Michelle Wu could be Boston’s next mayor — and she’d be the first person of color to hold the position, according to The Atlantic.
Wu has already made a name for herself in the political scene. The first woman of color to become councilor president and the youngest member ever to be elected to the Boston City Council at the age of 28 in 2013, Wu, now 34, has quickly risen to prominence not just as a progressive Asian American in politics, but also as “one of [Boston’s] most effective and diplomatic politicians,” reports The Atlantic. She was named as one of “14 Young Democrats to Watch” in a 2016 New York Times article.
She advocated for making Boston public transportation free, rather than continuing to apply fare hikes. Alongside petitioning in the freezing cold at a subway station, Wu also wrote an opinion piece in The Boston Globe about how the fare hikes would harm residents.
A Chicago native and daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Wu became invested in Boston politics after attending Harvard Law School. Wu told The Atlantic that she had doubts when running for council in 2013; after all, she had a “soft-spoken, shy personality” that made public speaking seem daunting, and she thought becoming a politician would go against her wish of “making people happy.” But her campaign was surprisingly effective, and Wu quickly adapted to the role.
Wu sought reform for short-term housing rental regulations, which San Francisco-based home rental service Airbnb took to Twitter to oppose the reforms. However, Wu’s quick response to Airbnb were enough for the company’s campaign to backfire.
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The Boston city councilor proposed today to increase residential parking permit fees in an effort to improve the city’s current parking system and clear up curb space, according to the Boston Herald.
WBGH noted in an article that Wu could be a serious contestant against incumbent Mayor Marty Walsh in the 2021 mayoral contest. She led the city-wide at-large ticket with 65,000 votes, over 24 percent of the ballot, in the last municipal election. While there is no formal announcement from Wu yet, many expect her to run.
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RE: Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu rises as potential mayoral candidate: Potentially a great Mayor! But former Boston City Council President Wu failed to make available for hard of hearing folks, failed to make available for all the Stenographic Record of Public Meetings of Boston City Council. The Steno Record is more complete than Minutes and more accurate than inaccurate video captions.
Bringing up to date Boston City Council technology/software can improve Council Communications.