Ever since John Phillips was elected in 1822, Boston has only had white males serve in the mayoral position for the city. When the primaries closed on September 15 and the votes were counted, for the first time in 200 years, Boston voters had selected two women of color as the final candidates for mayor– Anissa Essaibi George and Michelle Wu.

Andrea Campbell and Kim Janey, Boston’s current acting mayor, were the two runner-ups in the primaries. Kim Janey was the first official woman and woman of color to serve as mayor, however, she was not elected into the position by the Boston public. She became the acting mayor when former Mayor Marty Walsh left the position to step into a new role of the United States Secretary of Labor. 

Although both Essaibi George and Wu would have made history on November 2nd, Michelle Wu won by a landslide of 28 points over her competitor. Her vote total ended up being higher than any US mayoral candidate in 40 years. There were several elements in her campaign that ended up winning over the Boston community. NPR Reporter Vanessa Romo said: “ Since her election to the city council in 2013, Wu has become a darling of the progressive wing of the party. Throughout the campaign, she championed climate change policies in line with the Green New Deal, rent control and stabilization, which was narrowly voted down in the mid-1990s, eliminating fares on the metropolitan area’s public transit system, and abolishing the Boston Planning and Development Agency.” 

Boston residents all over the area are excited to see what Wu will do for the community. West Roxbury native Kasey Corra ‘22 said: “I’m so excited that it’s a woman of color, and it was a really exciting race. I was a little disappointed that the top two nominees had to be polarized because I think that a lot of the candidates were really good and I think that Andrea Campbell and Kim Janey could have done a lot of good as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what Wu does in the future.”

Another Boston native Hana Shinzawa ‘25 also shared: “Just seeing a woman of color representing Boston is amazing. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, where Asian Americans have faced so much racism, it definitely feels like progress to have her in a position of power.” Wu’s success in Massachusetts is a bright spot for Asian Americans who have experienced an influx of racism during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The results of the 2021 Boston Mayoral Election have broken barriers in history for many underrepresented groups and show how progress can be made with small steps at a time. As Faith Chen ‘22 explained: “As a fellow first-generation Taiwanese American female, Wu’s success has empowered me — proving that we have a significant voice in this country, too.”

Erica Brown ‘22, Co-Editor-in-Chief

22ebrown@montroseschool.org