To the Editor:
The recent Reporter commentary on the City Council race by Greg Maynard (described by the newspaper as “a political consultant and former Boston resident”) warrants a response.

The conclusion that “this year’s council races could become a referendum on (Mayor Wu’s) tenure as mayor” is hardly insightful. Every City Council race is a referendum on the mayor, specifically because they always intervene. This has been the case for every mayor since we have had an elected City Council, and this year is no exception.

Further, to conclude (from one’s home outside the city), that Erin Murphy, the at-large Councilor most present and visible in our neighborhoods and most vocal on the issues that matter most to city residents, is “seen as the weakest at-large incumbent” is baseless and uninformed. It’s also an assertion not backed up by any evidence.

I have known Erin for decades, and the word “weak” has never been used to describe her. Before she even ran for the Council, she had raised four incredible children, inspired thousands of bright young learners in our public schools in her many years as a teacher, and literally run marathons to raise awareness and much needed funding for those battling addiction.

Erin’s campaign - both the first and second - were emblematic of her work on the Council. She shows up. Everywhere, every neighborhood, all the time. She listens, she collaborates and she takes and inspires action.

Through her work on the Council, she has stood up for Boston’s families - especially its school children and working parents, for Boston’s elderly, for Boston’s recovery community, for Boston’s veterans and first responders, for Boston’s marginalized. No one works harder for this city and its residents. She answers constituent calls, no matter the hour or the neighborhood.

Erin championed parents’ school safety concerns and sponsored multiple hearings to address a variety of issues families in our City face regarding youth jobs, safe parks, and BCYF pool and camp closures. She voted against Council budget cuts of 14 percent to Veterans Services and more than $32 million to first responders.

As Chair of the Public Health, Homelessness, & Recovery Committee, Erin advocated for programs that invest in prevention and long-term recovery, more funding for mental health supports for our youth, adults, and seniors. She joined the redistricting suit that led to a vastly improved map that safeguards the voting rights of all neighborhoods. She successfully advocated for a constituent in order to get an electric car charging station in his driveway.

Erin worked with neighborhoods and stakeholders across the city – from Mattapan to West Roxbury to Charlestown to Dorchester – to push back against top-down policies imposed by municipal bureaucrats that override local sentiment. As an LGBTQIA+ champion, she has routinely filed and supported legislation advancing civil rights for all residents. Erin has fought the scourge of addiction, without seeking attention, and with the personal experience, the resolve and the passion to win this fight.

Erin is just getting started. In her next term, we can count on her to continue to respond to constituents, to show up in every neighborhood, to advocate for our city’s most vulnerable, and to be a reasonable voice that we can count on at City Hall.

Kathleen Chardavoyne
Boston