Darren P. Cyr Announces His Candidacy for Mayor of Lynn

Council President and Ward Three Councilor Darren P. Cyr, 61, of 50 Morton Hill Avenue, Lynn, became the first candidate to formally announce his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Lynn to succeed Thomas M. McGee who announced Monday his intention to not seek re-election this coming fall.    A lifelong Lynn resident, Darren is the husband of Dale (Dorgan) Cyr and father to Christian and Kylian Cyr.  Darren’s father, David P. Cyr was a two-term Lynn City Councilor from 1974 – 1977.  A 16-year member of the Lynn City Council, Darren has served as Council President for the past four years as the City’s financial future has brightened and its downtown and waterfront skyline has been transformed. 

Darren P. Cyr.

“The future of Lynn has never been brighter, even during this difficult year with the COVID pandemic.  I have seen firsthand at the Salvation Army Food Pantry how Lynners have united together in a spirit of volunteerism and community support.  Every day, I saw committed individuals from all ages, races, ethnicities and income levels generously donating their time to ensure our most vulnerable citizens had enough food to eat during those early months of the pandemic.” 

“Despite the global pandemic, Lynn is attracting developers and businesses at unprecedented levels.  Under the steady leadership of Mayor McGee and my fellow members of the City Council, Lynn has regained its financial footing and began the year with an excess of 18 million dollars in free cash/reserves.  Under Darren’s tenure as Council President, the City has engaged its first full-time Chief Financial Officer capable of dedicating all of his attention and resources to the short and long-term financial security of the City.  The City of Lynn this evening will re-establish, after an almost 30-year absence, a full time Planning Department to meet the economic, housing and transportation needs of Lynn and its citizens.   Earlier this year, the City Council approved the creation of a full-time Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer to be situated in the Mayor’s Office.  It is clear Lynn is moving in the right direction and I believe I am the right candidate, at the right time, to continue the progress we made over the past 4 years.”

Darren is presently employed as a Manager in the Asset Protection Bureau of the Massachusetts State Lottery.  A 1978 graduate of the Lynn Vocational & Technical Institute, Darren was previously employed at the Lynn General Electric Plant and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office. Darren previously owned and operated his own construction business in Lynn and knows the intricacies of running his own business and making sure to meet payroll for his employees each and every week.   Darren also served as a constituent liaison within the Mayor’s Office under former Mayor Patrick J. McManus.  “As a former business owner and presently a Manager at the Lottery overseeing dozens of state employees along with my extensive experience as a City Councilor, I believe that I possess the skill set and background to transition to overseeing the 350-million-dollar corporation that is the City of Lynn.  Having previously worked in the Mayor’s Office and having served as a Ward Councilor and Council President, I have the necessary understanding and knowledge of the daily operations of municipal government here in Lynn.” 

Darren cites the desperate need for new school buildings as the number one issue confronting the next Mayor of the City of Lynn.  “Sadly, Lynn has dozens of schools that were constructed in the 19th century that must be replaced.  These schools were built in the same era where the television show Little House on the Prairie was set and prior to the advent of electricity in our school houses.  This is simply unacceptable.  Lynn children deserve better.  I am extremely proud of my deep involvement with the construction of a new Thurgood Marshall Middle School on Brookline Street.  The current Thurgood site was a vacant parcel with overgrown weeds, trash and drug paraphernalia.  Council Vice President Buzzy Barton and I went door to door speaking to neighbors about how the new middle school would utterly transform and revitalize a neglected section of the City.  The voters of Lynn overwhelming supported this project which resulted in no new additional property taxes.”  According to Cyr, the new Thurgood Marshall Middle School is the model the State cites as an example for future school construction projects across the Commonwealth.  “My heart swelled with pride prior to the pandemic seeing Lynn kids going to the school on Saturdays to participate in educational, athletic and extracurricular activities because the school has been transformed into the center of their community.”

Darren has seen first hand how social justice and equity issues relating to police reform and affordable housing have moved to the forefront during this past year of great political unrest.  This past summer into the early fall, Darren led regular meetings with the City’s minority community to address suggested police reforms including the newly adopted policy of body cameras to be worn by all Lynn Police Officers.  Darren also is in the process of spearheading a comprehensive review of a recently completed Affordable Housing Plan which would likely necessitate zoning changes.  “It is imperative that the next Mayor balances the City’s desperate need for new development to secure the necessary funding to replace Pickering Middle School, Tracy and Aborn Elementary Schools while also ensuring that lifelong Lynners are not forced out of our community as a result of rising home prices and apartment rentals.  On-going multi-family housing construction in the downtown area and at the North Harbor Site on the Lynnway will provide additional tax revenues that will allow the City to replace its crumbling schools.  While these market rate housing units pump much needed monies into our budget to improve schools, parks and roadways, plans must be undertaken to also create affordable units for our City’s less fortunate citizens.  There exists no magical quick fix that will solve our aging and outdated school infrastructure issues and simultaneously address the skyrocketing housing costs.  Only by rolling up our collective sleeves and working together with the federal and state delegation, my fellow elected and appointed municipal officials and the great citizenry of Lynn, will we achieve the greatness that my family saw in our City’s future when they settled here generations ago.”

Lynn is like no other community in the country. From our beautiful beaches and waterfront, to our jewel of a public golf course, to our commitment to preserving Lynn Woods (the second largest municipal forest in the nation), to our vibrant arts and cultural district, to our diverse racial and ethnic melting pot, Lynn has something for everyone.  As Mayor, I want Lynn to embrace and emphasize these characteristics and resources and help Lynn reach its full potential.

“My goals are quite simple.  I want Lynn to be the best it can possibly be and I want my children and my fellow Lynner’s children to see Lynn’s vast potential and want to raise their families here — just as my Father and Mother did over 80 years ago.”

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