Rev. Miniard Culpepper will represent District 7 on the Boston City Council come January, according to the city’s unofficial election tally.
Culpepper beat Said Ahmed in the closely watched race that was the sole council contest without an incumbent.
The district includes Roxbury, as well as parts of Fenway, Dorchester and the South End. Once in office, Culpepper will contend with a litany of issues facing their constituents, from the controversial White Stadium to complaints of a spillover of crime and drug addiction from the troubled intersection of Mass. and Cass.
Culpepper, 71, is the senior pastor at Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, an institution his grandfather founded. Previously, he worked as an U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development attorney for more than 20 years.
He racked up significant endorsements from Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and two preliminary candidates for D7, among others.
His opponent, Ahmed, 43, of Roxbury, is the founder of Boston United Track and Cross Country, a free track program in the city. The Somali immigrant and father of five known to many as “Coach” previously worked as a Boston Public Schools employee for 15 years.
In the September preliminary election, Ahmed had bested Culpepper by just 58 votes. The pair beat out nine other competitors to move on to the general election.
The competitors were largely aligned on major policy positions — from support for rent control to opposition to a bus lane down Blue Hill Avenue — leaving voters to in large part weigh their professional and personal experiences.
The seat was previously held by Tania Fernandes Anderson, who pleaded guilty in a public corruption kickback scheme and resigned in July. She’s immediately serving a month-long sentence in federal prison.
Alongside the council’s four at-large members, Culpepper will be one of the city’s nine district representatives.
Without a presidential election and with incumbent Boston Mayor Michelle Wu running unopposed, the city saw the expected subdued voter turnout.
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