NARAL MA City Champions Dominate Local Prelims
BOSTON–NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, the Commonwealth’s leading reproductive freedom advocacy organization, congratulates the 57 NARAL MA City Champions who won their preliminary elections this evening. The City Champion Pledge was unveiled on August 18, and 112 candidates for mayoral and city council seats from across Massachusetts have signed on. Candidates who took the pledge committed to fighting for key reproductive freedom policies at the local level.
As with the 2020 election cycle, candidates’ positions on reproductive freedom were a major deciding factor for voters during the prelims. In light of Texas’ recent abortion ban and the federal threats to Roe v. Wade, it’s likely that the our state’s overwhelming pro-choice majority will continue to vote for City Champions in droves throughout the remainder of the 2021 election cycle.
Votes are still being counted in Boston, but of the 23 candidates who took the pledge, 10 have already won their races, including Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George for Mayor, and more Champions are likely to claim victory once all the votes for City Council seats are tallied. In Somerville, where 14 candidates signed the pledge, voters chose a majority of City Champion candidates in contested races today. Seven additional Somerville City Champions advanced directly to the general election without a preliminary race. Medford had all six of its City Champions advance to the general election, as did Newton, where all 13 of its City Champions advanced to the general election, including both candidates for Mayor, incumbent Ruthanne Fuller, and her challenger Amy Mah Sangiolo. Outside of Greater Boston, cities like Framingham, Gloucester, Lynn, Malden, Salem, and Worcester all saw City Champions advance to the general election.
“I’d like to extend my sincerest congratulations to all of the winning City Champions across the Commonwealth. This is a proud day for the reproductive freedom movement in Massachusetts. We know protecting abortion access is a state-by-state and community-by-community battle. We made it a priority to build power at the local level and the results speak for themselves,” said Rebecca Hart Holder, Executive Director of NARAL MA.
NARAL MA would also like to extend its gratitude to the rest of the preliminary candidates who took the City Champion Pledge. Their dedication to reproductive freedom was an important factor in this race and we’re proud that they answered the call for reproductive rights. We wish them the very best of luck in their future endeavors.
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Winning City Champions: Boston: City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, City Councilor Kenzie Bok, City Councilor Lydia Edwards, City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George (for Mayor) City Councilor Michelle Wu (for Mayor), Tania Anderson, Kendra Hicks, Stephen McBride, Mary Tamer; Framingham: Mayor Yvonne Spicer, City Councilor Adam Steiner; Gloucester: Jason Grow Lynn: Jared Nicholson; Malden: City Councilor Stephen Winslow, Carey McDonald, Karen Colón Hayes, Ari Taylor; Medford: City Councilor Zac Bears, City Councilor Nicole Morell, Abigail Dickson, Kit Collins, David Todisco, Justin Tseng; Newton: Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, City Councilor Alicia Bowman, City Councilor Victoria Danberg, City Councilor Andreae Downs, City Councilor Becky Grossman, City Councilor Bill Humphrey, City Councilor Tarik Lucas, City Councilor Emily Norton, City Councilor Holly Ryan, Barry Bergman, Andrea Kelley, Meryl Kessler; Amy Mah Sangiolo; Salem: Mayor Kim Driscoll, City Councilor Megan Riccardi, Melissa Faulkner; Somerville: City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, City Councilor Jesse Clingan, City Councilor Will Mbah (for Mayor), City Councilor Kristen Strezo, Katjana Ballantyne, Tessa Bridge, Willie Burnley Jr., Charlotte Kelly, Justin Klekota, Becca Miller, Beatriz Gómez Mouakad, Judy Pineda Neufeld, Jake Wilson; Worcester: City Councilor George Russell, Bill Coleman, Guillermo Creamer Jr., Thu Nguyen
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Jon Latino