Mayor Martin Walsh and City Councilor Tito Jackson will face-off against each other in November in a battle to be the leader of the city, as they were the two top vote getters in the mayoral race during the City’s preliminary election on Sept. 26, according to unofficial City results.
But if the general election plays out in similar fashion to the preliminary, it won’t be much of a battle. Walsh garnered 34,869 votes, or 63 percent of voters, while Jackson finished with 29 percent. The two others challengers, Robert Cappucci and Joseph A. Wiley, finished with 7 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
There was not a lot of interest in the preliminary election, as only 14 percent of registered voters made their way to the polls.
The mayoral contest was the only competitive race that most Jamaica Plain voters had a chance to help decide, as City Councilor Matt O’Malley of District 6, which represents most of Jamaica Plain, and City Councilor Andrea Joy Campbell of District 4, which covers parts of Forest Hills and Woodbourne, both did not have a challenger in the preliminary. They both do not have a challenger for the Nov. 7 general election.
But with Jackson opting to forgo a reelection campaign in order for a chance to become mayor, a few JP residents did help decide the District 7 seat, as that covers a portion of Egleston Square. The contest had 13 candidates enter the fray. Kim Janey and Rufus J. Faulk were the top vote getters, receiving 25 percent and 12 percent, respectively, and will face each other in the general election.
There was no preliminary race for an at-large city councilor seat, as all eight candidates are guaranteed a spot in the general election. The candidates Domingos DaRosa, William A. King, Althea Garrison, and Pat Payaso will face incumbents Michael Flaherty, Annissa Essaibi George, Ayanna Pressley, and Michelle Wu. The top four vote getters will receive an at-large city councilor seat.