Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is working to affect a fourth City Council race, by throwing her help behind Benjamin Weber, a labor lawyer searching for the District 6 seat held by outgoing Councilor Kendra Lara.
“I’m proud to endorse Ben Weber to represent District 6 on the City Council,” Wu mentioned in a Tuesday assertion. “As a BPS dad, youth soccer coach, neighborhood council member and lawyer combating for employees’ rights, Ben has spent a few years actively working for a vibrant future for our metropolis.
“He’ll be an effective partner on the policies and constituent services for Boston to be the best city for families,” she added.
Weber, of Jamaica Plain, was the highest vote-getter in a September preliminary that eradicated Lara. He will face off towards William King, an data expertise specialist from West Roxbury, within the Nov. 7 basic election.
“I am deeply honored to earn the support of Mayor Wu,” Weber mentioned in a Tuesday assertion. “We share the same progressive ideals and, if elected, I look forward to working with the mayor to make the city a healthier, more equitable place to live for all Bostonians.”
Of the choice to again his opponent, King mentioned “the mayor has the right to support whomever she likes.”
“I was certainly not surprised by her decision, as it seems consistent with other endorsements she has made in the past in campaigns with similar dynamics,” King mentioned.
Wu endorsed Weber’s boss Shannon Liss-Riordan in final yr’s Democratic preliminary over now-Attorney General Andrea Campbell. Weber is an lawyer with Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C.
“A candidate’s lived experience and track record of involvement in their community matters when it comes to deciding who our next city councilor should be,” King mentioned.
The endorsement, first reported by Politico, is the mayor’s newest effort to reshape a City Council susceptible to infighting and scandals over the previous two years. Her flex has proved profitable up to now.
Sharon Durkan, a political fundraiser who labored for the mayor when she was a metropolis councilor, gained a particular election for District 8, a seat left vacant when Wu appointed Kenzie Bok to steer the Boston Housing Authority. Durkan must beat her opponent, Montez Haywood, an assistant Suffolk district lawyer, once more in November to maintain her new seat.
Enrique Pepén, who labored as the manager director of the Boston Office of Neighborhood Services beneath Wu, was the highest vote-getter for District 5 within the preliminary, which knocked off Ricardo Arroyo. Pepén faces retired Boston Police officer Jose Ruiz, who was backed by former Mayor Marty Walsh.
Wu endorsed one other of her former workers, Henry Santana, in an at-large race that opened up when longtime Councilor Michael Flaherty determined towards searching for re-election. Santana was the mayor’s director of civic organizing.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”