SOMERVILLE MAYOR Joe Curtatone announced on Wednesday that he is taking over as president of the Northeast Clean Energy Council when his current term ends in January.
Curtatone, who is wrapping up his 18th year in office, said he isn’t ruling out running for some political office in the future. But he said he wants to bring his expertise to bear on climate change across the region, and particularly at the municipal level, in part because he believes the issue intersects with others of high importance, including racial equity and environmental justice.
“It’s important work that I have a passion to do,” he said.
The council, formed in 2006, represents clean energy businesses in the northeastern US and works with key stakeholders to advance the industry through research and policy development. Curtatone will be replacing Peter Rothstein, who has been the organization’s president for the last 11 years.
Curtatone is likely to give the organization a much higher public profile. He also brings a wealth of government contacts and relationships at the local, state, and federal level.
Daniel Goldman, the chair of the council’s board and the cofounder and managing director at Clean Energy Ventures, a climate tech venture capital fund, issued a statement saying Curtatone is a good fit for the organization.
“Joe’s unparalleled track record of progress in Somerville provides NECEC with the experience and ability to integrate energy equity and environmental justice into the organization’s broad clean energy and climate objectives across the region. We look forward to welcoming Joe into the climate and clean energy ecosystem,” he said.
There had been speculation that Curtatone might mount a campaign for governor, but he said he wasn’t interested at this point in time. However, he said he is likely to run for public office at some point in the future.
“My passion for public service is not done,” he said. “I haven’t closed the book on running for political office down the road.”
