Michelle Wu becomes first person of colour and woman to be elected Boston mayor

Democrat Michelle Wu has made history: She’s the first woman and person of colour to be elected Boston mayor.

Ms Wu, 36, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, defeated fellow Democrat Annissa Essaibi George, 47, in the mayoral runoff after the 14 September primary.

“We are ready to meet this moment. We are ready to become a Boston for everyone,” Ms Wu said in an election night speech to supporters Tuesday.

Essaibi George, who identifies as Arab American, noted the many firsts of Ms Wu’s win in a concession made on Tuesday night. “She is the first woman, first person of colour, and as an Asian American, the first elected to be mayor of Boston,” she said. “I know this is no small feat.”

The campaign in Boston largely focused on spiraling housing costs, education and the city’s opioid crisis. But the race also highlighted the city’s growing diversity. Non-Hispanic white residents now make up fewer than 50 per cent of Boston’s population, according to the 2020 Census, and the shares of Asian and Latino residents have continued to grow.

Taking to the stage amid Korean pop band BTS’s “Dynamite” song, Ms Wu said her movement did not end here.

“We have a lot of work to do,” she said, vowing to work closely with acting Mayor Kim Janey’s team during the transition. “We’re not going to get this done by sitting in the corner office at City Hall, but by bringing City Hall to every block in this city.”

Ms Wu is due to be sworn into office on 16 November, according to the Associated Press.

Ms Janey was the first person of colour and woman to serve as acting mayor and filled the post when Democrat Marty Walsh joined the Biden administration as labor secretary. However, Ms Wu is the first to be elected.

Ms Wu, a liberal Democrat in the mold of her self-described mentor, Senator Elizabeth Warren, was heavily favored to win the contest. She had called for free public transportation, a citywide “Green New Deal” to combat climate change, and rent control to rein in the soaring cost of housing. She served on the Boston City Council from 2014 and was president of the council from 2016 to 2018.

“As the daughter of immigrants, I understood from my youngest days how my family and so many others feel unseen and unheard in our society,” Ms Wu said in her campaign material.

She also outlined how she helped her mother cope with mental illness, and became a caregiver for her sisters as she was finishing college. “Through my family’s struggles, I’ve seen just how much government matters,” she added.

The mother of two sons graduated from Harvard University in 2007, where Ms Warren was her law professor. Late Tuesday, Ms Warren welcomed the news and described Wu as “family,” adding that she would make a “terrific mayor.”

Wu’s win has also resonated in Taiwan, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeting its “heartiest congratulations,” to Ms Wu on winning the Boston mayoral race.

“More power to her as she keeps breaking those glass ceilings!” it said.

The Washington Post