For the first time in two decades, Boston has a new mayor.
Boston City Councilor John R. Connolly conceded the Boston mayoral election to State Representative Martin J. Walsh around 9:30PM Tuesday night.
Walsh won the Boston mayoral race by a margin of approximately 3,300 votes, collecting 51 percent of the vote with 100 percent of the precincts reporting, according to the Boston Elections Department.
Walsh’s challenger, Boston City Councilor John R. Connolly, earned 48 percent of the vote. Voter turnout was relatively high compared to recent municipal elections at just over 40 percent.
The election of Walsh, a 46-year-old lifelong resident of Boston and former union official, marks a new political era as the city’s first new mayor in 20 years.
In his victory speech, Walsh said President Barack Obama called to congratulate him on his win. He promised a City Hall that "truly reflects" all of Boston.
"They say it takes a village to raise a child, well it takes a whole city to make a man," he said to a crowd of his supporters at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston Tuesday night.
Mayor Thomas Menino, 70, announced his decision not to run for re-election in March.
Listen to WGBH News' continuing coverage of election night here, follow updates here.
