Mission Hill City Councilor Josh Zakim will not face an opponent in either the City’s preliminary election Sept. 8 or the general election in November.
Meanwhile, there are only five candidates for the At-Large City Council race. That means there will not be a preliminary election for that race and all candidates will appear on the November ballot. The top four vote getters receive a seat on the Council. The candidates are Annisa Essaibi George, Current At-Large City Councilors Stephen Murphy, Michael Flaherty, Ayanna Pressley and Michelle Wu.
Zakim said in a phone interview that not having an opponent is something he does not “take for granted” and that he is “still knocking on doors and asking residents for their support.” He said he is “very proud of the work” his team has done. Zakim said they’ve been to every neighborhood in the district multiple times a week, working on constituent services and policy advocacy.
Zakim said during his term, he has learned that Mission Hill is a “real community” where everyone knows each other. He said that his office hours at Mike Donut’s is “one of the more fun ones.”
When asked about the challenges facing Mission Hill, Zakim replied that they are like everywhere else in the City: housing. He said there needs to be effective planning to ensure working-class people and families can continue to live in the community.
“I’m glad new buildings are going up, but I want to make sure people who have lived in their homes 30, 40, 50 years can continue to do so and that their kids and grandkids have an opportunity to raise their families on Mission Hill,” said Zakim.