By Nathan Metcalf
A slow but steady trickle of 2,230 voters cast early ballots at one of the ten locations that were opened over the weekend for voting ahead of Boston’s Nov. 4 municipal election.
At Dorchester’s Richard J. Murphy School,185 residents cast ballots on either Saturday or Sunday.
With Mayor Wu’s reelection assured, early voters arriving at the K–8 school on Worrell Street described the at-large City Council race, with four seats and eight names on the ballot, as the contest that was keeping them engaged.
Those candidates include four incumbents, Julia Mejía, Erin J. Murphy, Henry Santana and Ruthzee Louijeune; three newcomers, Alexandra Valdez, Will Onuoha, and Marvin Mathelier; and a familiar face in Dorchester, Frank Baker, returning from a two-year hiatus after not seeking reelection to the District 3 seat he had held for 12 years.
“I think housing is the biggest issue facing Boston right now,” said Meghan Greeley, 42, a Pope’s Hill resident and Murphy School parent who was raking leaves for her volunteer group, the Murphy School Family Council, before going inside to vote.
She said she voted for incumbents Louijeune and Santana, as well as newcomers Onuoha and Mathelier.
“We’re homeowners,” Greeley said, “but if we want a thriving community, people have to be able to afford to live here.” Given that, she said she supported candidates aligned with Wu’s housing and education priorities.
“I was thrilled that Wu’s running unopposed,” she said. “She’s the right choice for the city.”
Not everyone agreed with Greeley’s take on things . Kevin M., a 55-year-old Savin Hill resident who declined to give his last name, said he voted only for Frank Baker, calling the former District 3 councillor “the one trying to get sense back into City Hall.”
He said the council has become “upside down” and mired in corruption, referring to the recent ethics scandal involving former Councillor Tania Fernandez Anderson. His bullet vote to back only Baker, rather than choosing up to four candidates, as voters can in the at-large race, helped to maximized his candidate’s share of support in a crowded field.
A lifelong Dorchester resident who said he grew up with Baker, Kevin cited crime and homelessness as his top concerns.
“Frank’s got a track record,” he said. “He’s done a great job.”
Ben Stone, 38, of Ashmont, said he voted for Louijeune, Onuoha, Santana, and Valdez, adding that he backed the latter two because they were endorsed by Abundant Housing Massachusetts, which advocates looser zoning to increase supply.
“They want more housing of all kinds,” said Stone, who is executive director of the Brookline Housing Authority.
Longtime Cedar Grove residents Thomas J. and Rita McCarthy said early voting’s weekend hours make civic
participation easier. “It’s convenient,” said Thomas, 76. “Being on a Sunday, you beat the line.”
The couple chose Louijeune, Mejía, Onuoha, and Mathelier — a split between incumbents and newcomers. Thomas described them as “Wu people,” adding, “I wanted to give two votes back to Wu.”
They praised the mayor’s leadership but worried about property taxes if Proposition 2½ were loosened or repealed.
“The city’s collecting plenty already,” Thomas said.
The McCarthys said aging school buildings remain their top concern.
“Tom and I volunteered recently in one of the elementary schools where they can’t drink out of the water bubblers because there is lead in the pipes, said Rita. “They have no gyms. They have no lunchrooms. They have these old buildings that have been around since I went to school in Boston.”
Among the campaign volunteers outside the Murphy School was Valdez’s father, Modesto Valdez, 52, of Mattapan, (shown below) who spoke about helping with his daughter’s first campaign.
“I feel so proud of her,” he said. “She’s a really nice person, very dedicated, very hard-working.”
Valdez said his daughter, who emigrated from the Dominican Republic as a child and grew up in Mattapan, has been committed to public service since she was young.
“She’s been serving the city almost her whole life,” he said. “Now she feels it’s time to give back even more to Boston.”
Not wanting to be outdone by the Valdezes, a volunteer for Will Onuoha phoned the candidate’s mother, Esther Onuoha, who hurried to the Murphy School for an interview.
Onuoha described her son as “a uniter” shaped by years of work under four Boston mayors, Tom Menino, Marty Walsh, Kim Janey, and Wu.
“He’s been serving this city for a long time,” she said. “He understands how it works, and he listens to everyone.”
The city’s Election Department put the weekend tally at the Murphy School at 112 ballots on Saturday and 73 on Sunday. Citywide, 1,203 ballots were cast on Saturday and 1,027 on Sunday.
More early voting opportunities are available this week at Boston City Hall, Dorchester’s Perkins Community Center (Tuesday, Oct. 28, 12-8 p.m.), and Florian Hall (Thursday, 12-8 p.m.).
Polls will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 4 from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. at all of the city’s precincts.
This story is part of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
This article was originally published on October 28, 2025.