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Boston's Morning Newsletter
A quick rundown of New England's most notable election results
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
It may be an off-year, but last night’s elections were pretty eventful.
Republicans scored a small victory in the Massachusetts Senate, progressives picked up a seat on Boston’s City Council and four sitting mayors got knocked out of office. Meanwhile, Rhode Island elected the state’s first Black congressman, while Republicans flipped New Hampshire’s largest city.
Take a deep breath. OK, ready? Let’s dive in:
The Boston City Council will have four new members — and a few more allies of Mayor Michelle Wu — in the chamber next year. While all nine incumbents running for reelection won another two-year term, three of the four open seats were taken by Wu-endorsed candidates. WBUR’s Walt Wuthmann has all the results here, but let’s review the incoming councilors who won last night:
- The council’s four at-large seats were won by incumbent councilors Ruthzee Louijeune, Erin Murphy and Julia Mejia, plus newcomer Henry Santana, who bested fifth-place finisher Bridget Nee-Walsh by 3% of the overall votes.
- In the District 6 race, Wu-backed Jamaica Plain labor attorney Ben Weber beat out West Roxbury nonprofit IT director William King with over 60% of the votes.
- In District 5, Wu’s former director of neighborhood services, Enrique Pepen, won a close-ish race against former police officer Jose Ruiz, 52% to 47%.
- Moderates did hold onto one seat in the District 3 race to succeed outgoing Councilor Frank Baker. John FitzGerald, a former BPDA and City Hall official, won 59% of the vote, beating Joel Richards for the Dorchester-based seat.
There’s a new mayor in town: Voters showed the door to four sitting mayors across Massachusetts last night. In perhaps the night’s most unexpected result, Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros was upset by former planning board member Erin Joyce in a race that saw the two candidates spar over the city’s approach to development. Woburn City Council President Mike Concannon also ousted six-term incumbent Mayor Scott Galvin, in the wake of last winter’s teacher’s strike. In Fitchburg, City Councilor Samantha Squailia edged out four-term Mayor Stephen DiNatale with nearly 60% of the vote in a race that often centered on potholes and paving roads. And in Greenfield, Virginia “Ginny” DeSorgher defeated Mayor Roxann Wedegartner after battling over police and school funding.
- Voters in Agawam, Haverhill, Marlborough, Melrose and Pittsfield also elected new people to replace their departing mayors, while Revere voters gave acting Mayor Patrick Keefe a full term. Elsewhere, incumbents held on for another day, including in Worcester and Springfield. Read our updating list of results for all the mayoral races here.
Special edition: While off-year elections in New England are typically limited to municipal offices, the region had two special elections to replace state and federal lawmakers who left office early:
- In Massachusetts, the GOP added to their handful of state Senate seats. Republican Rep. Peter Durant, of Spencer, beat fellow Rep. Jon Zlotnik, a Gardner Democrat, in the special election for former state Sen. Anne Gobi’s north-central Massachusetts seat. Democrats still hold a 36-4 supermajority in the Senate.
- In Rhode Island, voters in the 1st Congressional District elected the state’s first person of color to Congress. Gabe Amo, a former White House official and the son of African immigrants, will serve out the rest of former Rep. David Cicilline’s term.
Elsewhere in New England: Don’t worry, we didn’t forget about the rest of you. Here’s some of the notable results from our neighbors:
- Maine voters rejected a ballot question that proposed a historic public takeover of the state’s electric utilities.
- New Hampshire’s biggest city, Manchester, elected Republican Jay Ruais to replace outgoing Democratic Mayor Joyce Craig, who’s running for governor.
- In Connecticut, Hartford elected a political newcomer as mayor, while things are still a bit of a mess in Bridgeport.
P.S.— New England was hardly the only place holding elections last night. NPR has a summary of the national results here, including a closely watched abortion rights ballot question in Ohio, Democratic gains in Virginia and a couple governorships up for reelection.
