Nov. 4 municipal election: What Boston voters need to know
With Boston’s city council and mayoral election upcoming on Tuesday, here’s what voters need to know.
Boston residents will decide the layout of the city’s next 13-member City Council on Nov. 4. The mayor’s race will also appear on voter’s ballots, though incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu will be the only candidate listed after challenger Josh Kraft withdrew following the September primary and third-place finisher Domingo DaRosa failed to meet a 3,000-vote minimum to advance to the general election ballot.
In the City Council At-Large race, the four incumbents — Councilors Ruthzee Louijeune, Julia Mejia, Erin Murphy and Henry Santana — will face four challengers — former District Councilor Frank Baker, local businessman Marvin Dee Mathelier, long-time city government figure Will Onuoha, and City Hall worker Alexandra Valdez.
Santana appeared the most vulnerable incumbent following the September preliminary election, trailing behind his fellow at-large councilors with 12.6% of the vote. Baker finished the preliminary leading the challengers with 10.8%.
Voters will also decide seven district City Council races, with only District 3 Councilor John FitzGerald and District 8 Councilor Sharon Durkan running unopposed.
The District 7 seat, representing Roxbury, Dorchester, and Fenway, will be particularly contested after former Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson’s arrest and resignation earlier this year. After a crowded primary, candidates Miniard Culpepper and Said Coach Ahmed emerged from the September election as the two frontrunners by razor-thin margins.
Culpepper works as the Senior Pastor of the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, while Muhammad serves as a BPS educator and founder of a local track program in Boston.
In the remaining races, District 1 Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata will face Andretti Mcduffie-Stanziani; District 2 Councilor Ed Flynn will face Charles Jeffrey Delaney; District 4 Councilor Brian Worrell will face Helen Cameron; District 5 Councilor Enrique Pepén will face Winston Pierre; District 6 Councilor Ben Weber will face Steven Ray Berry; and District 9 Councilor Liz Breadon will face Pilar Ortiz.
Both in-person early voting and voter registration deadlines for the Nov. 4 election have passed. Voters who have received absentee or vote-by-mail ballots are encouraged to return them to any of the city’s 22 drop boxes or in person at City Hall to ensure they have reached the Boston Election Department by no later than 8 p.m. on election day.
Residents may also apply to vote absentee in-person at the City Hall Election Department and cast their ballot by Monday, Nov. 3 at 12:00 p.m.
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On election day, polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Each location will have Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese printed ballots accessible, and language interpreters by request. Polls are also wheelchair accessible and equipped with an AutoMark Voter Assist Terminal for voters with disabilities.
More information about each race on voters’ individual ballots and polling locations can be found through the boston.gov/departments/election site.
