When two old cities chose two brand new leaders, they gave their constituents something to smile about. Michelle Wu in Boston and Eric Adams in New York both made history on November 2nd.

By Axel Szlasa – 6th grade

Dressed in a bright red dress, speaking with emphasis in every word, the night of her victory speech, Michelle Wu thanked everybody who helped her out: Climate change groups, religious and political leaders, and other people who encouraged her campaign. That night, she became the first woman of color to lead the famous New England city.

She talked about uniting Boston and making everyone a large family. Michelle Wu was born January 14th, 1985, in Chicago, Illinois. She descends from Taiwanese immigrants and went to Harvard in Massachusetts. As soon as she entered office, she told the Boston Globe, “We have so much work to do.” Michelle Wu is at the same time the first female mayor, the first non white mayor, and the first Asian mayor of Boston. She also is the first mayor of Boston not being born in the city since 1925. She has been part of the Boston City Council for 7 years. Michelle Wu said she was going to push back on gentrification and impose rent control. Overall, she is popular in Boston and feels at home there.

Two hundred and sixteen miles south, the same night, Eric Adams, dressed in a white shirt with a big smile on his face, was jovial when he found out he would become mayor of New York City. He is entering mayor with job losses, income inequality, rent and house prices skyrocketing, and a broken transportation system. 

Eric Adams was born in Brownsville, NY on September 1st, 1960. First, he started out as a police officer. In the 1990s, he started setting his mind to become mayor of New York City. He has not been very important politically since 2014, when he became Brooklyn Borough president. He is only the 18th Brooklyn Borough president. He is only the 2nd Black Mayor of New York City, after David Dinkens (from 1990 to 1993). Finally, although he comes from not much economically, he has worked his way up and he has become the 2nd black mayor of New York.