By Andrew Slade, For the Gavel -

In an extremely competitive local race, Newton residents today elected Boston College graduate Setti Warren to serve for the next four years as mayor. Warren (D) began his campaign over a year ago, ultimately defeating State Representative Ruth Balser (D).
With polls having closed just hours ago, and with all precincts reporting, results show Warren with 11,210 votes to Balser’s 10,747. That equates to a margin of victory of just 463 votes (about two percent of all votes cast) for the former New England Director of FEMA and Deputy State Director for Senator John Kerry.

Today’s election makes Warren the first African-American mayor in Newton’s history. Balser, had she won, would have been Newton’s first female mayor.

During the campaign, Warren discussed his desire to foster a stronger relationship between the city of Newton and the BC community. He spoke of offering a “fresh perspective” and a plan to reform City Hall. Over the course of the campaign, Warren knocked on the doors of over 10,000 residents.

Turnout in this off-year election was said to be steady with no major voting problems to report.

When sworn in this January, Mayor-elect Warren will replace incumbent Mayor David Cohen (D) who did not run this year, having lost popularity after the cost of the Newton North High School construction project reached nearly $200 million.

Warren was endorsed by the College Democrats of Massachusetts.

By Sue Byun, For the Gavel -

Boston College Students for Workers Justice held a teach-in titled “Students Enact Change” on Nov. 2. The primary purpose of the teach-in, which involved a panel of speakers and a Q&A session, was to inform the public about the issue and its significance to the BC community at large. Continue Reading