Dear Friends and Supporters,

I’m writing to wish you and your family the best this holiday season. As I finish my first year on the City Council, I also want to take a moment to update you on my work.

I have been focused on our shared vision for a safe, affordable, and sustainable Boston. As the newest member of the City Council, I take my experience as a former middle school teacher with me to work every day because the cornerstone of Boston’s future demands a world-class public school system.

During my first year, I have served as Chair of the Environment & Health Committee, Vice Chair of the Education Committee, and as a member of the Ways & Means Committee. Of note, there are two efforts I want to mention:

First, as a member of the Ways & Means Committee, I worked on my first city budget this past spring. I am particularly proud of securing a commitment to almost triple the number of hybrid vehicles being added to the city vehicle fleet. This commitment promotes both environmental responsibility and sound fiscal policy. A sustainable city vehicle fleet will reduce carbon emissions and save your tax dollars through better fuel efficiency. Through measures like this, I truly believe we can make Boston the greenest and healthiest city in the world.

Second, I proposed a truancy initiative in October that would require more parental accountability and responsibility in a truant child’s life by approaching truancy as a family issue, and not just the child’s issue. A student’s chronic absence from school may start as early as kindergarten. Chronically absent students are almost guaranteed to drop out. Upon dropping out, a teenager will confront long odds to a successful future including a higher likelihood of being incarcerated, battling addiction, and living in poverty. Ultimately, truancy becomes more than one family’s problem. Truancy impacts everyone by taking a toll on our schools, our public health, and our public safety. By focusing on innovative programs that support families and keep children in school and learning, we can open a world of opportunity for every child, and in so doing, create a stronger, better city and school system for all of us.

In the coming year, I will work to make my truancy proposal a reality. Additionally, I look forward to continuing work to improve services for children with autism and other special needs as well as working to bring a shared bike program to Boston.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve in a job I love.

With best wishes,

John R. Connolly

Boston City Councillor At-Large

P.S. You can visit www.ConnollyforBoston.com to learn more about the work mentioned above as well as other issues we’ve been working on this past year. A word of warning, our web site is undergoing a “reconstruction”. We will be finished soon, and we plan to launch a new and improved www.ConnollyforBoston.com in early 2009.