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Here’s who will be on the ballot in November’s 2025 City Council election
The preliminary election narrowed down candidates before the general election Nov. 4.
While Boston residents weighed mayoral candidates during Tuesday’s preliminary election, residents also picked which names should be on the ballot in November for City Council seats.
The preliminary election narrowed down candidates before the general election Nov. 4.
The councilors who represent districts 3, 6, 8, and 9 are running unopposed, and were not featured in the preliminary election.
Here are the candidates that will move forward to the general election on Nov. 4, according to the City of Boston’s unofficial election results as of Wednesday morning.
At-large city councilor
With Frank Baker attempting to return to the council and going neck-and-neck with incumbent Henry Santana, some have kept a close eye on the at-large city councilor race.
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All four incumbents ran for re-election, and as of 11 p.m., Ruthzee Louijeune was the front-runner. Eight candidates will progress to the general election; voters will get to choose four candidates in November.
Ruthzee Louijeune
Louijeune finished first in the race for at-large city councilor, with 18.71% of the vote.
An incumbent, she was first elected in 2021 and was unanimously elected Council President in her second term. She still serves as Council President today. Louijeune went to Harvard and previously worked for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
She is the first Haitian-American to serve on the Council.
Julia M. Mejia
Mejia was a close second in the race for at-large city councilor with 17.37% of the vote.
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An incumbent, she was first elected to the City Council in 2019 by a single vote.
Erin J. Murphy
Murphy is an incumbent, and has served on the City Council since 2021. She is considered a moderate voice on the Council, and has called for more transparency from the Wu administration.
Murphy came in third after Louijeune and Mejia, with 16.03% of the vote.
Henry A. Santana
Santana garnered 12.61% of the vote, coming in fourth.
Santana is an incumbent who was elected to the City Council in 2023. A Dominican immigrant, he served as the director of Wu’s Office of Civic Organizing.
Frank K. Baker
Baker drew 10.79% of the at-large votes.
Baker, a Dorchester native, served on the Council representing District 3 for 12 years. He decided against running for reelection in 2023.
Alexandra E. Valdez
Valdez had 7.79% of the votes, placing sixth.
An immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Valdez currently serves as director of Boston’s Office of Cultural Affairs. She said she has worked at City Hall for 10 years.
Marvin Mathelier
Mathelier had 5.69% of the votes as of Wednesday morning.
A small business owner and a member of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, he is in the Marine Corps Reserve.
Will Onuoha
Onuoha drew 4.61% of the votes.
He currently serves as assistant general counsel and director of health and safety for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, and has worked in City Hall for almost 20 years.
District 1 city councilor
Gabriela Coletta Zapata
Coletta Zapata was set to secure a spot on November’s ballot in a landslide with 76.77% of the votes.
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An incumbent and East Boston native, she joined City Council in 2022 after winning an election to replace then-City Councilor Lydia Edwards. Edwards is now a state senator.
Andretti R. McDuffie-Stanziani
McDuffie-Stanziani was miles behind Zapata with 14.78% of the votes, but further ahead of Ricardo Rodriguez, who garnered just 7.7%.
McDuffie-Stanziani said on social media he would not be actively campaigning for the seat.
Rodriguez described himself as a Republican when filing paperwork to run, but does not have a website or social media related to his City Council campaign.
District 2 city councilor
Edward Flynn
Incumbent Ed Flynn triumphed over his competitors, with 86.41% of the votes.
The son of former Mayor Raymond Flynn, Flynn has served on the City Council since 2017. He is known for being an outspoken member of the Council, and is vocal about the Mass. and Cass area.
Charles Jeffrey Delaney
Delaney garnered 6.59% of the votes, narrowly edging out Brian Foley’s 6.16%.
Delaney does not appear to have a website or social media profiles related to his campaign for City Council.
District 4 city councilor
Brian Worrell
Worrell received 81.42% of the District 4 votes.
An incumbent who was elected in 2021, Worrell is a small business owner and known for chairing the Ways and Means Committee.
Helen Cameron
Cameron, with 11.52% of the votes, trailed far behind Worrell.
Listed as a Republican on paperwork, Cameron does not appear to have a website or social media profiles related to her campaign for City Council.
District 5 city councilor
Enrique Pepén
Pepén dominated the race, with 63.54% of the votes.
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An incumbent who was first elected to the City Council in 2023, Pepén worked for former City Councilor Tito Jackson and former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy II.
Winston Pierre
Pierre had garnered 23.44% of the vote, almost double of runner-up Sharon L. Hinton’s 12.58%
Pierre is a Haitian immigrant, and has experience with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and the Boston Police Cadet Program.
District 7 city councilor
Said Ahmed
Ahmed drew 1,155 votes, or 15.72% of the total votes cast, narrowly coming in first in District 7.
Ahmed is an immigrant from Somalia who was a track star as a BPS student and later ran professionally. He spent 15 years working in the school district, and is the founder of Boston United Track and Cross Country Club.
Miniard Culpepper
Culpepper joins Ahmed in advancing to the general election from a crowded field in District 7. He drew 1,102 votes, or 15% of the total votes cast. The next-highest vote-getter, Mavrick Afonso, lost to Culpepper by just 20 votes.
The Rev. Miniard Culpepper is a senior pastor at Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Roxbury. He has experience as a housing advocate, including work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Editor’s note: This article was updated Wednesday morning to more accurately reflect the unofficial election results.
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