Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Springfield’s First Lady Carla Sarno met New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray – a Springfield native – on Saturday morning for breakfast at the legendary Russ’s Breakfast and Lunch. First Lady McCray had reached out to Mayor Sarno on behalf of her Cities Thrive Coalition to work with her on tackling mental health issues. Subsequently, she informed Mayor Sarno that she and her husband would be in Springfield in the near future to visit family, and would love to get together.
Mayor Sarno stated, “It was a great pleasure to have the Mayor of New York City and the First Lady here with me and Carla – they were really quite genuine, humble and down to earth people. I will be continuing to work with First Lady McCray in Cities Thrive, not only on mental health issues, but she is also very interested in our progressive sober alternative high school program. It is one of the few in the state. Besides speaking about policy, we had a very enjoyable conversation about each other’s children and families, First Lady McCray’s Springfield roots, and the mayors’ shared Italian-American heritage that roots back to the old country.
“Next time they’re in town, they’ve heard about my wife Carla’s cooking talents, and we look forward to having them at our home for one of her great meals. To Deb Omer, the owner of Russ’s and her staff, thanks for the great food, great neighborhood environment and hospitality. Her dad Russ Senior, God rest his soul, would have loved having two mayors in tow and bending their ear, b ut he saw it all from Heaven anyways.”
