

City of Somerville profile
1966 births Living people Boston College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Massachusetts city council members Massachusetts Democrats Mayors of Somerville, Massachusetts New England Law Boston alumni {{Massachusetts-mayor-stub