2023 Boston City Council election
The 2023 Boston City Council election was held on November 7, 2023, with primaries occurring on September 12, 2023. All thirteen councillors from the nine districts and four councillors at-large were up for election. Elections in Boston are officially nonpartisan.
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13 seats on the Boston City Council | ||||||||||
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Composition of the Boston City Council by political party[lower-alpha 1] | ||||||||||
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| Elections in Massachusetts |
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| Massachusetts portal |
Two councillors, Michael F. Flaherty and Frank Baker, did not seek re-election. Of the 11 members of the council seeking re-election, nine were successful,[1] while Ricardo Arroyo (District 5) and Kendra Lara (District 6) were defeated.[2][3]
Election schedule
Key dates relating to the election were as follows:
| September 2 | Last day for registration for primary election |
| September 5 | Last day to request mail ballot for primary election |
| September 12 | Preliminary election |
|---|---|
| October 28 | Last day for registration for general election |
| October 31 | Last day to request mail ballot for general election |
| November 7 | General election |
| Source[4][5] | |
Summary
The council members at the time of both the preliminary election and general election are listed below. The table further indicates if each incumbent ran for re-election, and if so, whether they were re-elected or not.
| District | Incumbent | Ran | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| At-large | Michael F. Flaherty | No | Retired |
| Ruthzee Louijeune | Yes | Re-elected | |
| Julia Mejia | Yes | Re-elected | |
| Erin Murphy | Yes | Re-elected | |
| 1 | Gabriela Coletta | Yes | Re-elected |
| 2 | Ed Flynn † | Yes | Re-elected |
| 3 | Frank Baker | No | Retired |
| 4 | Brian Worrell | Yes | Re-elected |
| 5 | Ricardo Arroyo | Yes | Lost |
| 6 | Kendra Lara | Yes | Lost |
| 7 | Tania Fernandes Anderson | Yes | Re-elected |
| 8 | Sharon Durkan | Yes | Re-elected |
| 9 | Liz Breadon | Yes | Re-elected |
† Council President
Results
At-large
| 2023 Boston City Council at-large election | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | General election[6] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Ruthzee Louijeune (incumbent) | 44,479 | 20.31 |
| Erin Murphy (incumbent) | 43,383 | 19.81 |
| Julia Mejia (incumbent) | 39,656 | 18.10 |
| Henry Santana | 34,014 | 15.53 |
| Bridget Nee-Walsh | 26,674 | 12.18 |
| Shawn Nelson | 10,448 | 4.77 |
| Clifton Braithwaite | 10,236 | 4.67 |
| Catherine Vitale | 8,503 | 3.88 |
| Write-ins | 1,657 | 3.88 |
| Total | 219,050 | 100 |
District 1
Lydia Edwards, who won the District 1 seat in the 2021 general election, resigned from the Council at the end of April 2022 and was later elected to the Massachusetts Senate. Gabriela Coletta won a special election in May 2022 to serve the remainder of Edwards' term.[7] Incumbent Coletta then ran unopposed for election to a full term.[8]
| 2023 Boston City Council District 1 election | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | General Election[6] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Gabriela Coletta (incumbent) | 5,725 | 95.62 |
| Write-ins | 262 | 4.38 |
| Total | 5,987 | 100 |
District 2
| 2023 Boston City Council District 2 election | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | General Election[6] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Ed Flynn (incumbent) | 7,552 | 97.81 |
| Write-ins | 169 | 2.19 |
| Total | 7,721 | 100 |
District 3
| 2023 Boston City Council District 3 election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Primary election[9] | General election[6] | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| John FitzGerald | 2,777 | 43.07 | 5,133 | 58.24 |
| Joel Richards | 1,237 | 19.19 | 3,650 | 41.41 |
| Ann Walsh | 1,151 | 17.85 | ||
| Matthew Patton | 550 | 8.53 | ||
| Jennifer Johnson | 271 | 4.20 | ||
| Barry Lawton | 237 | 3.68 | ||
| Rosalind Wornum | 213 | 3.30 | ||
| Write-ins | 11 | 0.17 | 31 | 0.35 |
| Total | 6,447 | 100 | 8,814 | 100 |
District 4
| 2023 Boston City Council District 4 election | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | General Election[6] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Brian Worrell (incumbent) | 4,656 | 97.51 |
| Write-ins | 119 | 2.49 |
| Total | 4,775 | 100 |
District 5
| 2023 Boston City Council District 5 election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Primary election[9] | General election[6] | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Enrique Pepén | 3,047 | 40.42 | 5,781 | 52.75 |
| Jose Ruiz | 2,302 | 30.53 | 5,134 | 46.84 |
| Ricardo Arroyo (incumbent) | 1,397 | 18.53 | ||
| Jean-Claude Sanon | 766 | 10.16 | ||
| Write-ins | 27 | 0.36 | 45 | 0.41 |
| Total | 7,539 | 100 | 10,960 | 100 |
District 6
| 2023 Boston City Council District 6 election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Primary election[9] | General election[6] | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Benjamin Weber | 4,951 | 42.25 | 9,451 | 60.70 |
| William King | 4,384 | 37.42 | 6,089 | 38.74 |
| Kendra Lara (incumbent) | 2,351 | 20.06 | ||
| Write-ins | 31 | 0.26 | 88 | 0.56 |
| Total | 9,849 | 100 | 15,718 | 100 |
District 7
| 2023 Boston City Council District 7 election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Primary election[9] | General election[6] | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Tania Fernandes Anderson (incumbent) | 1,448 | 57.46 | 3,719 | 70.36 |
| Althea Garrison | 521 | 20.67 | 1,500 | 28.45 |
| Roy Owens Sr | 238 | 9.44 | ||
| Jerome King | 200 | 7.94 | ||
| Padma Scott | 71 | 2.82 | ||
| Write-ins | 42 | 1.67 | 63 | 1.19 |
| Total | 2,520 | 100 | 5,273 | 100 |
District 8
Kenzie Bok, who had won the District 8 seat in the 2021 general election, resigned in April 2023 to take a position in the Boston Housing Authority. Sharon Durkan was then elected to the District 8 seat in a July 2023 special election.[10] Incumbent Durkan then ran for election to a full term.
| 2023 Boston City Council District 8 election | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | General Election[6] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Sharon Durkan (incumbent) | 3,818 | 70.70 |
| Montez Haywood | 1,546 | 28.63 |
| Write-ins | 36 | 0.67 |
| Total | 5,400 | 100 |
District 9
| 2023 Boston City Council District 9 election | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | General Election[6] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Liz Breadon (incumbent) | 4,399 | 65.95 |
| Jacob deBlecourt | 2,222 | 33.31 |
| Write-ins | 49 | 0.73 |
| Total | 6,670 | 100 |
Notes
- Officially nonpartisan
References
- Wuthmann, Walter (November 8, 2023). "Boston City Council retains progressive majority in election". WBUR-FM. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- Reilly, Adam (September 12, 2023). "Arroyo and Lara lose races in controversy-packed 2023 Boston preliminary election". WGBH. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- Dearing, Tiziana; Wuthmann, Walter; Lane, Rob (September 13, 2023). "Arroyo, Lara voted out of Boston's City Council by wide margins". WBUR-FM. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- "2023 Election Calendar". Boston.gov. December 22, 2016. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
- "Vote by Mail in Boston". Boston.gov. June 29, 2022. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
- "Unofficial Election Results". Boston.gov. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- Gavin, Christopher (May 4, 2022). "Gigi Coletta is Boston's newest city councilor". Boston.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- "Five of Six Mayoral Candidates Take Nomination Papers on Day 1: Early Poll Shows Half of Voters Undecided, Wu With Highest Favorability". Beacon Hill Times. April 22, 2021. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021.
- "Unofficial Election Results". Boston.gov. Archived from the original on October 26, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- Guffey, Alysa (July 25, 2023). "Sharon Durkan wins special election for Boston City Council District 8 seat". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 9, 2023.