By Michael Coughlin Jr.
District 6 City Council candidates Ben Weber and William King reigned supreme in the September 12 Preliminary Municipal election, beating out incumbent Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara to advance to the Municipal election slated for November 7th.
According to unofficial election results on the city’s website, Weber came out on top in the preliminary race with 4,951 votes (42.25%), followed by King with 4,384 votes (37.42%) and Lara with 2,351 votes (20.06%).
Weber, a 15-year Jamaica Plain resident and workers’ rights attorney, and King, a resident of West Roxbury and IT Director for a local conservation non-profit, seemed happy with the result.
“I’m happy to be here,” said Weber. “It’s great to have made it this far… I’m not taking anything for granted; I feel confident now that if I can reach enough voters before the final, I’ll have a significant amount of support,” he later added.
Speaking about his and his team’s reaction to the results, King said, “We’re super excited, and we’re energized and pumped up, and we’re ready to work hard all the way through election day.”
“At the end of the day, I think it’ll be a close race, but we think we have a positive message that will resonate with the voters of District 6,” he said.
With the Municipal Election rapidly approaching, both King and Weber made it clear that they will continue to work just as hard to receive enough support to earn the title of District 6 City Councilor.
“We’re going to do everything that we can to interact with as many voters as we possibly can and tell them about our message for the District,” said King.
“I know we have a lot of work to do. I will be knocking on doors, trying to meet as many people as I can in the District before the final in November,” said Weber.
Although Weber topped King in the preliminary, it was a closely contested battle for the top spot, and both candidates acknowledged that this race would be a close one.
In what could be a barn burner of a race, every vote will count. With that in mind, both candidates spoke about why they should get votes from residents.
Weber talked about his background of living in Jamaica Plain with his wife, raising his two kids who are in Boston Public Schools (BPS), and working as an attorney for 18 years fighting for workers’ rights as aspects that would help him as District 6 City Councilor.
“I think both my working experience and my experiences as a parent here would help me be an effective councilor representing the District,” said Weber.
Weber also explained that he has shown through his work as an attorney, being a BPS dad, and a youth soccer coach that he would fight for things like housing affordability, schools that work for everyone in the city, and fight against climate change.
Similarly, King also spoke about his background and lived experiences being something that would resonate with voters.
For example, he talked about understanding things those in the city have faced, such as financial struggles, the effects of violence, and trauma caused by addiction. King also spoke about how he was a BPS kid and has felt the impact of education system challenges like limited resources and overcrowded classrooms.
“I think it’s about lived experiences and how I have those lived experiences, and I think that’s really going to resonate with voters because the issues that they face are issues that I have faced or continue to face to this day,” said King.
While these two candidates will be in a battle to achieve victory, there is at least one thing they are in lockstep about — urging residents to get out and vote.
“I urge people to get out and vote, especially for City Council elections, because City Councilors directly interact with the residents and can improve quality of life for so many residents,” said King.
“The City Council plays an important role in how our community works. So I urge everyone to follow the race and make their voices heard November 7th,” said Weber.
To learn more about the background of each candidate and the platforms they are running on, you can visit their websites below.
Weber: https://www.weberforboston.com/
King: https://www.kingforboston.com/
Also, for all information pertaining to elections, you can visit the city’s election webpage at https://www.boston.gov/departments/election.