Dear Boston,

Thank you for trusting me to be your next Mayor. I can't wait to work alongside you to truly make the city we call home a city that works for everyone.

Election Night | November 2, 2021

Growing up, I never thought I would run for office. As the daughter of immigrants, I experienced firsthand the barriers so many of us face. My parents came to this country with no money and not speaking English. At age 5, I found myself serving as my parents’ interpreter.

And when my mom began struggling with mental illness as I was finishing college, I became her caregiver and raised my sisters. We found ourselves in the depths of a family crisis. It felt like we were alone, invisible, and powerless.

Boston—its resources, its opportunities, its communities—helped save us. But in that moment of crisis, I also learned how disconnected our government can be when you most need help.

Whether it was fighting to get my sisters what they needed in schools, opening a neighborhood small business, or navigating BPS with my own children, we met barriers from city agencies that were supposed to provide support. And when I met others in the same situation—caring for a family member, raising kids, trying to open a business—I heard the same frustrations of fighting a system that wasn’t designed to work for everyone.

In my ten years in City Hall—first as an intern for Mayor Menino, then as a City Councilor At-Large—we've redefined what city government can do to fix these broken systems. Together, we won paid parental leave for Boston city workers. We passed the most protective rental ordinance in the country to stop corporations like Airbnb from pushing out Boston's renters. We prioritized language access in City proceedings so every Bostonian can participate in our political process.

We did all that—and so much more.

This work is deeply personal for me. As a mom to six-year-old Blaise and four-year-old Cass, every day I feel the urgency of families fighting the system to hear us, and to build communities that are healthy, safe, and resilient. Now’s the time for us to lead.

The fight continues,

Michelle