Election Day 2025: Highlights from Municipal Elections Across Massachusetts
Last Tuesday, November 4, 2025, a variety of elections were held throughout the country. This election year is a municipal election year, meaning that many cities and towns across the US made important decisions surrounding local leadership.
In Massachusetts, 55 cities and towns held elections on Election Day. The timing of municipal elections depends on the area, with some towns opting to have elections earlier in the year. Local representative positions such as mayor, city councilor, and school committee members were voted on.
In Boston, the mayoral election was a hot topic as Mayor Michelle Wu ran virtually unopposed for her second term. In the preliminary elections, Wu held a significant lead over all of her opponents, including candidate Josh Kraft, who placed in a distant second. Kraft dropped out of the election not long after the preliminaries, and Wu was officially re-elected as mayor on election day.
Everett’s election got a lot of attention as City Councilor Robert Van Campen defeated long-term mayor Carlo DeMaria. DeMaria has served as mayor of Everett since 2008, but has recently caused much controversy after it was found he had been overpaid by $180,000 in bonus payments. These improper payments were paid over the span of 5 years and were found to be concealed by DeMaria and his staff.
Brockton elected City Councilor Moises Rodrigues as mayor, making him the first mayor of color Brockton has ever elected. Rodrigues is a Cape Verdean immigrant and a staunch community activist. Brockton has one of the largest populations of Cape Verdean people in the country.
In Somerville, Jake Wilson was elected as mayor of the city. Wilson’s opponent, Willie Burnley, a fellow at-large city councilor, put up a good fight but was ultimately defeated. Despite being opponents, the pair agreed on several policies. They both vehemently opposed ICE’s recent occupation in Somerville and had goals of working to mend the housing crisis. In his victory speech, Wilson emphasized these points and thanked his opponent for an excellent race.
Like many towns and cities across the country, several of the leaders elected leaned more towards the Democratic Party, a major shift in certain areas. The turnout nationally was very high for a municipal election, which have historically had very low numbers.
