boston politics

State Rep. Jon Santiago announced his campaign for mayor of Boston last week, via a campaign video and the launch of his site, Jon-Santiago.com. The emergency room doctor and former U.S. Army captain has been in office since 2018 representing the South End and parts of Roxbury, the Back Bay and Fenway.

Candidates are raising tens of thousands of dollars and putting together campaign organizations as two at-large vacancies are opening on the City Council.

Within days, District 7 City Councilor and Council President Kim Janey will almost certainly make the move from the offices of the City Council to the other side of City Hall’s 5th floor, where she will make history as the first Black and first woman to serve as mayor of Boston.

Boston voters have increasingly embraced progressive candidates as the city’s share of conservative-voting white ethnic voters has declined.

What the mayoral election will look like, and when it will happen, remain open questions. How things will play out depend on two factors: when Walsh, if he is confirmed as Labor Secretary, will actually leave office; and whether the City Council and mayor adopt a home rule petition to waive a special election.

A poll conducted in December found 60 percent of registered voters would support a return to an elected school committee in Boston.

While the COVID-19 pandemic came to define 2020, the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd and the racial reckoning that came in its wake dominated headlines for much of the year as well, leading policy makers, business leaders and the news media to grapple with racial inequality in its manifold forms for much of the year.

In a Banner interview, Mayor Marty Walsh reflected on Boston’s pandemic response, the city’s current police reform and education issues, and his own future options.

The Boston City Council has voted to move two police reforms to the mayor’s desk and one to the State House, results of work done in response to Boston’s racial reckoning this year.

The City Council moved a step forward in an effort to establish a more equitable budget process that allows citizens to participate. District 1 City Councilor Lydia Edwards introduced an amendment in July to give the council power to reject the mayor’s amendments to the yearly budget, and introduce their own, before a hard deadline. It will also give a percentage to citizens to vote on.