On the evening of Nov. 5, Marty Walsh won the mayoral race against his opponent John R. Connolly. Both candidates were Democrats, however the support for Walsh proved to secure his victory in the mayoral race. Walsh came out on top by winning 52 percent of the vote compared to Connolly’s 48 percent.
Walsh, 46, was raised in Dorchester and is a former union laborer. For a short time, Walsh was a construction worker before securing a job with a union. Ultimately, he became a leader of the Boston Building Trades, which was a position he left to devote his efforts to his campaign to be Boston’s next mayor.
Walsh built his campaign on the theme of an “everyman” who empathizes with the problems of everyday people residing in Boston.
Outside labor groups contributed $1 million into the campaign to support Walsh.These groups included the AFL-CIO affiliated labor union federation called Working America, as well as the Service Employees International Union. Unions representing nurses, firefighters and others also donated according to reports with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
At Walsh’s victory party at Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel he stated, “For this kid from Taft Street in Dorchester, you made Boston a place where dreams come true. Together we’re going to make Boston a place where dreams can come true for every child, for every person.”
In an interview Walsh recently gave, he said, “my first goal will be getting a transition team in place. And that once I’m in office I will be focusing on education, economic development around public safety and creating more opportunities for making sure our seniors feel safe.”
Marty Walsh will be the 54^th mayor of Boston and assume the position after Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has held the office for 20 years.