In the thick of election season, Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan is running unopposed to maintain her seat in District 8.
Rounding out her second term in office, Durkan has, at times, clashed with council colleagues, recently drawing criticism for blocking an emergency declaration on Mass. and Cass.
“I didn’t agree with the resolution, mostly because the city council doesn’t have the ability to declare an emergency declaration,” Durkan said.
Some suggested the decision to block the resolution was centered on politics and the mayoral election. Mayor Michelle Wu was, at the time, facing a challenge from Josh Kraft, who dropped out after finishing the preliminary election nearly 50 percentage points behind the incumbent.
“We were playing this game of, ‘You’re being political,’ ‘You’re being political,’ but yet, we’re all politicians,” said Durkan. “I think there was a lot of misunderstanding about what an emergency declaration actually meant.”
Her support for the mayor, for whom she worked during Wu’s reelection campaign when she was a city councilor, has also ruffled some feathers. While she says there are areas where she disagrees with the mayor, Durkan maintains that relationship is important.
“It’s not really about disagreeing,” she said. “It’s about those tiny moments of prioritization. I have gotten so many things in my district prioritized simply because I have a great relationship with the mayor.”
Beyond those battles, Durkan is focused on key issues for her district — including rats.
“It’s not something that the city can solve alone,” she said. “We need residents to partner with us, and we need to make some hard decisions.”
For more on those topics and other issues, tune in Sunday at 9:30 a.m. to our @Issue Sit Down with Matt Prichard segment.