Boston’s preliminary election is almost here. Here’s who will be on the ballot

Local News

A wide field of mayoral and City Council candidates will be narrowed down through the preliminary election on Sept. 9.

Boston’s preliminary election is coming up on Sept. 9. Voters will have the chance to weigh in on the mayoral race and contests for a number of City Council seats. 

The preliminary election is meant to whittle down the field of candidates before the general election on Nov. 4. The top two vote-getters among the mayoral candidates will advance. Ten candidates are running for the four at-large city councilor positions, and eight will advance to the general election. In the district-specific city council races, only two candidates will advance. The councilors who represent districts 3, 6, 8, and 9 are running unopposed, and will not be featured in the preliminary election. 

Residents can find out which district they live in, where to vote, and more on the city’s election website. 

The candidates are listed below in the order they will appear on ballots. 

Mayor

Michelle Wu was elected mayor in 2021, becoming the first woman and first person of color to lead the city. A Chicago native, Wu moved to the area in 2007 to attend Harvard University. She studied economics there and later earned her law degree. Wu was mentored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and was elected to the Boston City Council in 2013. She served as Council President for two years. As mayor, Wu has been a proponent of green energy, fare-free public buses, and rent control. Wu is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, and she has been a vocal supporter of immigrants in the face of recent threats from the Trump administration. 

Josh Kraft is the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft and a longtime philanthropist. He spent three decades working with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, including 12 as the organization’s president. Kraft also led the New England Patriots Foundation and is the Board Chair of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. Kraft is a political newcomer and describes himself as a Democrat. He is Wu’s most well-funded and prominent challenger. He says that Wu has ground affordable housing production to a halt, mismanaged the situation at Mass. and Cass, needlessly partnered with a professional soccer team to rebuild White Stadium and recklessly expanded bike lanes. 

Robert Cappucci describes himself as a “law and order candidate” who is “pro-life,” “pro-police,” “pro-veterans,” and “pro-exam schools.” He is a lifelong Boston resident, a retired Boston police officer and Navy serviceman, and a former elected member of the Boston School Committee. He previously ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2017 and 2021.

Domingos DaRosa is a Cape Verde native who was raised in Boston. He spent more than 20 years working for the city’s Centers for Youth and Families and is a longtime community activist and Pop Warner football coach. DaRosa made headlines in 2020 for putting used syringes in front of former Gov. Charlie Baker’s home as an act of protest against the state’s handling of the opioid crisis. Some of his priorities include youth empowerment, worker protections, and affordable housing. 

At-large city councilor

Frank Baker is attempting to make his comeback to the City Council. The Dorchester native served on the Council for 12 years, representing District 3 before deciding against running for reelection in 2023. Baker now seeks an at-large seat. He is touting his experience, “straight talk,” and ability to deliver for working class families. 

Rachel Nicole Miselman has described herself as a Republican who previously ran to represent the 3rd Suffolk District on the Massachusetts Republican State Committee in 2024. On social media in the lead-up to this election, she has expressed support for some of Wu’s most vocal critics and said that more needs to be done to improve the city’s “two methadone miles.”

Alexandra Valdez currently serves as director of Boston’s Office of Cultural Affairs, having been appointed by Wu last year. An immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Valdez says she has worked in City Hall for 10 years. Some of her priorities include “expanding accessible pathways to increase homeownership” and improving education by “championing dual language” learning. 

Will Onuoha has worked in City Hall for almost 20 years, going back to the Menino administration. He is currently the assistant general counsel and director of health and safety for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. Onuoha grew up in Mission Hill as the son of Nigerian immigrants. He supports affordable housing, public school investments, and lifting up small businesses. 

Erin Murphy is an incumbent who has served on the City Council since 2021. Murphy has been known as a more moderate voice on the Council, frequently partnering with Councilor Ed Flynn to call for increased transparency from the Wu administration. Murphy previously worked as a Boston Public Schools teacher for more than 20 years.

Henry Santana is an incumbent who was elected to the City Council in 2023. The Dominican immigrant grew up in Boston’s public housing and previously worked for former councilor Kenzie Bok. Santana also served as the director of Wu’s Office of Civic Organizing. Santana is running on his civic engagement skills, and has expressed progressive views as a City Council member. 

Yves Mary Jean describes himself as a Haitian American father, poet, and novelist who has worked as a neighborhood advocate for the city’s Age Strong Commission. Jeans says he is not a political insider and has experienced the “housing crisis” struggle firsthand. Jean is a proponent of rent control, an elected school committee, and policies that help older adults. 

Ruthzee Louijeune is an incumbent who currently serves as Boston City Council President. She is a major champion of the city’s significant Haitian community, and a Harvard-educated lawyer who previously worked for Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Louijeune has many progressive policy positions and has backed Wu in her efforts to resist the actions of the new Trump administration. She was first elected in 2021 and was unanimously elected Council President in her second term. 

Marvin Mathelier is a member of the Marine Corps Reserves who says he led humanitarian missions across Latin America. Mathelier is also a small business owner and a member of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council. He says he will work to improve relations between the police and residents, push for accountability within City Hall, and increase access to “STEM and vocational programs that are pipelines to good-paying jobs.”

Julia Mejia is an incumbent who was first elected to the City Council in 2019 by a single vote. She came to Dorchester as a young child from the Dominican Republic and attended Boston Public Schools. Mejia says she prides herself on being an independent voice among councilors and on being an advocate for those at the “margins” of society. Recently, she has pushed for the creation of a city-level Office of Inspector General, an elected school committee, and protections for LGBTQ residents. 

District 1 city councilor

Andretti McDuffie-Stanziani qualified for the ballot, but announced to followers on social media that he would not be actively campaigning for the seat. 

Ricardo Rodriguez does not appear to have a campaign website or social media profiles related to his run for City Council. He described himself as a Republican when filing paperwork to run, but no other information about his platform appears to be available. 

Gabriela Coletta Zapata is an incumbent who joined the City Council in 2022 after winning a special election to replace then-City Councilor and now state Sen. Lydia Edwards. Coletta Zapata is an East Boston native who previously worked for Edwards and the New England Aquarium. Her priorities include affordable housing, immigrant rights, and environmental justice. 

District 2 city councilor

Charles Delaney does not appear to have a campaign website or social media profiles related to his run for City Council.

Edward Flynn is an incumbent who has served on the City Council since 2017. The son of former mayor Raymond Flynn, Ed is a Boston native, a former probation officer and a Navy veteran. He is one of the most outspoken members of the City Council, consistently pushing measures related to public safety, improving transparency from the Wu administration, and more. Lately, Flynn has been particularly vocal about the area known as Mass. and Cass and related issues of addiction, crime, and outdoor congregate substance use. 

Brian Foley is an outspoken Republican and supporter of President Trump. He is campaigning under the slogan “make Boston great again” and says he wants to “bring accountability, to slash waste, to protect our neighborhoods.” Foley recently boasted about reporting undocumented immigrants to ICE on social media and appears to be a major proponent of deportation efforts enacted by the Trump administration. 

District 4 city councilor

Brian Worrell is an incumbent who was elected in 2021. Worrell is a Boston native and small business owner who lists among his priorities “Black and Brown economic empowerment,” increasing pathways to home ownership, and expanding violence prevention programs. Worrell has become a prominent Council member for his work chairing the important Ways and Means Committee. 

Helen Cameron has told The Boston Globe that she is a retired Boston Public Schools teacher and real estate agent. She does not appear to have a campaign website or social media profiles related to her candidacy. She listed herself as a Republican when filing paperwork to run for City Council. 

Juwan Skeens is a Dorchester native who has worked as a neighborhood liaison for the council, a youth outreach worker, and serves as a board member of the Codman Square Neighborhood Council. Skeens launched a nonprofit last year that provides shelter and resources to residents with the goal of “fostering personal growth and empowerment.” 

District 5 city councilor

Winston Pierre says he is building a grassroots movement to focus on “safe streets, education and apprenticeships, affordable housing and homeownership, environmental justice, and support for our small businesses.” Pierre is a Haitian immigrant who has a graduate degree in city planning. He is a big proponent of the Community Preservation Act and has experience with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and the Boston Police Cadet Program. 

Enrique Pepén is an incumbent who was first elected to the City Council in 2023. Pepén grew up in a public housing development in the city and worked for former City Councilor Tito Jackson while studying at Suffolk University. Pepén also worked for former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy II and the nonprofit Transportation for Massachusetts. He served as executive director of the city’s Office of Neighborhood Services. Pepén says he is focused on building affordable housing, supporting public school students, and tackling public safety as an “intersectional issue” with “holistic solutions.”

Sharon Hinton is making her first run for public office at the age of 70. She has worked in the Boston Public Schools system, and at Northeastern University. Hinton founded the nonprofit Black Teachers Matter and describes herself as having an “unshakable commitment to social justice.” If elected, Hinton says she would advocate for affordable housing, strong public education, and job creation. 

District 7 city councilor 

Said Abdikarim was born in Somalia and grew up in District 7 in public housing. He describes how losing friends to gun violence and substance abuse shaped him from an early age and propelled him to community service. He worked in tech and is the director of policy, advocacy, and civic engagement at the African Community Economic Development of New England. Abdikarim says he will “champion targeted, evidence-based policies to reverse displacement and protect working-class communities” if elected. 

Miniard Culpepper is a Dorchester native and lawyer who says he has extensive experience as a housing advocate, including work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Culpepper is also a well-known senior pastor at the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Dorchester. He favors rent stabilization, expanding access to city contracts for minority- and women-owned businesses and increasing public safety through “community-based safety strategies that uplift rather than punish.” 

Samuel Hurtado is originally from Mexico but has lived in Boston since 1999. He is the co-founder of South Boston en Acción, a group that advocates for tenant rights, and has worked for years with low-income communities to “reduce the opportunity gap for children learning English.” Hurtado is currently working for the city’s Economic Opportunity and Inclusion Cabinet, and previously served as an advisor to former acting Mayor Kim Janey. 

Tchad Cort is a Roxbury native who has worked in the BPS transportation department for more than 15 years. Most recently, she has focused on overseeing specialized services for students with unique needs. Cort says she is an active member of the Boston Teachers Union and volunteers with the city’s Community Emergency Response Team. 

Said Ahmed came to Roxbury as a 12-year-old refugee from Somalia. While attending BPS he became a track star and later ran professionally with Nike. After retiring as an athlete, Ahmed began working in the BPS system. He has spent 15 years in the school district, and is the founder of Boston United Track and Cross Country Club. Ahmed says he wants to cut red tape around affordable housing, give small business owners more tools to succeed, and strengthen support systems for Boston students. 

Natalie Juba-Sutherland is a first-generation immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago who has lived in Roxbury for 15 years. Juba-Sutherland said she overcame homelessness to graduate from Bunker Hill Community College and UMass Boston. She has more than 20 years of experience as a loan officer and credit associate at a bank, focusing on small business lending. 

Wawa Bell is a Roxbury native who was formerly incarcerated. He says he has spent a decade working in violence prevention, youth empowerment, and grassroots organizing. Bell is the co-founder of the Nubian Square Foundation and has been a community connections coordinator for the city. He supports “rent-to-own programs,” stronger tenant protections, funding unarmed crisis response teams, and making Boston a leader in “municipal reparative justice.” 

Shawn Nelson is a Dorchester native who describes himself as an “Independent Conservative.” He says he served in the Marine Corps and worked as a nursing assistant. Nelson is concerned with gentrification, youth access to jobs, and increasing transparency in the city government. He is a grassroots activist who has been arrested during a protest against COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Nelson was also charged with assault and battery, resisting arrest, and other charges after he disrupted a contentious City Council meeting in 2022. 

Roy Owens Sr. is a perennial candidate who has run for the City Council and the state Legislature multiple times. Owens says he is running to promote “traditional family values” along with safe neighborhoods and dependable care for seniors. 

Mavrick Afonso, a BPS graduate, now works in the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Before that, he spent almost a decade in the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Afonso played football at Colby College and earned a graduate degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University. Some of his priorities include economic development for “overlooked” communities, strengthening the BPS system, and affordable housing. 

Jerome King previously worked as a community development volunteer for the Salvation Army, community coordinator with Greater Four Corners Action Coalition, and as an executive board member of No Pressure on Us Youth Foundation. He described himself to the Globe as a community advocate and small business owner who has lived in the city for 35 years.