First elected in November of 2003, Mayor Joseph Curtatone began his third term as mayor of Somerville on January 7, 2008. He had previously served for eight years as an alderman at large.

Thirty-eight-years old at the time of his first election, Curtatone is the second youngest mayor in Somerville’s history. Under his leadership, Somerville has earned national recognition for its successful joint effort with Tufts University to implement Shape Up Somerville, an effective program to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity among the city’s elementary school children. His success in Somerville has earned him the presidency of the Massachusetts Mayor’s Association, a position on the board of directors for the National League of Cities, and as a member of the Metropolitan Mayors Association.

As mayor, he has also successfully implemented a wide range of reforms and new programs that have earned Somerville many distinctions by regional and national organizations, including the designation by Boston Globe Magazine as “the best-run city in Massachusetts,” by America's Promise Alliance as one of the "100 Best Communities for Youth," and a finalist in the 2008 "All America City" competition.

Curtatone established a policy advisory commission headed by former attorney Scott Harshbarger to develop a comprehensive reform agenda for the Somerville police, including the decision to remove the position of police chief from civil service. He created neighborhood impact teams that combine fire, health and building inspectors—along with representatives of the council on aging and the city's environmental office—in a coordinated effort to monitor and improve the health, safety and appearance of Somerville’s businesses and residential neighborhoods. After inheriting a government in fiscal crisis, he has stabilized city finances and begun a restoration of lost city services and personnel cuts that occurred before he took office—and he led a successful effort to end years of delay in the development of Assembly Square as a transit-oriented, mixed use, Smart Growth project on the banks of the Mystic River.

Curtatone lives with his wife Nancy and his sons Cosmo, Joseph, Patrick and James in the Ten Hills neighborhood.

The following is a video interview with Mayor Curtatone conducted by Leadership for Healthy Communities.