Mayor Michelle Wu’s historic swearing-in as city executive on Nov. 16 left a vacancy on the city council, and it looks like that gap will likely be filled in early December by a newly-elected member who was already planning to be sworn-in during the new year: Erin Murphy.
Since Wu’s victory, many thought Alejandra St. Guillen— a member of the Boston Cannabis Board — would fill the remainder of the Wu’s council term. That’s because she came in fifth in the at-large council field in the 2019 municipal election, one vote away from landing one of the four open seats, which qualifies her to fill the vacancy.
But St. Guillen publicly declined to take the spot.
She took to Twitter to say that because the council did not move to approve her to the body at last week’s meeting, “I believe it is just too brief a tenure, and with my other professional and personal obligations, the timing is not right.”
St. Guillen would have served as a councilor until new councilors, who were elected earlier this month, are sworn-in in January. In the 2019 contest, she lost by a single vote to Julia Mejia, who was just re-elected to a second term.
With St. Guillen declining to take the spot, Murphy, who garnered the next highest number of votes in 2019, would be called upon to fill the vacancy. This year, Murphy was successful in her race and was elected as an at-large councilor, meaning that she potentially could take her spot on the council about a month ahead of the scheduled January swearing-in.
The city clerk’s office now must send a letter to the council and the chair regarding Murphy filling the vacancy, and the council would need to take a voice vote. A simple majority can approve Murphy taking the seat, according to Boston Council President Pro Tempore Matt O’Malley. If the council approves Murphy, she could be sworn-in on the same day. The next council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 1, and the matter could be voted on then.
Murphy, in a phone interview Friday, said she was looking forward to taking a seat on the council in December.
“I am absolutely ready and able,” she said.
Wu was elected mayor on Nov. 2, besting her council colleague Annissa Essaibi George by nearly 30 percentage points. Typically, mayors are sworn-in in early January, in accordance with the expiration of the mayoral term. But this year was different because of Martin J. Walsh’s City Hall departure in March. When he left to join President Biden’s Cabinet, City Council President Kim Janey became acting mayor.
And earlier this year, city councilors decided the new mayor should be sworn-in shortly after the election certification process.
“The Councilors recognized that swearing in the elected mayor after certification will clear up confusion between the powers of acting mayor and the powers of a duly elected mayor and follows the will of the voters,” read a city council committee report earlier this year.
Wu’s early ascension to the 5th floor City Hall corner then left the council short one at-large councilor. A similar situation unfolded in early 2019, when perennial candidate Althea Garrison filled the council vacancy created by Ayanna Pressley’s election to Congress.
In 2019, Murphy, a Boston Public Schools teacher, came in 6th in the at-large council field with 8 percent of the vote. She fared better this year, coming in fourth place with just under 12 percent of the vote. Mejia along with fellow incumbent Michael Flaherty and newcomer Ruthzee Louijeune won the other three at-large council seats.
This year’s city council races, defined by five open seats, brought significant turnover to the city’s legislative body, and some historic firsts. A diverse group of newcomers emerged to fill the open spots, including Tania Fernandes Anderson, who will be the first Muslim to serve on the City Council, as well as the legislative body’s first Cape Verdean, first African immigrant, and the first formerly undocumented person.
In addition, Louijeune will be the first Haitian-American councilor in the city’s history.
Janey, the city’s former acting mayor who was eliminated from this year’s mayoral race in September’s preliminary election, plans to return to her role as council president in December to serve out the last month of her council term. She has yet to announce what her plans are after her term expires in the new year.
Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Danny__McDonald.
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November 21, 2021 at 05:30AM
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After Wu’s mayoral move, a City Council vacancy could be filled next month - The Boston Globe
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