By Seth Daniel
Mayor Martin Walsh made a strong showing in the Back Bay, South End and Fenway on Tuesday night in the Preliminary Election, getting nearly three times more votes than second-place finisher and Councilor Tito Jackson.
Vote totals for the 29 precincts in area showed that Walsh scored 3,929 votes to Jackson’s 1,942 – showing that the neighborhoods got behind Walsh this election season.
Walsh won every 26 of the 29 precincts in the area, and citywide finished with 63 percent of the vote to Jackson’s 29 percent. Mayor Walsh won 212 out of 255 precincts citywide. Jackson won two precincts in the area – one in the Fenway, one at Worcester Square/Orchard Gardens, and tied in one at Fenway/Kenmore.
“We achieved a great result tonight,” said Walsh in his victory speech in Dorchester’s IBEW Hall. “I think about the young woman at a T stop in Jamaica Plain, who let me know she’s four months sober. Or the little girl who asked me: ‘Is the president going to make my mom leave the country?’ Not if I have anything to say about it. I was a kid from an immigrant family in Dorchester. I needed a second chance. And I got to live my dream. So I will never stop fighting until every single Bostonian can live their dream as well.
“For the next six weeks, we will continue this conversation in every corner of every neighborhood in our great city,” he continued. “We’re going to keep listening to the needs, the hopes, and the dreams of every Bostonian. We’re going to keep showing how much we love our city, and keep working to make it even better.”
Walsh also congratulated the candidates that did not advance, including Robert Cappucci and Joe Wiley.
He also congratulated Jackson on his advancement to the Nov. 7 election.
“I congratulate Councilor [Tito] Jackson on advancing, and I look forward to six weeks of positive conversation in all the neighborhoods of Boston,” he said.
The Jackson campaign said that the results from the Preliminary were a victory for Team Tito and the City of Boston – with him moving ahead to challenge Walsh on Nov. 7.
“ All city residents are one step closer to reclaiming City Hall; ensuring the advancement of his/her family; and most importantly improving the quality of their lives,” said Jackson. “Our focus and drive has always been deeply rooted in the desire to uplift all of Boston. As we move forward to the general election, we will continue to work and build the relationships that matter most. We will be meeting and collaborating with all neighborhoods and communities across the city of Boston, in an effort to work together and ensure a plan that is both culturally responsive and addresses the unique needs of each of Boston’s 23 neighborhoods. Together we can and will be the change that the city so desperately needs. We Are Boston.”
Walsh’s biggest wins in the area came in Ward 5 Precinct 1, which encompasses Bay Village, with part of the Back Bay and Beacon Hill. In that precinct, Walsh beat Jackson five to one – 589 to 139.
Another notable win was in Ward 3 Precinct 7 in the South End’s Cathedral High polling place. There, Walsh beat Jackson 388 to 158.
St. Botolph also came out big for Walsh, with the mayor winning 102 to 48 in Ward 4 Precinct 8.
Walsh did lose the precinct that encompasses Worcester Square, and that could be attributed in part to his handling of the opiate crisis that has rocked that neighborhood in the last two years.
However, also notable, is that Walsh did very well in Lower Roxbury/Madison Park, where Jackson was expected to be strong. In Ward 9 Precinct 4, at the Madison Park polling place, Walsh beat Jackson 144 to 102.
The City Election final will take place on Nov. 7.