Boston’s preliminary municipal elections were Tuesday, meaning the mayoral and city council races have been narrowed down ahead of November.
Four candidates were in the running for mayor, but now, only two names will appear on the November ballot: incumbent Marty Walsh, who received more than 60 percent of the vote, and challenger Tito Jackson, who earned nearly 30 percent.
#Boston thank you so much for your support for our #titoformayor campaign! Thanks to you I have advanced to the General election on Nov. 7!
— Tito Jackson (@titojackson) September 27, 2017
Candidates Robert Cappucci, a retired police officer, and Joseph Wiley, a health insurance worker, are no longer in the running.
Voters also whittled down the competition for four Boston City Council seats.
Seven people were vying for the District 2 seat, which covers downtown, South Boston and the South End. Edward Flynn, son of former Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn, earned more than 50 percent of the vote. He’ll go against Michael Kelley, a former Menino administration aide, in November.
District 7, Roxbury, which was left vacant by Jackson, was by far the most popular seat with 13 people throwing their hat into the ring. Kim Janey, a senior project dorector with Massachusetts Advocates for Children, and Rufus Faulk, an anti-violence advocate, are moving on to the November ballot.
District 1, which includes Charlestown, East Boston and the North End, and District 9, covering Allston and Brighton, each had only three candidates in the running. For District 1,Stephen Passacantilli, who worked on Walsh’s 2013 campaign, and Lydia Edwards, deputy director in the Department of Neighborhood Development at City Hall, will appear on the ballot in an attempt to win the seat, and for District 9, it’s between incumbent Mark Ciommo and schoolteacher Brandon David Bowser.
The point of the preliminary election is for voters to pick the top two candidates in each category who will move on to the November race. Though the political pool is now a bit smaller, there will still be a lot of names on the ballot in a few months.
There are eight people vying for four at-large city council seats, all of whom will be listed on the ballot. There was no preliminary election for the at-large seats as it requires that there be at least nine candidates in the running.
There was also no preliminary election for District 8, which represents Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, Kenmore Square, Mission Hill and the West End as only two people are in the running: Incumbent Josh Zakim and Fenway community activist Kristen Mobilia.
Frank Baker, Andrea Joy Campbell, Timothy McCarthy and Matt O’Malley —the incumbents of districts 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively — are running unopposed.
Don’t know if you’re eligible to vote in the Nov. 7 election? Check your status online here and double-check which city council district you live in, so you know which candidates to focus on.
If you’re not registered to vote, there’s still time — Massachusetts’s registration deadline is 20 days before the election date. Register online at RegisterToVoteMA.com, or you can also register in person or by mail.
