Boston, one of America’s most progressive cities, may soon get a pro-developer, pro–police union mayor. How this has come about tells us a lot about tribal politics, white privilege, and dysfunctional election systems.
Here is the backstory. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who was expected to run for re-election in November, resigned abruptly in March to become Joe Biden’s labor secretary. Walsh straddled the old Boston and the new Boston. He was a building trades guy who was also a genuine racial liberal.
When Walsh stepped down, Kim Janey, chair of the city council, became acting mayor. Janey, an African American woman, quickly rebranded herself Mayor Janey, and resolved to run for a full term. This upstaged a stronger Black candidate, City Councilor Andrea Campbell, a much-admired leader who had declared for mayor seven months earlier.
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