By Michael Coughlin Jr.
During the city’s Municipal Election on November 7th, voters will finally crown a victor in the battle between candidates Ben Weber and William King for the right to be called District 6 City Councilor.
Though Weber came out on top back in September’s Preliminary Election, both candidates fared well, soundly beating out incumbent District 6 City Councilor Kendra Lara.
Based on each candidate’s performance and the two being within just under 600 votes of each other in September — according to unofficial election results on the city’s website — November’s race could prove to be a close one.
Weber, who has been a workers’ rights attorney for 18 years and has lived in Jamaica Plain for 15 years, was in good spirits as election day draws near and spoke about campaigning since the preliminary.
“The campaign’s been going very well; I think there’s been a lot more interest after the preliminary,” he said.
Weber credited part of this increase in interest to the support and endorsements he has received from several labor unions and a plethora of elected officials such as Mayor Michelle Wu and State Representative Samantha Montaño.
“I’ve had a lot more support in getting my message out to people in the district. I think with the people supporting me and myself, we’ve been able to reach a lot more people since the preliminary,” said Weber.
King has also received his share of support and endorsements from labor unions and several elected officials like At-Large City Councilor Erin Murphy and District 7 City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson.
King, a resident of West Roxbury and IT Director for a Local Conservation non-profit, said he was honored to receive the support and endorsements. He pointed to Murphy and Anderson’s support as evidence that he is willing to work with anyone.
“I think that goes to show that I can work with anybody, and I’m a bridge-builder. I want to bring people together, and I think that if we work together, we can really start delivering results for our communities,” said King.
In terms of how campaigning has been since the preliminary, King spoke about how he was confident and that he and his team have been knocking on doors every day, making phone calls, and more to earn voters’ support. “We like our chances,” he said.
With election day rapidly approaching, both candidates acknowledged that the sense of urgency to get that last bit of support that could push them to victory has risen.
While King, with a laugh, initially said the sense of urgency rose on September 13th (following the preliminary), he also said, “We’re down to the wire now, and we’ve got to do everything we can to interact with voters, and we have been doing that, and we’ve got to continue to do that.”
Weber spoke about the sense of urgency, noting an increase in intensity and saying the work he and his supporters are doing is “ratcheting up,” adding that the difference will be getting as many people to the polls as possible.
“The only way we can do that is through hard work, knocking on doors, and getting to speak to as many people as possible throughout the district,” said Weber.
Moreover, with the election coming up, both candidates reflected on the journey to get to the precipice of becoming the next District 6 City Councilor.
“I’m proud with how far I’ve been able to come since I got on the ballot in June when I don’t think a lot of people in the district knew who I was,” said Weber.
“We’ve been able to show people across the district that I’m a person who has worked hard for my clients for 18 years, cares about families as a parent of BPS (Boston Public Schools) students, and that I can be a voice for people across the district on the city council and be part of a council that works,” he added.
King called the journey “extremely humbling” and said, “It’s been a remarkable journey — just the support that I’ve seen from all over the district and people who believe in me and my candidacy.”
“Just to place where we did in the prelim and have the opportunity to continue to campaign for an additional two more months and actually have a real shot at winning this, it’s great,” he added.
Finally, both King and Weber left voters with a final message before they head to the polls in November.
Weber spoke about his work as an advocate for workers and the fact that he has lived in Jamaica Plain for so many years, where he and his wife raised their two kids, and added, “I want to put my experiences to good use advocating for my fellow District 6 residents.”
King spoke about his lived experiences and how the issues that residents face are issues he has experienced himself, whether that be financial struggles, effects of violence and trauma, education challenges, and more.
“Through these challenges, I was able to see and feel what makes this city great, and I want to just be there for the residents and help them and be a voice for them on the council and advocate on their behalf,” said King.
Election information can be found on the city’s election webpage at https://www.boston.gov/departments/election.
To learn more about each candidate, visit their websites.
King — https://www.kingforboston.com/ and Weber — https://www.weberforboston.com/.