![]() Mayor Walsh makes final edits to his 2019 State of the City speech (left), before delivering it to a crowd of thousands at Boston's Symphony Hall (right). By the very end, it’s usually just him and me tweaking the final language. I write a draft based on that conversation, then get feedback and input from him and members of the cabinet over a series of drafts and practice sessions. ![]() I put together an outline to start the conversation, but the Mayor usually has a main point and a sequence of issues and/or announcements in mind already. Can you share some insight into how a speech like that comes together? There’s so much ground to cover in a major speech like the State of the City or the annual Chamber of Commerce address. Everyone is great about understanding our deadlines and needs when we reach out. We do get a ton of support - from each other, from Scheduling and Advance, from the Press team, from the whole Mayor’s Office and every department we work with. On top of our many other tasks, they write and tape dozens of messages every week, with Stacia Sheputa from the Press Team. Most of the Mayor’s speeches became video recordings, and many COVID-related PSAs have been needed. Mayor Walsh's speechwriting team: Maura Welch, Nancy Kwan, and Eoin Cannon. It’s like something out of Greek mythology, the labors of Hercules but with ribbon cuttings and coffee hours instead of slaying monsters. Borderline impossible? An extraordinary feat of human endurance and willpower? You’re the wordsmith, help me out. And I’ll be the first to admit, his schedule is.I don’t even know how to describe it properly. I worked closely with you and your team when I was in the Mayor’s Office of Scheduling & Advance. I was a fan of his when he was my State Representative, so I volunteered to do some writing on his 2013 campaign and one thing led to another. I was an academic interested in things the mayor worked on, including cities, recovery, and labor. Mayor Walsh brought me into public service, as he has so many others. What led you to this career in the first place? You are taught to never sound full of yourself but you can be sentimental when called for. Both of us having Irish parents might help a bit as well. īut Mayor Walsh’s voice is very good training for a writer, because his style is direct, concrete, personal, and relational, all the things effective writing should usually be. Yeah, sorry about that ( Full disclosure for our readers: My last role was Mayor Walsh’s Director of Scheduling and Advance). ![]() ![]() It was a trial by fire at first, a relentless schedule of events where you can hear every single time a line doesn’t work or simply isn’t used, and you have to keep adapting and adjusting. How did you get so good at writing for his unique voice? You’ve been writing for Mayor Walsh since the very beginning, and you have a special relationship as a result. The job requires what one FDR adviser called “a passion for anonymity.” But Mayor Walsh is who he is, showing gratitude and sharing success are what he does. I mean, no speech writer ever expects that. Dave Burt from the Cable Office, who sits next to me, said he was afraid I was passing out and he’d have to take over. I sort of lost it too! I was operating the teleprompter and was so overwhelmed, I bowed my head for a moment. And as you know, I completely lost it when the Mayor thanked you by name. I know I say this every time, but that was the best one yet. I just want to start with a sincere thank you, and congratulations on yet another fantastic State of the City address. Station Manager for Boston City TV Dave Burt (left) and Mayor's Speechwriter, Eoin Cannon (right), working the teleprompter for the Mayor's 2019 SOTC address.Įoin, I’m so glad you agreed to let me interview you for this segment. ![]()
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