Political turnover will continue in Newton, Massachusetts, next year after Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced Tuesday she would not seek a third term.
Fuller, who spent eight years as a city councilor before winning election as the city's first female mayor in 2017, announced in her latest newsletter that she will not pursue reelection and will "serve our common goals, our common good, and our Commonwealth in other ways."
"I'm all in on working as hard as ever for the next 394 days as your Mayor. There is much to do," Fuller wrote. "The work of this city and the needs of our residents are always evolving -- in education, transportation, housing, climate resiliency, public safety, public health, community and civility."
Fuller has been visible in statewide affairs, spending a year as president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association and serving on the Local Government Advisory Commission that regularly pitches governors and their deputies on priorities for cities and towns.
Fuller spent weeks in the headlines at the start of the year during a two-week teachers strike, and said last month that such strikes have become a "disturbing trend."
Her decision not to run opens up the top elected position in the state's 12th largest city, and adds to Newton's ongoing political overhaul.
Longtime state representatives from The Garden City, Kay Khan and Ruth Balser, are leaving at the end of the year after decades in those roles. They'll be succeeded by Rep.-elects Amy Sangiolo -- whom Fuller defeated in the 2019 mayoral race -- and Greg Schwartz, respectively.
