Fresh off the endorsement of formal rival Kim Janey, Boston mayoral hopeful Michelle Wu Tuesday received a boost from the Arroyo family when Felix D. Arroyo Sr., Suffolk County Register of Probate and his son, City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, threw their support behind Wu. The nod could jolt to her campaign among Latino voters and with loyalists in the political dynasty's neighborhood base of Hyde Park.
Wu beat the Arroyos’ favored candidate Janey in the low-turnout preliminary election by winning more than 30% of the vote earlier this month.
At the endorsement, father and son said they were “delighted” to align with Wu ahead of the Nov. 2 election.
“We will have a real mayor, a mayor who cares for everyone in the city to progress and to develop,” Felix told reporters.
Ricardo, who serves alongside Wu and Annissa Essaibi George on the City Council, said the city’s Latino voters will prioritize education and small business support when they vote. Wu, he added, is best suited to address inequities throughout the city that predate the tenures of Wu and his father.
The endorsement comes as the campaign heads into its final three weeks. As alliances have shifted, so have both Wu and Essaibi George’s campaign strategies, now focusing heavily on courtship of the city’s communities of color.
Over the weekend, Wu received the blessing of former rival Kim Janey — a first move to entice Black voters into Wu’s camp.
At the same time, Essaibi George has made a steady stream of in-person and virtual appearances throughout Boston’s ethnic neighborhoods. It’s part of her "Listen & Learn" tour to "inform" her equity, inclusion and justice agenda.
While both candidates have striven to up their profiles in neighborhoods throughout the city, the blitz-the-neighborhood campaign style is one intended to emphasize Essaibi George's track record as a reliable presence at community events.
As Wu prepared to receive the Arroyos’ endorsement, Essaibi George appeared at a gathering of Vietnamese seniors in Dorchester’s Field's Corner.
Debbie Ho, executive director of the Chinatown Main Streets business bolstering program, helped to coordinate Essaibi George’s visit.
“It went wonderful,” said Ho, pointing to Essaibi George's gift of sweet rolls for the attendees.
Ho, who is no longer a Boston voter, said Essaibi George is the “only one” among the mayoral candidates who has visited with the community “many times over the years.”
“I think highly of it,” Ho said of Essaibi George’s consistent visits. “I feel some of these other candidates are self-serving because they don’t have the thought to visit the center and ask what people need.”
A day before, Essaibi George held a closed virtual discussion with Haitian community leaders.
She is scheduled to campaign Wednesday in the heavily Latino area of East Boston.
