By: Jit Ping Lee
Acting Mayor Kim Janey endorsed City Councilor Michelle Wu as her successor during a campaign event in Roxbury Saturday.
Janey and Wu were amongst the eight candidates on the ballot for the nonpartisan preliminary election Sept. 14. Janey placed fourth in the preliminary behind Wu and Annissa Essaibi George, who will compete in the Nov. 2 general election.
“I believe that Boston can be a place where everyone’s dreams can be realized,” Janey said at the event. “Furthermore, I believe Michelle Wu is the candidate to make that happen. That is why I am so proud to endorse Michelle Wu for mayor.”
Janey said Wu’s record and values will allow her to create a “more equitable, just and resilient” Boston, while protecting the progress already made in the city, according to a Sept. 25 press release.
In the release, the Wu campaign welcomed the endorsement and praised Janey’s work in advancing education, affordable housing and racial justice.
“She has moved our city forward through overlapping crises, always through the lens of equity, justice and joy,” Wu said. “I know that we will continue to partner on the most pressing challenges facing Boston and fight for a future that includes all of our families.”
Chair of the Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee — who endorsed Wu in this year’s mayoral race — Jonathan Cohn said in an interview Wu was an early supporter of Janey’s bid for City Council President.
The pair also worked together on issues of transit justice, equity in city contracting and housing stability.
“I hope that they’ll maintain that type of cooperative relationship that they had had when they were both on the council,” Cohn said.
The winner of the general mayoral election — whether Wu or Essaibi George — will be the first woman and first person of color to be elected as mayor of Boston, although Janey was the first woman and first person of color appointed to the position.
“We are excited to have Mayor Janey’s support and look forward to featuring her in our campaign in every way possible,” a spokesperson for the Wu campaign wrote to The Daily Free Press.
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