Mayor-Elect Marty Walsh, who placed fifth in the Jamaica Plain vote during the preliminary election in September, bounced back to be the neighborhood’s top vote-getter in the Nov. 5 general election.
The reversal may lay at the feet of At-Large City Councilor Felix Arroyo. The Jamaica Plain resident was a former rival who endorsed Walsh after losing in the preliminary and hit the campaign trail hard for him. Arroyo finished first in the JP vote during the preliminary.
Walsh garnered 51 percent of JP voters, or 6,435 votes, according to the City’s unofficial results. His opponent, John Connolly, collected 49 percent.
District 6 City Councilor Matt O’Malley, who easily retained his seat, won the JP vote, taking 81 percent of voters, or 8,118 votes. His challenger, Luis Valerio, received 19 percent. District 6 covers the majority of Jamaica Plain as well as West Roxbury.
For the District 4 City Council seat, which covers the Woodbourne section of JP, along with parts of Roslindale, Dorchester and Mattapan, incumbent Charles Yancey cruised to victory over challenger Terrance Williams and also won the JP vote, 54 percent to 45 percent.
In the at-large City Council race, incumbents Ayanna Pressley (18 percent) and Stephen Murphy (14 percent); former city councilor and 2009 mayoral candidate Michael Flaherty (17 percent); and newcomer Michelle Wu (18 percent) each notched one of four spots. But the results were different in JP, as Wu was the top vote-getter, with 24 percent of voters, or 7,827 votes. Pressley followed close behind at 23 percent. Jeffrey Michael Ross finished third, garnering 12 percent, while Flaherty grabbed fourth with 11 percent.