Michelle Wu: We are in a moment of time, where the decisions that we make in the next three to five years will determine the opportunities and the future for the next three to five generations.

Annissa Essaibi George: Bostonians understand the work that they'd like me to do as their mayor, and working with them to make sure that I come up with the responses that they need to the problems that we face as a city.

Host: We just heard Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George. Both are the daughters of immigrants and longtime city councilors in Boston, and they are the two Democratic women who have emerged as the top candidates in Boston's mayoral race. Kim Janey, a Black woman is currently serving as the city's acting mayor, but November's general election is the first time in Boston's 200 year history, the voters will choose between two women candidates for the city's top job.

For more on the Boston mayoral race, we're joined now by Saraya Wintersmith, a reporter covering Boston City Hall for GBH News. Saraya, great to have you here.

Saraya Wintersmith: Hello there. Thanks for having me.

Host: I do find Boston inscrutable. I can never figure out what we are doing there. Let's just walk through this a little bit. First of all, how is it that the two Democrats are running against one another for a November general election?

Saraya Wintersmith: Sure. We have non-partisan elections here, and everybody will tell you that they are Democrat. In this case, we've got two different flavors of Democrats. Both of those women that you mentioned are city councilors, and the council is typically a grooming ground for political leadership in Boston.

Wu was first elected in 2013, Essaibi George in 2015. They've been part of this shift that's been happening on the council that's brought Boston its most diverse, its majority women, and majority people of color. In a lot of ways that makes sense, that these are the two women that we're seeing, they are both at large counselors, so they campaign in a large pool of candidates similar to how a primary election works. In the last two election cycles, both of these women got the most votes in their election cycle. They were already popular, they already had city-wide following, people who knew their names, and this is how we see them emerging as competitors for the November general.

Host: Talk about these two different flavors of Democrat. To the left, one is a bit more moderate, at least, that's how they've been framed. Is that right?

Saraya Wintersmith: That's the most popular framing that we're seeing now, although, both women take issue with the characterizations. Wu gets described as a progressive darling just because she championed things like free transportation and a local green new deal to address climate change. Essaibi George, people characterize her as a moderate because she was the only candidate in the entire field, who was opposed to defunding or reallocation of police resources. While the rest of the people in the field were saying they're open to figuring out a way to get more money to things like nonprofit groups and community-based organizations, Essaibi George has always said, "No, I support the police." She's gotten the endorsement of the former police commissioner, and she campaigns on things like adding more officers to the force.

Host: All right. Saraya, let's talk a little bit more about these issues. You laid out a couple that allow voters to characterize these candidates in particular ways, but what are the top issues that Boston voters are saying, they're concerned about, and that they want their next mayor to address?

Saraya Wintersmith: Education has really risen as a top issue for voters here. It's one that I think both of these candidates has advantage to campaign on because they're both really proud mothers, who make a big deal about being moms and moms with students in BPS schools. In the case of Essaibi George, the more moderate of the two, she's a former teacher and was for more than a decade, and I think that if you are a single issue voter and education is your deal, who better to fix the schools, than someone who has that in-classroom experience?

Host: Can you talk about voter turnout during the election? I know this is a primary, it's at an odd time, but my understanding is the turnout was pretty low.

Saraya Wintersmith: It's an issue that's plagued political figures in Boston for years, only about a quarter of the city's eligible voters cast ballots in the preliminary election, and turnout was highest in the most conservative sections of the city, wider and more affluent sections of the city. Those are the more reliable voters. The most common explanation that I've heard for this is just that municipal elections happen in off-year. Last year, during the presidential we saw, I think, about 68% of voters come out, but this time again, it was just a quarter, and people always say they need to move elections to coincide with presidential ones.

Host: That analysis of needing to move elections to coincide with presidential ones is it typically an argument made by Democrats in places where there was a partisan split, or it's made by folks who are really making an argument specifically about the diversity of possible candidates that we see people who are more working-class, who are more likely to live in poverty, younger people, Black and brown people much more likely to vote in presidential years, than in the off-year cycles. Here, you've got two women, no matter what this is going to be a historic choice. Is that low turnout likely to push towards one of these women or the other, given that in this case, you're not talking about necessarily diversifying between them?

Saraya Wintersmith: That's a great question. I think the short answer is that we're going to have to wait and see, we have seen the candidates already turn their attention to voters in the majority Black and brown precincts, who overwhelmingly came out for one of the candidates that did not advance into the election. It's up to them, I think, to activate those folks and see if they can roll them in and increase turnout.

Host: Right. None of the Black woman candidates made the final cut, including the current acting, Mayor Kim, Janey? Are you hearing anything from Black Bostonians about this?

Saraya Wintersmith: Yes, I am. There are a lot of folks, though not all, of course, because Black people are not a monolith.

Host: Oh, you didn't.

Saraya Wintersmith: Yes, of course, who knew? But there are a lot of folks who were really motivated at the prospect of having a duly elected Black woman to lead the city of Boston. I think it's tied to the city's history of racism, most vividly seeing in footage of what it was like when forced desegregation began here. I'm not sure that folks have ever really had a chance to publicly wrestle with that here, and I think that prospects of a Black woman there, made a pathway for talking about it more openly.

Host: It's an interesting point that on the one hand, this question of education is at the top of voter's minds, and there was this moment where we thought, "Oh, my goodness, is Boston going to wrestle with education with a Black mayor, given their particular history?" I guess we will have to wait and see if that particular historic possibility re-emerges at some future date.

Obviously, we're going to continue to follow the mayoral race. We hope that you will come back and hang out with us again. Saraya Wintersmith, reporter covering Boston City Hall, for GBH News. Saraya, thanks for being with us.

Saraya Wintersmith: Thank you so much. Good to talk to you.

[00:07:55] [END OF AUDIO]

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