South End resident John Moran, the only candidate left in the race, cruised to an easy victory in the State Special Election for the 9th Suffolk District state representative seat on Tuesday, May 2.
According to the city’s unofficial election results, Moran received 85.54 percent of the ballot (1,751 votes cast), compared to Amparo “Chary” Ortiz, who garnered 13.53 percent of the ballot (277 votes cast). (Ortiz, a Democrat, South End resident, and longtime BU School of Public Health administrator, suspended her campaign last month but still appeared on the ballot.) Another 19 voters, or .93 percent of the ballot, supported write-in candidates in the race instead.
Moran, a Democrat, was born into a large Irish family in Scranton, Pa. He earned an undergraduate degree from Earlham College, a small private liberal arts college in Richmond, Ind., before relocating to the Boston area to attend the Fletcher School at Tufts University, where he studied International Business.
Moran and his partner, Michael, moved to the South End in 1999, first on Waltham Street, before they purchased their home in Concord Square in 2006.
During his professional career, Moran worked for Liberty Mutual, Systems Evolution Inc., and Bose before his most recent position at the Cambridge biotech company, Biogen, where he led its Continuous Improvement Center for Excellence, an internal consulting group that helps staff learn and adapt to new technology and processes.
Since moving to the South End, Moran assumed a longtime leadership role with the Concord Square Association, a neighborhood community group. But it was his involvement in a proposed market-rate apartment development project at 115 Worcester St., adjacent to Concord Houses in the South End, that led to Moran’s continuing commitment to affordable housing.
“This campaign set out on a mission to build a coalition of neighbors, community leaders, family, friends and voters that share the same vision, to bring about better days for ALL members of our community, no matter your zip code,” Moran said in his prepared remarks. “And tonight, we take a step forward toward that vision, together. I look forward to delivering on my promise to ensure that the voices of this community are heard loud and clear on Beacon Hill. “
Moran continued: “They will hear from us on the housing crisis we must address. They will hear from us on the mental health and addiction epidemic plaguing our neighborhoods. They will hear from us that reproductive freedom is here to stay in Massachusetts, and that LGBTQ+ rights will be fiercely defended. And they will hear from us that the growing economic gap must be closed.”
In response to Moran’s victory in the election, Rep. Jay Livingstone wrote: “John proved throughout the campaign that he will be a hardworking, responsive public servant who will bring the values of the district to the State House. I look forward to working with him.”
Heading into the election, Moran had garnered multiple notable endorsements, including from Mayor Michelle Wu, as well as from Reps. Livingstone and Aaron Michlewitz, and from City Council President Ed Flynn and City Councilors at-Large Ruthzee Louijeune and Michael Flaherty.
Carol Lasky, newly named co-chair of the Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee, wrote: “The recent passing of Mel King was a reminder that there are big shoes to fill in representing the 9th Suffolk district. There are a lot of exciting opportunities for progress on Beacon Hill this session, from taking bolder action on climate change to strengthening our childcare infrastructure to addressing our housing crisis to (finally) fixing the T, and we look forward to working with Rep-elect Moran to get stuff done.”
Moran, who will succeed Jon Santiago as Suffolk 9th District state rep, will not face a Republican challenger in the May 30 General Election.