Politics
Political fundraiser Sharon Durkan handily beat Suffolk County prosecutor Montez Haywood with a 40% margin.
Political fundraiser Sharon Durkan prevailed over Suffolk County prosecutor Montez Haywood Tuesday evening in a particular election for the Boston Metropolis Council‘s District 8 seat.
Durkan, a 32-year-old Beacon Hill resident, received with about 70 % of the vote, or practically 2,000 votes, in accordance with the town’s unofficial election outcomes. Haywood, a 43-year-old West Finish resident, garnered a bit of over 800 votes.
The seat went up for grabs in early April after Mayor Michelle Wu tapped Councilor Kenzie Bok to run the Boston Housing Authority, for which Bok beforehand labored.
Durkan will end out Bok’s time period, which ends on the finish of the 12 months, and stated beforehand that she would run for a full time period this 12 months. This is able to imply she would want to maintain campaigning by means of November.
District 8 presently encompasses Beacon Hill, Again Bay, the West Finish, Fenway, Boston College, and stretches into the Longwood Medical space and Mission Hill. It can keep largely the identical as soon as the brand new Metropolis Council district map, which was accredited in late Might, goes into impact.
The District 8 race
Durkan, a progressive who’s labored for Wu, Sen. Ed Markey, and Boston Metropolis Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, ran on points like accessible housing, healthcare, and open areas.
Haywood, a Boston prosecutor for 17 years, was endorsed by the Boston Police Patrolman’s Affiliation and stated he would combat for “clear and protected streets.” He ran for the District 8 seat earlier than in 2019 and got here in final in a five-way preliminary election.
Durkan gathered a litany of spectacular endorsements whereas operating for Boston Metropolis Council, together with Markey, Wu, Bok, 4 different metropolis councilors, a number of state senators and representatives, a number of labor unions, and two main environmental organizations.
This was mirrored by her fundraising, which the The Boston Globe reported totaled $66,000 on the finish of June. Haywood had reportedly raised solely $8,000 at the moment.
Meet Sharon Durkan
In response to her biography on her web site, Durkan was raised by “working-class” dad and mom in rural Georgia. Her activist days date again to highschool, throughout which she petitioned the college to offer laptops for each scholar and helped discovered her college’s first-ever recycling program.
Whereas attending Smith Faculty in Northampton, her web site says, she bought concerned with Faculty Democrats of Massachusetts. In 2014, she graduated from the faculty with a bachelor’s diploma in authorities.
Durkan has been a renter in Beacon Hill for eight years now, in accordance with her web site. Since transferring to Boston, she’s labored for quite a few progressive political candidates. In 2019, she was elected chair of the Boston Ward 5 Democratic Committee.
Reactions to the outcomes
Neither Durkan nor Haywood responded to a request for touch upon the election outcomes Tuesday evening.
Durkan tweeted Tuesday evening: “Thanks, District 8! Together with your help, we received each precinct of the district. I’m so thrilled to be your subsequent Metropolis Councilor, and I couldn’t be extra excited to get to work.”
Haywood thanked his marketing campaign volunteers on Fb Tuesday evening and stated his marketing campaign would proceed. He advised the Boston Herald earlier Tuesday that he deliberate to maintain operating for the seat and go up in opposition to Durkan once more in November.
Durkan stated she may “really feel” the robust help whereas campaigning, the Herald reported. “Over and over, we have been speaking to individuals who have by no means had a buddy in authorities,” she reportedly stated.
Haywood reportedly advised the Herald he hoped the district would discover him the extra certified candidate regardless of Durkan’s overwhelming help from native political elites.
“It’s not misplaced on me that the within baseball, the political machine that’s the Democratic Occasion in Boston, is sided with Sharon,” he reportedly stated.
Durkan addressed this throughout her speech to supporters Tuesday evening, the Herald reported, saying that whereas her getting “each single endorsement” may really feel “sinister,” it merely meant that she related nicely with folks in authorities.
Bok and Louijeune each congratulated her on X Tuesday evening.
What’s subsequent
Durkan joins a metropolis council that’s been rocked by scandal after scandal after scandal during the last 12 months. Metropolis Council President Ed Flynn, who endorsed Durkan, admonished a number of councilors earlier this month for bringing unfavorable consideration to the elected physique.
The latest scandals adopted a fraught inside combat over Boston Metropolis Council redistricting that resulted within the authentic map being overturned in court docket.
However Durkan advised the Globe earlier this month that regardless of the council’s latest drama, she’s nonetheless keen to steer.
“Truthfully, constituents are usually not fascinated with any form of infighting. They’re fascinated with [councilors] getting stuff carried out for them,” she reportedly stated.
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