The day after winning the Boston mayoral race, mayor-elect Marty Walsh outlined his priorities at a press conference outside the State House.
Walsh arrived on Beacon Hill looking a little rumpled after a long campaign.
"It didn't really hit me until this morning that I was the mayor-elect of the city of Boston, when I was getting dressed and I walked out and I looked at Lorrie, and she goes, 'Oh, my God, you're going to be the mayor,'" he said.
But reality sets in on issues that Walsh now faces.
One day after East Boston residents rejected a casino at Suffolk downs, Walsh said he wouldn’t interfere in the decision.
"As I stated during the whole campaign, whatever the folks in East Boston decided, whatever their will was, I would support, and they voted down the casino, and I support them," he said.
He was noncommittal on a plan by Suffolk Downs to possibly reconfigure and locate entirely in Revere.
"Yeah, you'll have to have a conversation with Suffolk Downs about that," he said. "I'm not sure."
After meeting with press on Boston Common, Walsh took the short walk up the hill back into the State House to resume his job as state representative.
He got a standing ovation from his fellow lawmakers. He said after he won his house seat 17 years ago, he couldn't sleep. And so he drove to the State House at 2 a.m., parked across the street and stared awestruck at the Golden Dome.
"The first time I walked in this chamber, I fell in love with this chamber," he said. "Every single time I've walked in this chamber, I've fallen in love with this chamber. This is a special place."
Walsh says he’ll resign from the House in January. He says His top priority right now is a smooth transition into City Hall.
