Michelle Wu Sworn In as Boston's First Elected Woman and First Mayor of Color

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Michelle Wu is sworn in as Boston's first elected woman mayor and first person of color elected mayor in the city's 391-year history. Associate Justice Myung John of the Boston Municipal Court administered the three-part oath of office Wednesday in the Boston City Council chamber, with City Council President Pro Tempore Matt O'Malley presiding before an audience that included Governor Charlie Baker, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. Outgoing Acting Mayor Kim Janey, in remarks before the oath, traced the milestone to Mel King's 1983 coalition campaign and Ayanna Pressley's election as the first woman of color on the city council, saying, "I am so proud to call you Madam Mayor." In her inaugural address, Wu cited a Mattapan constituent named Brandon, whose bus commute to Roxbury Community College was eased by the city's fare-free 28 bus program, as evidence that equitable city services deliver concrete justice, and pledged to bring City Hall "into our neighborhoods, block by block, street by street."