Boston Election 2021: Historic Mayoral Election To Be Decided

BOSTON — Voters are hitting the polls in Boston — though not a pace that indicates anything but a tepid turnout for a historic mayoral race.

City Councilors Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George are jostling to become the first female and person of color to be elected mayor.

Whoever is elected will have just two weeks before taking over for Acting Mayor Kim Janey, who finished Marty Walsh's term after he took a job as President Biden's labor secretary.

This is the first contested mayoral election in Boston since 2013. To get here, Wu and Essaibi George finished 1-2 in the primary.

Polls have consistently shown Wu far in front of Essaibi George

But while media interest has been high, community interest has not been.

"Based upon the level of enthusiasm that we've seen at this point, my best estimate is 135,000 for a total turnout in [the] election in Boston," Secretary of State William Galvin said. That would be a roughly

Meanwhile, there are 10 City council seats in play. All four at-large seats and seats in Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 have contested races.

There are also three ballot questions to be decided.

The first one is binding, meaning if it passes it will be reflected in the City Charter, and would alter the city's budgetary process by empowering the City Council to reallocate funds in the mayor's proposed budget. It would also establish an independent Office of Participatory Budgeting.

The other two questions are both nonbinding. One would support the building of a high-voltage electrical substation along Chelsea Creek, while the other would support the city's School Committee members being elected rather than appointed by the mayor.