Profile of the 2015 Boston City Council Race
All 13 Boston City Councilors are running for re-election this year, but the competition is limited. Four incumbent At-Large Councilors and one other At-Large candidate will bypass the September 8th Preliminary Election and compete for the four seats in the General Election on November 3rd. Of the nine District seats, only two District Councilors will campaign this summer for the September 8th Preliminary Election to reduce the number of candidates in each race to two. Five District Councilors have no opponent and two have only one opponent meaning their names and the names of their opponents will only be on the November 3rd General Election ballot.
At-Large Race
The five candidates for the At-Large seats are:
|
1 |
Michael Flaherty * |
At-Large |
|
2 |
Stephen Murphy * |
At-Large |
|
3 |
Ayanna Pressley * |
At-Large |
|
4 |
Michelle Wu * |
At-Large |
|
5 |
Annissa Essaibi-George |
At-Large |
|
*Incumbent |
||
A minimum of nine candidates is necessary to hold a preliminary election, so every candidate listed will be on the ballot of the General Election on November 3rd.
Unopposed District Races
The five returning District Councilors who will be running unopposed are:
|
1 |
Salvatore LaMattina |
District 1 |
|
2 |
Bill Linehan |
District 2 |
|
3 |
Matt O’Malley |
District 6 |
|
4 |
Josh Zakim |
District 8 |
|
5 |
Mark Ciommo |
District 9 |
District Races with Challengers
Only Councilor Yancey (D4) and Councilor Jackson (D7) have more than one opponent and must compete in the Preliminary Election. Councilor Baker (D3) and Councilor McCarthy (D5) have one opponent whom they will face in the General Election.
|
1 |
Frank Baker * |
District 3 |
|
2 |
Donnie Palmer |
District 3 |
|
1 |
Charles Yancey * |
District 4 |
|
2 |
Andrea Campbell |
District 4 |
|
3 |
Jovan Lacet |
District 4 |
|
4 |
Terrance Williams |
District 4 |
|
1 |
Timothy McCarthy * |
District 5 |
|
2 |
Jean-Claude Sanon |
District 5 |
|
1 |
Tito Jackson * |
District 7 |
|
2 |
Althea Garrison |
District 7 |
|
3 |
Roy Owens |
District 7 |
|
4 |
Charles Clemons |
District 7 |
|
5 |
Kevin Dwire |
District 7 |
|
6 |
Haywood Fennell Sr |
District 7 |
|
*Incumbent |
||
Past Elections
This year there are 11 challengers, which is slightly fewer than past elections when there was no mayoral race. In 2011 there were 16 challengers with three preliminary elections, but it should be noted that seven of these candidates ran for an open seat vacated by Maureen Feeney (D3). In 2007 there were 15 challengers, with only two preliminaries.
Salaries
The current salary for a City Councilor is $87,500, although this figure is being reviewed by the Compensation Advisory Board. Each Councilor also receives a personal staff allocation of $206,250, with the Council President receiving $247,500.
