Elections officials will still count what they expect to be about 100 absentee, overseas, and dropbox ballots, apparently not enough to close a gap that, as of Tuesday night, stood at more than 1,200 votes.
Ballantyne, first elected in 2021, lost out Tuesday to challengers who criticized the pace of action in City Hall and perceived communication shortcomings under her administration.
The unofficial results demonstrated an appetite for new leadership in Somerville at a time of rising cost of living, large-scale development, and showdowns with the federal government amid the Trump administration’s efforts to bring left-leaning cities to heel.
Ballantyne has served two terms, succeeding former longterm mayor Joe Curtatone, who decided not to run after serving for 18 years.
“Together, we’ve laid a foundation that will help Somerville move forward and will help Somerville thrive,” Ballantyne said to supporters Tuesday. “It’s just truly been an honor to be mayor of Somerville.”
The competitive preliminary election, with two strong challengers who are well known in the city, came after frustration mounted for some voters with a mayor’s office that moved more deliberatively than it did under Ballantyne’s predecessor, and was marred by some much-discussed troubles.
Among the perceived missteps was a staffing debacle at a city library last year that saw the facility temporarily closed to everyone during some afternoon hours to keep out rowdy school kids. The library reopened full time a few weeks later, but many parents never forgot the way the incident played out, or the fact that they learned about it just the night before school started.
Ballantyne had sought to convince voters that a change in leadership was not necessary, touting her steady management of the city’s finances, which she said was reflected in Somerville’s AAA bond rating, and her work overseeing plans for major development, including in the city’s large Somernova business park, which she has said she views as setting the standard for projects like it.
But Wilson and Burnley appear to have succeeded in convincing preliminary election voters to take a new direction.
Wilson, the top vote-getter, has a background in sports media and communications, and is known among parents in Somerville for his work leading the city’s youth soccer league.
The 48-year-old pledged on the campaign trail to iron out what he called “dysfunction” in City Hall and bring renewed focus to city services, street safety, and rodent remediation, and to make housing affordability a priority. He also pledged to maintain weekly office hours with residents.
Burnley, meanwhile, has said he could speak in ways his opponents couldn’t about the ways the rapidly rising cost of housing is reshaping the city.
The 31-year-old is the race’s youngest candidate, and the only one who, like most Somervillians, rents. He has built a reputation on the City Council for his activism, and lengthy track record of passing legislation, and his tendency to push the city to take new, politically progressive steps before other cities do. He said his plans included creating an “Office of Social Housing,” which he believed would be one of the first of its kind in the country.
If he were to be elected in November, he would be the city’s first Black mayor, and also the first to openly identify as queer and polyamorous.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.