Copyright MassLive
Improbably, another Election Day is nearly upon us. And starting around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, voters from Boston to the Berkshires will head to the polls to cast their ballots in races ranging from mayor and city council to school committee and select board. And before someone jumps up and points out that there’s nothing remotely improbable about Election Day, that it’s on the calendar and mandated by law, a quick word before you try to bludgeon me with your yellowed and dog-eared copy of Robert’s Rules of Order. I only say “improbably” because it feels like we were just voting in the September preliminary elections. And before that, it felt like we had just finished the interminable slog that was the 2024 general election. But we live in the era of the permanent campaign. So here we are again. And while they don’t get the headlines like the races for the White House, the U.S. Capitol, or the State House, these municipal races are arguably more consequential because they are the level of government that is closest to the people. After all, these folks are your neighbors. And you’re more likely to run into the mayor or a select board member at the Star Market than you are, say, the governor or U.S. senator. So if you haven’t already, head to your local middle school, church hall, or VFW to cast your vote in person. (You can find your polling location here.) It remains one of the great privileges and responsibilities of the republic. With that admittedly wordy preamble out of the way, here’s a quick look at five races around the state that are worth your attention this Election Day. Boston Mayoral and City Council Unless something extraordinary happens, incumbent Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu, who is running without opposition, is set to win reelection to a second, four-year term on Tuesday night. Wu beat her main challenger, philanthropist Josh Kraft, the son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, by 49% in the September preliminary election. Days later, Kraft suspended his campaign. And the third- and fourth-place finishers didn’t earn enough votes to advance to the general election. Path. Cleared. That means the general election campaign, such as it is, has been as much about what Wu has done as mayor — and there’s plenty of fodder, from housing policy and affordability to crime and the public health disaster that is Mass and Cass ― as it is about what she’ll do in her next term. Challenges abound there, as well. Wu will spend at least two more years contending with the Republican Trump administration, with its hardline immigration policies and demonstrated hostility to large cities run by Democrats. “When you don’t have a race, people get cheated. Not cheated because they don’t have the opportunity to vote, but cheated because the arguments don’t get made,” veteran political consultant Michael Goldman told MassLive. “How am I going to make an informed decision if the two sides that don’t agree don’t get a chance to bang at each other and say, ‘This is the truth’?” That means most of the drama will be in the races for Boston City Council, where at-large seats have the greatest potential to upset the balance of power in city politics. That’s particularly the case in the race for councilors-at-large, in which eight candidates are vying for four seats. An upset could result in more Wu-critical voices in office and potential obstacles for her second term. “I’ll be looking to see whether [council hopeful] Frank Baker becomes another part of the coalition that agrees they need to keep Wu’s feet to the fire, or whether ... she gets an easier next four years,” Goldman said. Somerville It’s a whole new ballgame in Somerville after city voters rejected incumbent Mayor Katjana Ballantyne in the September preliminary election. It’s now a race between two members of the City Council, Jake Wilson and Willie Burnley Jr. The next mayor will take over a city at odds with the federal government. Partnering with nearby Chelsea, Somerville sued the Trump administration in February, seeking to protect funding that the government had threatened to cut over the two cities’ local laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Voters will also get a chance to weigh in on a ballot question calling on the city government to stop doing business with any companies with ties to Israel over the country’s occupation of Palestine, MassLive previously reported. “The residents of Somerville deserve the opportunity to debate and decide on this measure for themselves,” Amina Awad, a Palestinian-American city resident, said in a statement. “In a democracy, we are owed the right to speak freely about our beliefs without retaliation, or the threat of violence, or intimidation.” Fall River With the tragic fire at the Gabriel House assisted living center and the grievous wounding of former mayor Will Flanagan in a stabbing incident, it’s been a consequential year for the South Coast City. Incumbent Mayor Paul Coogan and Gabriel “Boomer” Amaral, the top vote-getters in the September preliminary election, will face each other on Tuesday. Coogan, who is seeking a third term, took office in 2019 after the embattled tenure of Jasiel Correia, the youngest mayor in the city’s history, who is now serving a six-year federal prison sentence for wire fraud and extortion. Amaral is a 19-year military veteran and father of six who has previously run for Fall River City Council. Voters also will be asked to choose candidates for the City Council and School Committee. Neither elected body appeared on the preliminary election ballot because there weren’t enough candidates. Worcester Voters in the central Massachusetts city have no shortage of choices on Election Day as they cast their ballots for City Council, mayor and School Committee. The election will decide the fate of policies brought before the City Council, such as a soon-to-be-released report from City Manager Eric D. Batista about the creation of a police civilian oversight committee. Voters will also decide if they approve of the city forcing the colleges that call Worcester home to invest some of their endowments. Incumbent Mayor Joseph Petty, who’s running for an eighth term, faces challenges from City Council Vice Chairperson Khrystian King and real estate agent Owura-Kwaku Sarkodieh. Questions about taxes, affordability and the city’s unhoused population have dominated the campaign for the top spot. There’s a crowded field of candidates for both the City Council at-large seats and there are races for the school committee that are also worth monitoring. Northampton Zooming over to the Pioneer Valley, Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra emerged heavily favored to win reelection after the September preliminary election. Sciarra nearly doubled her vote tally on her nearest competitor, Jillian Duclos. The two will face each other on Tuesday. Four candidates, meanwhile, will vie for two at-large seats on the City Council. They are: Deborah Henson, Garrick Perry, Margaret Robbins and Benjamin Spencer. Northampton voters will be casting ballots after a record number of candidates stepped forward. They’ll also be casting their mayoral ballots amid controversies surrounding school funding and a redevelopment plan for the small city’s downtown. MassLive Reporters Adam Bass, Hadley Barndollar, Will Katcher and Tréa Lavery, joined by State Editor Dave Eisenstadter, contributed to this analysis.
