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Since Baker had the backing of former mayor Marty Walsh, this was viewed as a proxy fight between the Wu team and the Walsh team — like “the Montagues and Capulets,” as Larry DiCara, a former city councilor, mayoral candidate, and go-to observer of city politics put it. But on Tuesday night in Florian Hall, the home of Boston Firefighters Local 718, it felt less like Shakespeare and more like “The Last Hurrah.” The shift that began with Wu’s mayoral victory in 2021 is complete. Power that can fuel a citywide campaign has shifted geographically, from Dorchester and South Boston to other parts of the city, like Roslindale, where Wu lives; and demographically, from Irish, Italian, and male to young, progressive, and female. This new power matrix does not hang out in a dingy union banquet hall, instead choosing a glitzy cocktail bar in the Seaport, like Grace by Nia, where Wu and Santana declared victory. “This is Boston. This is the new Boston. The stereotypes of Boston are just that. We are not a Matt Damon and Ben Affleck movie,” state Senator Lydia Edwards told me in an interview earlier in the day. Edwards, the first woman and person of color to represent her district on Beacon Hill, endorsed both Santana and Baker, with whom she served on the City Council. Baker, who was raised in the Savin Hill section of Boston and served as councilor for 12 years before giving up that seat , “brought a headspace that is pretty typical of a lot of voters,” Edwards said. Dealing with him and other more conservative councilors “made me a better politician. I had to work with them,” she said. Given a dwindling number of council members with more conservative values, if you’re Wu, “you don’t have to do that,” Edwards added. Of the 13 council members, at least nine are considered progressive. After driving Kraft from the race, “It’s Wu-town,” quipped Jeffrey Sánchez, a former lawmaker who now works as a health care consultant. “Or Wu-ston. I’m working on it,” he later added. If it’s Wu-town, it’s also Wu’s City Council. Her toughest critics on that body are Erin Murphy, who finished third in the at-large contest, and District 3 councilor Ed Flynn. The others are basically seen as reliable Wu supporters who occasionally challenge the mayor. Miniard Culpepper, the newly elected District 7 councilor, has pledged to be an independent voice. The current council president, Ruthzee Louijeune, one of Wu’s closest allies, topped the ticket. She can’t run for president again, so a new leader will be elected in January. The Boston Herald reported that Brian Worrell, the council’s vice president and chair of the Ways and Means committee, and Gabriela Coletta Zapata, chair of the Government Operations committee, have been lobbying colleagues for support. The name of District 9 councilor Liz Breadon is also being floated as a possible president. As mayor, Wu will want a council president who is invested in her progressive agenda — something she did not help ensure when she was first elected to the council. The vote she cast in January 2014 famously helped Bill Linehan, an old-school conservative pol in the Baker mold, become council president. By pledging her support to Linehan, Wu denied the council presidency to two fellow progressives who were vying for it. One was Ayanna Pressley, then a member of the council and now a representative in Congress. Support for Linehan paved the way for Wu to win election as council president two years later. The rest is Boston political history. With Tuesday’s election triumph, Wu owns it all, the good and the bad — the bike-path controversy, the troubles at Mass and Cass, the development slowdown, rising housing costs, and the cost of the White Stadium redevelopment. Does this Boston City Council want to own it all with Wu? Or will another ambitious councilor put together a new coalition that pushes back on the new Boston that Wu now rules? This column first appeared in Right, Left, and Center, Globe Opinion’s free weekly newsletter about local and national politics. If you’d like to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
