Boston elects Wu in break with tradition

BOSTON (AP) — Boston voters for the first time elected a woman and an Asian American as mayor, tapping City Councilor Michelle Wu to serve in the city’s top political office.

Throughout its long history, Boston had previously only elected white men as mayor.

Wu defeated fellow Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George on Tuesday. The two Democrats faced off against each other after defeating several other mayoral hopefuls in a September preliminary election.

The election of Wu, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan, marks another break from tradition in Boston. Wu grew up in Chicago, only moving to Boston to attend Harvard University and Harvard Law School. Boston typically elects mayors with lifelong Boston roots.