Voters in Boston elected City Councilor Michelle Wu, a 36-year-old Democrat and the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, to be their mayor on Tuesday.
Wu defeated fellow Democratic City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, a self-described first-generation Arab-Polish American who was born and raised in Boston.
Another of Wu’s top campaign promises was to create a “fare-free” public transit system, noting that, “safe, reliable, affordable, and sustainable transportation is the foundation for shared prosperity and health.”
Wu, who has a close relationship with Massachusetts U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, moved to the city from Chicago and attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School.
She received a number of high-profile endorsements, including support from acting Mayor Kim Janey, Edward Markey, and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a former Boston city councilor, as well as Warren.
Essaibi George conceded the race moments before Wu’s Tuesday night speech.
“I recognize the ways in which I’m not the typical mold of a Boston politician, but it’s really not just gender and ethnicity or age necessarily, although [it’s] all of those things,” she said.
Boston’s previous elected mayor, Democrat Marty Walsh, stepped down earlier this year to become U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Joe Biden.
Wu’s comments about adding paid time off after abortions came during a campaign event promoted by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. Planned Parenthood performed 345,672 abortions in 2018-19 – an increase of nearly 13,000 from the previous year, according to the Susan B. Anthony List and the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Both are pro-life organizations.
Wu was first elected to the council in 2013 at age 28. She will be sworn in on Nov. 16.