Michelle Wu made history becoming the first woman and first Asian American to be elected as mayor in the major city of Boston. As a daughter of Taiwanese immigrants and mother of two young children, Wu broke the 199-year streak of white, male elected leaders.
As soon as Mayor Wu took office, she immediately began steps to help control the Covid-19 pandemic and more efforts to reach those in the city who are still unvaccinated.
This week, Mayor Wu announced new vaccine requirements for city workers and indoor businesses. Starting January 15th, people will be required to show they have received at least one vaccine dose in order to enter restaurants, bars, nightclubs, gyms and entertainment venues. On February 15th, people must show proof of full vaccination.
Protesters appeared at City Hall as Mayor Wu made the vaccine announcement while many business owners in the city were not on board. “I understand the desire to try and eradicate the virus and keep people safe,” said Massachusetts resident Brian Horton. “But this is only going to cause more problems and stress on retail and restaurant personnel and will create more staffing issues.”
However, many others in the city agree with the mandate, like Greg Perry, who thanked Mayor Wu for her leadership. “Great decision. This will protect our workers and patrons. No good reason why this can’t be statewide.”
Wu will also now take over the city’s response to an opioid and homelessness crisis. With temperatures dropping and winter in full swing, the situation with hundreds of individuals being sheltered in tent encampments could become more dangerous. In order to push back against soaring housing costs, Wu has proposed rent control.
Another one of Wu’s main campaign promises is to transform Boston into one of the nation’s first Green New Deal cities. She plans to create a free public transportation system and electrify school buses to address the city’s climate change crisis. As part of her plan, her changes will be to provide a just and equitable transition to a zero-emission economy that helps low-income workers. Wu has become known for her transit advocacy and aims to help those who rely on taking the bus or subway to work and school — the same way she relied on the system to get around the city for years.
Wu said she is in the midst of trying to work with partners in the state government to make each of these proposals a reality. Wu also had a number of high-profile endorsements, including support from Mayor Kim Janey, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, along with former Boston city councilor and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley.
Wu was determined to lead the city from the start. She even considered running against former Mayor Marty Walsh when she first announced her campaign for mayor in September of 2020 — long before he moved to Washington to serve in President Joe Biden’s cabinet.
The 36-year-old moved from Chicago and graduated Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Before Wu began to run one of the nation’s oldest cities, her top priority was building a strong team that reflects the city for all residents.
Wu’s victory marked a cultural milestone and a sign of hope for Asian heritage and representation — after a year of hate and violence against Asian Americans caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wu defeated her fellow City Councilor Annissa Essabi George, an Arab-Polish American who was born and raised in the city. “I want to offer a great big congratulations to Michelle Wu. She is the first woman, the first person of color, first Asian to be elected Mayor of Boston,” said the moderate Essabi George last month when she conceded to the mayoral race. “I want her to show the city how mothers get it done.”
Some other major cities also made history during the recent election season, including Democrat Eric Adams elected as New York’s second Black mayor. His message was centered on police and crime issues after his experience being beaten by police officers as a teenager for trespassing and later becoming a cop himself and advocating for Black officers and programs to address the root causes of crime. In New Jersey, Democrat Phil Murphy won reelection for governor and was marked as the first Democratic governor in more than four decades to be reelected.
Along with Republican Glenn Youngkin who defeated Democrat Terry McAulliffe in the Virginia governor’s race, which will completely change the current legislative priorities in the state that have been controlled by Democrats since 2009. Some of the ramifications that could cause Democrats some problems are expected to be abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, voting rights, and education about the role of racism in American history.
These historic election results opened up a new avenue of possibilities for city politics in the nation and increasing diversity where Black, Latino and Asian residents were not used to holding positions of power before.
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