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Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Ciara Barber, serving as mayor for a day, poses with Westfield Mayor Michael McCabe. (Photo courtesy Barber family)
For 9-year-old Ciara Barber, visiting city and town halls often means receiving the VIP treatment — holding audiences with mayors and town managers, seeing banners with her name on them, ringing clock tower bells, touring records vaults and secret passages, and accepting swag bags.
And then there’s the ice cream. Lots of ice cream.
Ciara Barber recently completed her tour of all of the state’s city and town halls — 351 of them — by car, boat and even plane. With her mother, Blue Barber, and her uncle, Adam Barber, she started her tour last July in her hometown of Worcester and finished it on June 1 in the island town of Gosnold. And over the past year, the Instagram account cataloging the girl’s municipal travels has captured the public’s attention, garnered media coverage, and earned her new friends in city and town halls across the state.
The tour idea came about after Adam Barber saw a graphic explaining that state Lottery funds benefit all 351 cities and towns, and the family was amazed that 351 municipalities could fit in such a small state. Blue Barber, who works in higher education, was about to have July and August off with her daughter, and they decided that visiting city and town halls would make for a good summertime adventure.
“We were kind of like, well, what are we going to do this summer?” Blue Barber said. “We could sit around, or we could, you know, put 7,000 miles on the car and go see the entire state.”
Ciara Barber arrives at her final destination, Gosnold, on June 1. (Photo courtesy Barber family)
The family tried to enter as many city and town halls as possible, though a photo on the front doorstep sometimes had to suffice during weekends. On their most intense day, they visited 25 city and town halls. Ciara Barber quipped that “we wanted nothing to do with each other” after 10 hours in the car.
As news of the Barber family’s quest emerged through their Instagram posts and local media coverage, municipalities started rolling out the red carpet.
“These places were just so, so kind,” Blue Barber said. “They’d have gift baskets for her, and she’s got all sorts of municipal merch,” such as challenge coins and water bottles.
At Boston City Hall, Ciara Barber met Mayor Michelle Wu, who lauded the girl for her “determination, passion and excitement for civic involvement.” She also toured a secret staircase in Newton City Hall with Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, got a local history lesson from Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe Jr., toured the records vault in Salem, and rang the clock bell in the tower in Marblehead. In Worcester, a clerk showed the Barbers their original birth certificates.
In Westfield last August, Ciara Barber served as mayor for a day, and enacted a new law declaring that visitors to City Hall should get chocolate. With a banner and a delegation of city employees greeting her, she toured a fire truck, a bucket truck and the City Hall vault, and received a proclamation commemorating her visit.
“I decided to make her mayor for the day to make her trip more memorable,” Mayor Michael McCabe told the MMA. “What her future holds is unclear, but her appetite for knowledge will serve her well.”
In Fall River last August, Mayor Paul Coogan greeted Ciara Barber with a key to the city, a citation, a goodie bag and a tour of his office.
“When you have someone so young reaching out to learn about local government and showing an interest, it’s important to show appreciation and encouragement,” said Coogan, a former educator.
The family had initially hoped to complete their tour last summer, but the effort extended into this spring due to some harder-to-reach communities. Eventually, they were able to reach the Islands with a little help from Cape Air.
Time will tell if the whirlwind municipal tour has enticed Ciara Barber into a local government career. During much of the tour, she had resolved to become a mayor/singer, but now, she said, “I want to be a gamer.” About to enter fourth grade, she has more modest goals for this summer.
“Sit around and do nothing,” she said. “I am so tired.”
Blue Barber said municipal officials are still inviting them to visit.
“We’ve got a few people that are like, ‘Hey, we have ice cream,’” she said. “Oh, if you have ice cream, I think we’re going to continue. You know, definitely not on as hardcore a schedule, but gradually, as we please.”