Boston Mayoral Hopefuls Make Final Pitch to Voters Ahead of Preliminary Election

Candidates for Boston mayor are making a last pitch to voters ahead of the city’s preliminary election on Tuesday.

Acting Mayor Kim Janey, city councilors Annissa Essaibi-George, Andrea Campbell and Michelle Wu, and John Barros, the city’s former economic development chief, are all vying to be one of the two top vote-getters in the contest.

All the candidates are Democrats. All are people of color, and all were out Sunday making a final push for votes.

Wu’s parents immigrated to the United States from Taiwan. Janey and Campbell are Black. Essaibi George describes herself as a first generation Arab-Polish American. Barros is of Cape Verdean descent.

The campaign marks a pivotal turning point in the city’s history. Throughout its history, Boston has only elected white men as mayor.

NBC10 Boston caught up with all of the candidates Sunday in the final days before the preliminary election.

Janey spoke to supporters in one of her final rallies of her campaign before Tuesday’s vote.

“[We’re] making sure we’re using this opportunity to create a stronger Boston for all of us, where we all have a seat at the table where we’re creating a Boston that is more equitable, more just and more resilient,” she said. “And we’re here to do that work together to push in these final two days.”

Essaibi-George said she’s confident she’s done her best to get ahead of the pack.

“I feel strong, I feel energized, I feel encouraged,” she said. “We have been – and my team has been – spending a lot of time on the doors continuing to connect with our city’s residents and making sure that everyone is prepared and has a plan to vote on Tuesday.”

Meanwhile, Wu met with key allies including Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and New York Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou for help to get out the vote.

“It’s going to come down to ground game and doing what we’ve been doing. We launched this campaign almost a year ago in order to give enough time to every single community, every single neighborhood and we have been all across the city this last weekend non-stop,” she noted.

Relying on her grassroot efforts, Campbell said she hopes to see great results.

“I’ve been going into public housing, going into various events, going to restaurants, going to coffee shops, talking to folks in parks, and so meeting voters where they are, not only to earn their support, but most importantly to get them to turn out on Tuesday,” she said.

As for Barros, he’s leaning on his record to convince voters to side with him.

“I’m out here telling people, to remind them to go out to vote, telling them that I am the candidate with the track record, that I built affordable housing and we’ll do more as mayor, that I’ve brought jobs to the city of Boston – over 140,000 – and can bring us more jobs, [and] have these businesses get back up and get Boston back on its feet,” he said.

Tuesday’s results will narrow the field to two candidates who will break that glass ceiling one way or another.

Polls will be open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The two top candidates on Tuesday will face off against each other in the general election on Nov. 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report