By John Lynds
Boston voters tossed out two incumbents during Tuesday’s citywide election with Dorchester resident Annissa Essaibi-George beating out At-Large City Councilor Stephen Murphy for one of the four at-large seats and Andrea Campbell ousting District 4 Councilor Charles Yancey who has served since 1983–doubling the number of women on council.
In Beacon Hill George received 345 votes and finished third among Beacon Hill voters. George enjoyed several key endorsements in the final weeks of the election, including one from the Ward 5 Democratic Committee.
At-Large City Councilor Michelle Wu topped the ticket here with 472 votes followed by Ayanna Pressley who received 441 votes. Michael Flaherty who received 288 votes finished fourth among Beacon Hill voters while Murphy came in fifth with 201 votes.
Citywide George received 23,439 votes and finished fourth. Murphy received 19,538 and his fifth place finish ended a long career as an at-large councilor. Citywide Pressley topped the ticket in the quiet election that saw only 13 percent voter turnout with 31,768 votes. Pressley was followed by Wu who received 26,463 votes and Michael Flaherty who received 26,463 votes citywide.
“I feel great,” said George. “I’m excited but anxious to get to work. There’s a little bit of a transition period I’ve never experienced but it gives me the opportunity for a little downtime with the family before my swearing in in January.”
George also said she is excited to work alongside District 1 City Councilor Sal LaMattina who she has known for years during her years as a high school teacher and softball coach in his district.
“I’ve known Sal (LaMattina) for a very long time, I coached his daughter in softball and I look forward to supporting his work as a District Councilor and helping with the issues here and in East Boston and the North End,” said George.
In the end George said she wasn’t surprised by her victory because her campaign workers and volunteers gave it all they had throughout.
“They all worked very hard from day one and I couldn’t have asked for a more incredible team of workers and volunteers,” she said. “We planned the work and worked the plan throughout the campaign and I can’t thank them enough.”