Election season is finally over. Michelle Wu will officially enter her second term as Mayor of Boston. The progressive Democrat ran on an uncontested ballot following philanthropist Josh Kraft dropping out of the race in late September. She celebrated with City Council allies Ruthzee Louijenue and Henry Santana in the South Boston Seaport at Grace By Nia.
Down the ballot, Louijenue, Santana, and fellow incumbents, Erin Murphy and Julia Mejia, will all retain their seats as at-large representatives.
Louijenue led the ticket during the preliminary election and garnered over 50,000 votes on Tuesday night. “This isn’t just my win, this is Boston’s win,” she said in a post to Instagram. “It’s a win for every neighborhood, every dreamer, every person fighting for a more just, joyful, prosperous, and inclusive city where we all win and thrive.”
Former District 3 Councilor Frank Baker was hot on the top four’s heels during the preliminary election but fell behind by a few thousand votes. He told followers at Dorchester’s Florian Hall that he was not expecting results until early Wednesday morning but that he was proud of the campaign.
“I feel good about where we are. We did good every place in the city,” he said.
District 1 Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata won her reelection bid against Andretti McDuffie-Stanziani with 82% of the vote. McDuffie-Stanziani officially ceased campaigning in July but extended a preemptive congratulations to Coletta Zapata on October 28.
Across the bay, District 2 Councilor Ed Flynn beat out challenger Charles Delaney with 87% of the vote. Delaney has been notably absent from the election – neither campaigning nor responding to any voter material. The only trace of his candidacy is his name on the ballot and a website uploaded shortly before, and not updated since, the preliminary election.
Reverend Miniard Culpepper narrowly defeated Said ‘Coach’ Ahmed for the councilorship of District 7. The district has lacked leadership on the council since Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and resigned from the position in July. Their race had the tightest margins and will likely be recounted through the rest of the week.
In District 4, Brian Worrell overtook Helen Cameron. Districts 5 and 6 Councilors Enrique Pepen and Liz Breadon both won reelection, and Councilors John Fitzgerald and Sharon Durkan won uncontested races for districts 3 and 8, respectively.
Voter turnout was noticeably depressed, with only 95,690 ballots cast out of 438,498 registered voters.
Jacob Downey is a contributor to Caught in Dot. He is formerly of The Clock, Plymouth State University’s award-winning student newspaper. He enjoys spending time with his two kittens – Gin and Tonic – reading Uncanny X-Men and writing about local government meetings.
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