South End's Wu Picks Up Ward 3 Democrats Endorsement

By: Becca Manning

Boston’s Ward 3 Democratic Committee voted this week to endorse South End resident Michelle Wu and three other candidates for At-Large City Council, but did not endorse South End resident Jeff Ross or District 2 candidates Suzanne Lee and Bill Linehan. 

Ward 3 represents the South End as well as Downtown, the Financial District, Beacon Hill, West End, Bulfinch Triangle, the North End, Chinatown and the Leather District. 

At its Wednesday night meeting, committee members heard short presentations from each candidate before casting a vote. A minimum of 14 votes is required for a candidate endorsement. 

The committee voted to support incumbent Ayanna Pressley with 22 votes, incumbent Stephen Murphy with 20 votes, and candidate Wu for at-large city councilor with 20 votes. They also endorsed District 1 incumbent Sal LaMattina. 

Charlestown resident Jack Kelly received eight votes—not enough to earn the fourth at-large endorsement—while Ramon Soto received five votes, Michael Flaherty received four and Jeff Ross received one vote.

Although both candidates running for District 2 city councilor were present at the forum, neither one garnered enough votes to receive an endorsement. Incumbent Bill Linehan received eight votes from the committee, while candidate Suzanne Lee received four votes, with 10 abstaining.

Citywide, voters will head to the polls on Sept. 24 to narrow the race for Boston mayor and City Council, with the final election set it November.