Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, using old school hardball tactics, is pushing for a clean progressive sweep in Tuesday’s city council election to consolidate and increase her political power.

Wu is backing four liberal candidates that if elected would take the council even farther left and expand her clout on the dysfunctional and sometimes prickly 13-member body.

Wu has generally gotten her way on the council but has faced some resistance that forced her to use her veto power.

If some of her endorsed candidates don’t win, it could be viewed as a sign that her electoral muscle is not as strong as some believe.

But if she gets a sweep of all her candidates, it would give her enormous clout on the council and in the state and allow her even to groom a successor if she wants.

The council votes in January on a new president that would take over City Hall in case of any mayoral vacancy.

Wu has batted away rumors that she’s looking to leave her mayoral job but she might have an interest in ensuring that the next council president is an ally.

Wu is relying on somewhat old school politics to get her way, marshaling a super PAC financially supported by several unions to back one of her candidates and accusing her opponents without any evidence of trying to turn the clock back to old Boston.

In Wu’s home district of Roslindale-Hyde Park, the mayor is backing Enrique Jose Pepen, who is running against 29-year retired police officer Jose Ruiz. Pepen is viewed as more left of center than Ruiz and worked for the Wu administration so she is putting all her muscle to work for him.

The mayor campaigned over the weekend for Pepen, who is looking to replace defeated councilor Ricardo Arroyo.

“Are we moving forward as a city? Are we continuing the progress to bring everyone into the conversation?” she said at a gathering in Hyde Park. “Or are we getting dragged back a little into the, ‘Us vs. them’ and ‘We need to protect our pie’ when in fact we should be growing opportunity for everyone.”

Pepen, in a shot at Ruiz, said he was running “to ensure that we are not going backwards in time.”

In fact, there is no evidence that Ruiz, who is backed by former Mayor Martin Walsh, has ever said he’s looking to take the city backwards or has said anything about “us vs. them.” But in these days of the smear campaign that doesn’t seem to matter.

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In the four spots for councilor-at-large, Wu has thrown her support to Henry Santana, the former director of civic organizing for the city. He is running against seven others, including three incumbents who are favored to make the final four and Bridget Nee-Walsh of South Boston, who leans more conservative.

Wu would dearly like to rack up a victory for her former aide and keep the council leaning left of center.

In District 6, which includes West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, Wu is supporting workers’ rights attorney Benjamin Weber of JP over IT specialist William King of the more conservative West Roxbury neighborhood.

Weber was the top vote-getter in the preliminary election but only narrowly defeated King, who describes himself as progressive on some issues and moderate on others.

In the Beacon Hill District 8, Wu is not taking much of a chance backing heavily favored incumbent Sharon Durkan, a former Wu political adviser who won a special election in July against prosecutor Montez Haywood. The election Tuesday is rematch of Haywood against Durkan.