2021 Boston City Council election

The 2021 Boston City Council election was held on November 2, 2021. All thirteen councillors from the nine districts and four councillors at-large were up for election. Elections in Boston are officially nonpartisan.
Councillors Andrea Campbell, Annissa Essaibi George, Kim Janey, and Michelle Wu ran in the mayoral election, while Matt O'Malley did not seek re-election. Councillors Ricardo Arroyo, Frank Baker, Kenzie Bok, Liz Breadon, Lydia Edwards, Michael F. Flaherty, Ed Flynn, and Julia Mejia ran for re-election; all eight were successful. Five new members were elected to the council; two at-large and three from districts.

Background

Marty Walsh was elected to the mayoralty of Boston, Massachusetts, in the 2013 and 2017 elections. On January 7, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden announced that he would select Walsh to serve as the United States Secretary of Labor. Walsh resigned as mayor on March 22, after being confirmed as Secretary of Labor, and was replaced as acting-mayor by Kim Janey, who also served as president of the Boston City Council.
The city council voted to move the primary election date from September 21 to September 14, in order to allow mail-in voting ballots for the general election an additional week of distribution time, which was approved by Mayor Janey.

Incumbent status

The council members at the time of both the preliminary election and general election are listed below. The table further indicates if each incumbent ran for re-election, and if so, whether they were re-elected or not.

District	Name	Entered office	Ran	Result
			No	Defeated in mayoral election
			Yes	Re-elected
			Yes	Re-elected
			No	Elected mayor of Boston
1			Yes	Re-elected
2			Yes	Re-elected
3			Yes	Re-elected
4			No	Defeated in mayoral election
5			Yes	Re-elected
6			No	—
7			No	Defeated in mayoral election
8			Yes	Re-elected
9			Yes	Re-elected

Campaign

At-large

Two of the four incumbents did not seek re-election. Michelle Wu, who joined the city council in 2014, announced on September 15, 2020, that she would run in the mayoral election. Annissa Essaibi George, who joined the city council in 2016, announced on January 27, 2021, that she would run in the mayoral election. Incumbent councillors Michael F. Flaherty, who joined the city council in 2014, and Julia Mejia, who won election to the city council by one vote in the 2019 election, ran for reelection.
Other candidates in the election included: Althea Garrison, the first openly transgender person to serve in a state legislature and former member of the city council; Ruthzee Louijeune, a lawyer who worked as senior counsel for Senator Elizabeth Warren's presidential and senatorial campaigns; Erin Murphy, a former teacher in the Boston Public Schools; Alex Gray, a policy analyst; and Nick Vance, a political action co-chair of the NAACP in Boston.
The top eight vote-getters in the primary election advanced to the general election.

1st district

Councillor Lydia Edwards, who was first elected to the city council in 2017, announced that she would run for reelection and launched her campaign on February 26, 2021, at a virtual event. Edwards was unopposed.

2nd district

Councillor Ed Flynn filed to run for reelection. He ran unopposed.

3rd district

Councillor Frank Baker, who was first elected in 2011, announced that he would run for reelection after initially wanting to leave politics, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed his plans. Stephen McBride also ran in the election.

4th district

Councillor Andrea Campbell, who joined the city council in 2016, announced on September 24, 2020, that she would run for mayor. Evandro Carvalho, who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, announced on October 19 that he would run in the election. Leonard M. Lee Sr., a community organizer and member of the Boston Parks Commission, announced on February 3, 2021, that he would run in the election, stating that he was inspired to run after a nineteen-year-old was killed by the police outside his home. Other candidates included: William Dickerson III, a former city council aide; Nikkia Jean-Charles, who was inspired by Ayanna Pressley's campaign for a seat in the United States House of Representatives; and Joel Richards, a Boston Public School teacher and Boston Teachers Union activist. The top two vote-getters in the primary election advanced to the general election.

5th district

Councillor Ricardo Arroyo ran for reelection; John White also ran in the election.

6th district

Kendra Hicks, an activist, announced in September 2020 that she would run against councilor Matt O'Malley. O'Malley, who joined the council in 2010, announced on December 2, 2020, that he would not seek reelection, so he could focus on his family. Two other candidates also ran for the seat; the top two vote-getters in the preliminary election advanced to the general election.

7th district

Councillor Kim Janey, who was serving as acting-mayor and joined the council in 2018, announced on April 6, 2021, that she would run in the mayoral election. Candidates for the seat included Tania Fernandes Anderson, director of a non-profit organization, and Roy Owens Sr., a perennial candidate in council elections. The top two vote-getters in the preliminary election advanced to the general election.

8th district

Councillor Kenzie Bok, who joined the council in 2020, filed to run for re-election. She was unopposed.

9th district

Councillor Liz Breadon, who joined the council in 2020, ran for reelection against Michael Bianchi and entrepreneur Eric Porter. The top two vote-getters in the preliminary election advanced to the general election.