by Rick Winterson
Ed Flynn threw a gala party on New Year’s Day afternoon.
And why not? New Year’s Day is a day to celebrate, no matter who you are, where you are, or why you’re celebrating. Another new year has been rung in, 2018 most recently. The world-famous L Street Brownies’ Polar Plunge had taken place that morning, despite bitter-cold weather. If anyone needed another reason, it was even the Seventh Day of Christmas (“Seven swans a-swimming …”).
Also, Mayor Marty Walsh had been inaugurated to his second term in office as the Mayor of the City of Boston on New Year’s morning. An eloquent ex-Vice President Joe Biden keynoted this occasion. Which brings us to Ed, who is now formally known as District 2 City Councilor Edward Flynn. Ed had won the District 2 City Council seat in November; he was sworn in on New Year’s morning, along with the Mayor. It was joyful occasion for all of Ed’s supporters.
As a small measure of Ed’s gratitude for the support he received, he threw the afternoon party mentioned above at Amrhein’s. It was a spirited, elbow-to-elbow crowd, who enjoyed this party and Ed’s official assumption of office hugely.
About halfway through the party, Ed took the floor to make a few remarks. He spoke in an impromptu fashion from notes, so there is no official reprint of his speech. But the key points he made included the opioid/drug crisis that is now afflicting Boston (during his campaign, Ed had supported re-opening Long Island as a treatment facility) and the extraordinary pace pf development in District 2. Ed’s remarks reflected his innate humility and his desire to serve He made a special point of promising to work with every precinct in District 2, whether or not voters from those precincts had supported him – “My office door will always be open to everyone in my district.”
The biggest single portion of Ed’s speech was devoted to his profound thanks for all of the support and effort his campaign received. His extended family, along with his immediate family of his wife Kristen and his children Caroline and Stephen, had spent countless hours on his campaign since early in 2017. The varied, diverse groups of campaign workers who came to his party clearly demonstrated the wide-ranging support that Ed’s campaign had generated.
It was a Happy New Year event, indeed! 
