Neil Zolot / Correspondant 2020 was a year unlike any other in living memory. The COVID-19 pandemic affected daily life across the country and around the world. Medford was not immune. Politics and education, among other things, were affected by the coronavirus directly or indirectly. The year seemed to show great promise. In late 2019, a new mayor was elected as were two young, progressive city councilors, indicating the city was moving out of its 20th century working class past into a more diverse 21st century present. It didn’t work out the way anyone planned. In late 2019 and early 2020, very few knew what coronavirus meant.