East Hartford Mayor: Be Open To The Possibilities

Mayor Marcia Leclerc delivered JAGCT seniors a special send-off this month at East Hartford High School, stressing the importance of positive relationships and the wide range of possibilities that await them after graduation. She also gave them a primer on being mayor.

“People want to help people,” Mayor Leclerc told a room full of students in the Jobs For America’s Graduates Connecticut program. “And when you’re kind and considerate to people, people are always going to reach out and help you. Those kind of relationships are important.”

“Make sure that everything you do is a representation of your greater self,” she said.

Mayor Marcia Leclerc: “Make sure that everything you do is a representation of your greater self.”

During Leclerc’s time with the students in the job skill and career-readiness program, she talked about the attributes for success, asked them about plans after high school (most are continuing their education and one is enlisting in the Navy), signed yearbooks and talked about being mayor.

Several students asked Leclerc about her job, including what is her favorite part. She said being mayor “is an awesome job,” but it does require a huge commitment of time, energy and desire to serve the community.

“Keeping 52,000 people happy is a big job, and that’s the population of East Hartford,” said Leclerc, who is running for re-election. “Fifty-two thousand people like to have their voice heard and I like them to have that opportunity to share that voice.”

Leclerc said the favorite part of her job is meeting the people she represents. She told the students her talk with them is one such happy occasion.

She told them to be open to the possibilities of what can be.

“You don’t even know what opportunities there are out there for you unless you are fully engaged and open to experiencing them.”