With the preliminary election around the corner, attention has largely focused on the flagship mayoral race. The at-large contest, however, carries the potential to shift the city’s prevailing political dynamic and Wu’s influence on the City Council, should she win reelection. Santana, who previously worked in Wu’s administration, is seen as one of her closest allies on the council and agrees he’s the most vulnerable incumbent running.
“That’s why we’re fighting every single day to continue to hold the seat,” Santana said in an interview, emphasizing his background as a Black Dominican immigrant who grew up in Boston public housing. “We need people like me in there.”
Boston’s has a strong-mayor system, where the city’s chief executive holds significant legal authority, but the city charter gives the council powers that are meant to be a check on the administration. It can draft, change, and pass legislation, amend the mayor’s budget, and use their platforms to advocate for their constituents and pressure the mayor — if councilors choose to flex those muscles.
All four incumbent at-large councilors — Ruthzee Louijeune, Erin Murphy, Julia Mejia, and Santana — are running for reelection, but six challengers have jumped in. Among them: former councilor Frank Baker, an outspoken conservative voice on the council — and frequent Wu antagonist — who launched an at-large bid after declining to run for a seventh term to his District 3 seat in 2023. Baker said he’s running again to bring more “independence” and “balance” to the body.
The “City Council can make Wu’s life more difficult. … Even if they don’t have all the institutional levers, they have the bully pulpit,” said Erin O’Brien, a political science professor at UMass Boston. “Why wouldn’t Wu throw her support behind the individual that she perceives as at most risk, especially when the alternative, were it Baker, is more apt to be a thorn in her side?”
Wu’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Louijeune topped the at-large ticket in the 2023 general election. Murphy came in a close second, and Mejia followed in third. Santana, backed by Wu’s endorsement, claimed the fourth spot, roughly 6,000 votes behind Mejia, but with about 7,000 more votes than the fifth place finisher.
Beyond Baker, with his built-in name recognition, other at-large challengers have caught the eye of local strategists, including Will Onuoha, a City Hall employee of nearly two decades; Marvin Mathelier, a small business owner, father, and Marine Corps Reserves member; and Alexandra Valdez, a Dominican immigrant who worked for former councilor Matt O’Malley and in City Hall for roughly 10 years. Also running are Yves Mary Jean and Rachel Nicole Miselman.
Eight out of the ten candidates will advance from the preliminary election to the general, where they will vie for the council’s four at-large spots.
The fact that several candidates with strong experience launched bids indicates they see weakness in at least one of the incumbents, Murphy said in an interview.
When candidates launch a campaign, “the first question is, well, who are you trying to bump?” Murphy said.
As far as Santana’s perceived weakness, Reynolds Graves, a longtime political consultant who is also an adviser for District 7 candidate Mavrick Afonso, said “anybody on the ballot is vulnerable.” But he emphasized he has not seen Santana step up in his first term.
“I would love to see him really find his voice,” Graves said. “He seems very kind of timid and cautious, even in policies he proposes or things he advocates for.”
Residents, he continued, “don’t want folks just to follow orders from somebody. … People want them to be independent.”
Annissa Essaibi George, a former city councilor who ran for mayor in 2021 and lost to Wu, said it speaks volumes that Santana struggled to qualify for the ballot.
“There had to be this, like, ‘all call’ for help to get him the signatures that he needed,” said Essaibi George, who later announced she is endorsing Baker. “To rely on the mayor and the mayor’s team to get those signatures done really does speak to a real weakness in his campaign.”
It made many observers, and even some of his colleagues, question his commitment to the job.
“Even very, very strong allies to the mayor, I hear [them say], ‘Does he even want it? Does he deserve it?’” Murphy said.
Santana assured the Globe he does.
“I do this job every single day with so much love, with so much respect for the position, and I wouldn’t be running for reelection if I didn’t want this job,” Santana said.
He noted that he has been struggling with issues in his personal life, namely his mother’s years-long battle with stage four cancer. He said he is proud and grateful for the mayor’s support in his race and he backs Wu because he supports her policies. But he acknowledged the criticism that he often appears to act as a proxy for the mayor, rather than an independent voice for his constituents.
“There’s a lot of room for growth for me, and there’s been a lot of reflection in my first term,” he said, adding, “we’ve done a lot of good work.”
A key example of Wu’s influence on the body came during the budget process last year. The council initially voted to make $15 million in amendments to the mayor’s budget proposal. The mayor vetoed a vast majority of the changes. When it came back to the council, three close Wu allies who had initially supported the amendments flipped their votes to support Wu, including Santana.
Wu tapping her own network to rally support for Santana shows she’s worried her ally could be replaced by someone like Baker, said longtime political strategist Joyce Ferriabough Bolling.
“[Baker] is a bomb tosser,” Ferriabough Bolling said. “I don’t think [Wu] relishes having Frank Baker on the council” again.
Baker told the Globe he chose not to run for his old seat representing District 3 because John FitzGerald, the current occupant who often votes with the council’s biggest Wu critics, is “capable,” while at-large “is a bigger voice.” He declined to confirm whether he is aiming to unseat Santana specifically.
“I’m looking to knock out who gets less votes than me,” Baker said. “I’m not looking at dynamics. … I think I’m a valuable voice, I’m a balanced voice, and I’m just looking to go in and do good work for the city of Boston.”
Baker also has the support of former mayor Martin J. Walsh, who has a Baker sign in his front yard.
Essaibi George argued that some councilors’ perceived loyalty to the mayor has compromised their ability to ensure the council acts as a check on the administration’s power.
“Emphatically, this council as a body has not held the mayor accountable for the things that have happened or have not happened here in the city of Boston,” she said.
Louijeune, the council president, firmly disagrees.
Just because the majority of the councilors do not try to actively undermine the mayor “doesn’t mean that we [as a body] aren’t holding the mayor accountable,” Louijeune said, pointing to the amendments the council made to the mayor’s budget for the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years.
She also implied that she would not like to see a return to the chaos and infighting of the 2021-2023 term, the last time Baker was on the council.
As council president, she has tried “to build a collegial body where everyone can work together, where there aren’t any outbursts … and that’s what I hope continues for the tone and tenor of the council in the years to come.” Louijeune said.
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.
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