Boston Mayor Wu Assumes Office

By Jennie L. Ilustre

 

Michelle Wu, the first woman elected Boston mayor in 200 years, vowed “to deliver basic city services and generational change” after being sworn into office, two weeks after her historic, landslide win.

Wu, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, is also the first person of color elected as the city’s mayor. Prior to her victory, Boston had elected only white men as mayor.

“Not only is it possible for Boston to deliver basic city services and generational change, it is absolutely necessary in this moment,” she stressed at her inauguration. Her two young sons with husband Conor were present as she outlined her vision of the future.

“We’ll tackle our biggest challenges by getting the small things right, by getting City Hall out of City Hall into our neighborhoods, block by block, street by street,” she added.

Wu, 36, was sworn into office once the election results were certified, due to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Marty Walsh in March 2021.

Walsh was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Labor in the Biden administration. Kim Janey, who had been president of the Boston City Council, was appointed acting mayor. Wu’s formal inauguration takes place in January next year.

Mayor Wu said City Hall was like home to her, having served as councilor and council president. “I learned the ropes of city government and politics on this floor. Held the gavel on this floor. Nursed babies on this floor. Delivered paid parental leave on this floor. Language access. Food justice. Housing protections. Climate progress.”

She said Bostonians “can chart a new path for families now and for generations to come, grounded in justice and opportunity. And we can take steps to raise us all up to that promise together.”

The mayor urged “everyone to join us in the work of doing the big and the small, getting City Hall out of City Hall into our neighborhoods and embracing the possibility of this city.” (Read the full text of Mayor Wu’s speech at the bottom of the article.)

 

Landslide Win

Wu’s huge victory was expected. Pre-election polls showed her as the heavy favorite. In the November 2 elections, six in ten voters (64%) chose Wu.

The Boston Globe reported Wu “received the highest vote total of any mayoral candidate in nearly 40 years.” It also added that Wu performed well across almost the entire city.

City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George, who garnered nearly 36% of the votes, graciously conceded to Wu as soon as it became clear she had a big lead.

Mayor Wu, a Harvard University economics and law graduate, was the first Asian American woman to serve on the Boston City Council, NBC Universal reported. She was elected in 2013 at the age of 28. In January 2016, she became the first woman of color to serve as council president.

 

Transformative Mayor

Asked what kind of mayor Wu would be, Boston-based Attorney Emily K. Yu replied in an email: “I think she will be a thoughtful and transformative mayor, tackling major issues in our city through a lens of transparency and equity. I think she will continue to build coalitions, and she will work with partners across all levels of government to make Boston a better city for everyone.”

Attorney Yu served on the Finance Committee in Michelle Wu’s campaign.  She also serves on the board of several Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) organizations.

Boston resident Paul W. Lee said in an email: “We are extremely proud that Michelle will be leading Boston. Michelle is an exceptional leader whose bold and visionary ideas will inspire us all to improve the City for all Boston residents.”

 

Priorities

Mayor Wu is focused on closing the racial wealth gap, as well as promoting public health and safety, Wellesley News Enya Chi wrote in its headline story.

The mayor will foster economic recovery centered on local small businesses, initiate more accessible healthcare access for all, address homelessness, substance use, and mental health, and create a sustainable food system, the report on the inauguration added.

The mayor’s priorities also include free fare on bus and subway systems, police reform through union contracting, and environmental justice through a city-wide Green New Deal.

Wu faces hurdles in fulfilling her main campaign promise of rent stabilization or rent control, and also “fare-free” public transit system, according to the Houston Chronicle. Massachusetts voters, it noted, had narrowly approved a 1994 ballot question banning rent control statewide.

The mayor said she would expand her free fare plan on the city level first. She would then try to work with partners in the state government regarding the state-wide free fare plans.

 

Inspiration

“It is incredibly meaningful that Michelle Wu is the first woman and the first person of color to be elected mayor of Boston,” said campaign Finance Committee officer Yu.

“The election of an Asian American woman in a city that has only elected white men as mayor in its history is groundbreaking,“ she added. “It will inspire a new generation of women, Asian Americans, and people of color to go into public service and run for office.”

Boston resident Lee said in an email: “As an Asian American, I am particularly proud that her prominent role as mayor will inspire young Asian Americans to become active politically and become more civically engaged. We are already hearing stories of Asian American high school studies who now believe the politics and government are attainable career options.”

Lee is a former National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) president and Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) board chair. He had predicted Wu’s victory, citing her lead in the polls, her track record, and her broad coalition of supporters.

Attorney Yu, who had served on Wu’s campaign Finance Committee, said, “Her victory is the culmination of years of hard work and coalition-building on the Boston City Council and creating a strong grass-roots organization.”

 

Inauguration Speech

Following is the full text of Mayor Michelle Wu’s Inauguration speech on November 16, 2021. WBUR aired the speech and published a transcript. WBUR, www.wbur.org, is a nonprofit news organization, and its coverage relies on financial support from the public.

 

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, judge. Thank you Eliana, Pastor Hall, of course my mayor. And good afternoon Wu Train family. We are back together so soon. I have missed you over the last two weeks and I’m so grateful for the chance to spend time over these 14 days with so many committed public servants in our city getting updated, getting up to speed on everything happening here.

Thank you, Mayor Janey, for your beautiful remarks, and for your trailblazing leadership, and most of all for being a friend and someone I admire so much.

Thank you, Senator Warren. Senator Markey, Governor Baker, to all of our elected colleagues and leaders and community members, I am so grateful you are sharing in this moment today.

Thank you especially to the Boston City Council for hosting us here. President Pro Tempore Matt O’Malley, sitting members and incoming new councilors-elect Ruthzee Louijeune, Erin Murphy, Brian Worrell, Kendra Hicks, and Tania Fernandes Anderson, thank you so much. Congratulations. And I can’t wait to celebrate for real in January.

And thank you, Boston. I am so honored to stand here in this chamber that has meant so much to me as your next mayor.

 

The first time I set foot in Boston City Hall, I felt invisible, swallowed up by the maze of echoing concrete hallways, intimidated by the checkpoints and looming government counters, reminded of why my immigrant family tried to stay away from spaces like this. But our family’s struggles brought me to an internship with Mayor Menino, and his chief of staff Mitch Weiss, and an unexpected full circle journey over the last decade.

 

Today, I know city hall’s passageways and stairwells like my own home, but this space is the most special. I learned the ropes of city government and politics on this floor. Held the gavel on this floor. Nursed babies on this floor. Delivered paid parental leave on this floor. Language access. Food justice. Housing protections. Climate progress. And I’ve reveled in the growing representation and power of our communities that our Boston City Council continues to embody.

 

But since we’re here today, I must share that the council floor wasn’t always this way. When I joined the council, this space wasn’t fully accessible to everyone. The floor that so many of you all are sitting on today was actually much lower, designed as a pit three steps down, part of a striking feature of what many — or I — would call a beautiful building in City Hall. I’ve earned the mandate to call this a beautiful building.

 

Three steps down prevented Bostonians in wheelchairs and with mobility challenges from coming down directly to testify and advocate for change. Three steps down were a barrier between our government and the people we are here to serve.

 

So we changed this space, reshaped it to be accessible for everyone, and brought the floor up three steps.

 

When we make City Hall more accessible, we are all raised up. When we communicate in many languages, we all understand more. And most of all, when we connect the power of city government to the force of our neighborhoods and communities, we see how much is possible for our city.

 

City government is special. We are the level closest to the people, so we must do the big and the small. Every street light, every pothole, every park, every classroom lays the foundation for greater change. Not only is it possible for Boston to deliver basic city services and generational change, it is absolutely necessary in this moment. We’ll tackle our biggest challenges by getting the small things right, by getting City Hall out of City Hall into our neighborhoods, block by block, street by street.

 

After all, Boston was founded on a revolutionary promise that things don’t have to be as they always were. That we can chart a new path for families now and for generations to come, grounded in justice and opportunity. And we can take steps to raise us all up to that promise together.

 

Several weeks ago at Roxbury Community College, I met a young leader and student in our community.

 

Brandon lives in Mattapan and takes the 28 bus to class. He found out one day from a local business on Blue Hill Ave. that the mayor of Boston had worked to make the 28 bus free and it changed his life. What used to be a frequent headache every other day or so of asking mom for $2 or trying to to get the fares to get to class on time, opened up into justice and opportunity.

 

For Brandon and for our communities, our charge is to see every person and listen. To meet people where are. To give hope and deliver on it. To find joy, in the words of the amazing Kim Janey, and spread it. Let history note just who she was in this office, but all she got done and all she will continue to do for our city.

 

Our charge is to fight urgently for our future. For the young people at the Burke High School who are here with us today, who hosted me earlier; For Blaze and Cass, for Ellie and Addie, for all of our kids and their kids to come.

 

The first time I set foot in City Hall, I felt invisible. But today I see what’s possible in this building and I see all the public servants raising us up. Front line workers, first responders, teachers, bus drivers, building inspectors, city workers. I am deeply honored to work alongside you, and I ask everyone to join me in expressing our gratitude for your service.

 

Boston, our charge is clear. We need everyone to join us in the work of doing the big and the small, getting City Hall out of City Hall into our neighborhoods and embracing the possibility of this city. The reason to make a Boston for everyone is because we need everyone for Boston right now. We have so much work to do and it will take all of us to get it done. So let’s get to work.