The ballot order has been determined for the city’s upcoming preliminary election for mayor, citywide city council, and in select district seats. The sequence is decided by a lottery conducted in public at the Election Department in City Hall. Mayor Wu snagged the pole position in the four-way contest for the city’s top job, with challengers Josh Kraft, Robert Cappucci, and Domingos DaRosa appearing after her name in that order.
Frank Baker’s name will appear at the top of the 10-person citywide council ballot. The order continues as follows: Rachel Nicole Miselman, Alexandra E. Valdez, Will Onuoha, Erin J. Murphy, Henry A. Santana, Yves Mary Jean, Ruthzee Louijeune, Marvin Dee Mathelier, and Julia M. Mejia.
The top eight vote-getters in the Sept. 9 preliminary election will move on to the final election on Nov. 4, when voters will pick four citywide winners.
Early voting for the preliminary election is scheduled to begin on Sat., Aug. 30, which is also the deadline to register to vote in the election. The specific locations for early voting, which will also be held throughout the week of Sept. 2-Sept. 5 have not yet been made public.
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Juwan Skeens, one of two candidates challenging District 4 city councillor Brian Worrell in September’s preliminary election, took aim at the incumbent during a fiery appearance before the Codman Square Neighborhood Council’s (CSNC) June meeting.
With a bandaged hand that he says was burned at a BBQ grill recently, Skeens said the mishap served as a reminder about the abrupt closure of Carney Hospital last summer. With the Dorchester hospital now shuttered, Skeens said he had to go to Milton Hospital for treatment. The staff there was great, he said, “but the wait was brutal. That’s what underfunded healthcare looks like in our neighborhoods — and we must do better. Not later – now.”
The Corbett Street resident also accused Worrell of poaching his idea to locate a satellite Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campus in Boston.
“Since 2023, I’ve called to expand Boston’s free college program and build an HBCU right here in Massachusetts, but now after three years into his position, the current councillor wants to run with the idea and call it his own,” Skeens fumed.
“That’s not Black Male advancement; that’s innovation imitation… Councillor, if you’re out of ideas, just say it.”
Worrell was at the meeting earlier, but had to leave and was present online during Skeens’s speech – though he didn’t respond at the time. Later, he told The Reporter that “this proposal has been a longstanding effort, first pushed by members of the HBCU community and community advocates. I am proud to have been working with those partners over the last year on this updated HBCU proposal. I think it’s a critical initiative for our city and I’m glad to hear my opponent supports it as well.”
In addition to Worrell and Skeens, a third person—Helen Cameron, a Topliff Street resident— is also seeking the District 4 seat that Worrell, a Columbia Road resident, has held since 2022.
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At-large candidate Will Onuoha introduced himself at the same CSNC meeting. The Mission Hill native who now lives in Dorchester has served in a variety of positions with the city and federal government – particularly in the housing sector – he now is assistant general counsel for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC). Onuoha said his four priorities include housing, education, Mass. and Cass problems, and public safety.
“Boston is ridiculously expensive to live in and one thing about our city is the way things are going; development is happening and people can’t afford it – even seniors can’t afford to live in Boston,” he said. “There is a way to counter that.”
