Boston becomes Mayor of Color as Wu, Essaibi George advance

BOSTON (AP) – For the first time in 200 years, Boston voters have narrowed the field of mayoral candidates to two women of color who will face off in November.

Councilors Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George dominated the five-person race in Tuesday’s second preliminary round. They beat Acting Mayor Kim Janey, City Councilor Andrea Campbell and John Barros, the city’s former head of economic development. All five were candidates of color – a major departure from two centuries of white male dominated Boston politics.

Wu’s parents immigrated to the United States from Taiwan. Essaibi George describes herself as a first generation Arab-Polish American.

Whoever wins on November 2 will make history for a city that has never elected an Asian American woman or mayor. For the past 200 years, the office has been occupied exclusively by white men.

The advancement of Wu and Essaibi George in the general election ushers in a new era for the city which has fought against racial and ethnic conflicts.

Essaibi George said she was convinced she could pose a significant challenge for Wu in November.

“I am very grateful to you for showing up not only this evening, but also over the past eight months,” she told her supporters.

Wu spoke to reporters outside Boston City Hall on Wednesday.

“This is the time in Boston that our campaign and our coalition have long been calling for,” she said. “We entered this race over a year ago – in fact exactly a year ago today – to make sure Boston pulls together to reach this moment.”

Essaibi George in his victory speech said the mayor of Boston could not unilaterally restore rent control – a coup against Wu, who wants to revive a version of rent control, or rent stabilization, which has been banned throughout. the state by a question in the 1994 ballot.

Wu countered, saying she faced difficult challenges during her years as a city councilor.

“We tackled issues that people said were a piece of cake, would be impossible to accomplish, but by building coalitions, working at all levels of government and continuing to bring community members to the table, we knocked them down, one by one. ” she said.

Earlier this year, Janey became the first black Bostonian and the first woman to hold the city’s most senior position on an interim basis after former Mayor Marty Walsh stepped down to become Labor Secretary to President Joe Biden.

“I want to congratulate Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George on their victories tonight,” Janey said in a statement. “It has been a lively and historic race, and I wish them both good luck in the final elections.”

Some leaders in the black community had struggled to rally with a single candidate to ensure that at least one black candidate for mayor could claim one of the top two places.

All the candidates were Democrats. Boston mayoral races do not include the party primaries.

Wu was elected to Boston City Council in 2013 at the age of 28, becoming the first Asian-American woman to serve on the council. In 2016, she was unanimously elected president of the city council by her colleagues, becoming the first woman of color to hold the post of president.

Essaibi George won a series of key mentions during the race, including from unions representing firefighters, nurses and emergency medical technicians. She also gained the support of former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross.

Essaibi George grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of the city and taught in Boston public schools. She was elected to city council in 2015. Her father immigrated to the United States from Tunisia in 1972. Her mother was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany to Polish parents.

The November contest could also be a test of whether voters in a city long dominated by parish district and ethnic politics are willing to exploit someone like Wu, who grew up in Chicago.

Wu moved to Boston to study at Harvard University and Harvard Law School, and studied under US Senator Elizabeth Warren, then a professor of law. She is the only candidate who was not born in Boston.

Boston has changed dramatically since the 1970s and 1980s when it was predominantly white and torn by racial tensions. Today, while struggling to overcome its racist heritage, it is a majority minority city: Latest U.S. Census statistics show residents who identify as white make up 44.6% of the population compared to black residents. (19.1%), Latino residents (18.7%) and residents of Asian origin (11.2%).

Among the challenges modern Boston faces are those brought on by gentrification, which has forced many long-term residents, including those in historically black neighborhoods.

Added to this are a host of other challenges the new mayor will face, from transportation issues, racial injustice and policing to schools and the continued response to the coronavirus pandemic.

(Copyright (c) 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)