In a press conference hosted for college journalists on Oct. 27th, Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu addressed her key issues and discussed how they would impact the city’s young people. 

“We are in a moment of generational crisis and impact,” Wu said. “The decisions we make in the next three to five years will impact the next three to five generations.”

During the conference, Wu touched on some of the issues that impact city residents, including affordable housing, police reform, action against climate change and combating the opioid crisis, sharing progressive plans for each. 

As a member of Boston’s city council since January 2014, Wu has served as an emblem of progress. She was the first Asian American woman to serve on the council, the first councilor to give birth while serving and the first woman of color and first Asian American president of the council. 

The candidate spoke about her pride as a member of the Asian American Pacific Islander community and how honored she is to be a part of a trend of diverse local leaders in the past few years. Wu stressed how essential “solidarity with other communities of color” is to her as both a leader and a person. 

Wu said that her campaign itself was full of firsts as well. After nearly 14 months on the trail, she is convinced that she and her team have seen the full course of the pandemic. Wu attributes her campaign’s success thus far to “creativity and flexibility.” 

Wu shared her belief that face-to-face contact with voters is “more important than ever” to connect with them in the time of COVID-19. She also reflected on the safety protocols she and her team developed to keep themselves and prospective voters healthy while door-knocking: masking up and socially distancing when speaking to residents.

The city councilor discussed her inclusion of young perspectives in her campaign through Youth for Wu, a student group who phonebanked, canvassed and attended rallies in support of her campaign. 

She plans to continue working with the students of Boston should she win on election day. Wu voiced her administration’s unique objective to incorporate youth activists as a catalyst for change “across all departments,” rather than merely for issues regarding the public school system. 

Wu says that “turnout will determine the outcome of this race” and encourages young voters to show up at the polls on Tuesday. 

Early voting for the municipal election began on Oct. 23 and ran until Oct. 29. Voting opens at 7 a.m. on election day, Nov. 2, and closes at 8 p.m. Find your polling location here.