Michelle Wu wins Boston mayoral race

By Rhiannon Melton

Michelle Wu, a 36-year-old Taiwanese immigrant who made history Tuesday night, defeating fellow city councilor Annissa Essaibi George to become the first woman and the first Asian American elected mayor of the city of Boston.

Wu was raised in Chicago, moving to Boston to study at Harvard Law School. At Harvard, she studied law with Elizabeth Warren, and later worked on Warren’s first campaign for the U.S. Senate, becoming a political protégé of the state’s senior senator.

Opponent Essaibi George conceded the race just after 10:20 p.m. “I want to offer a big congratulations to Michelle Wu. She is the first woman, person of color, and as an Asian American, the first elected to the mayor of Boston. I know this is no small feat.” Essaibi said.

Wu succeeds Kim Janey, the first Black woman to serve as Acting Mayor, a position Janey gained after Marty Walsh was elected as Biden’s U.S.

Italian and Irish American men held the position of mayor in Boston for decades, in an unbroken streak since the 1930s. For nearly 200 years, Boston has elected only white men to the top office. Wu is the first to break this streak.