Five Things to Know About Boston Mayor Michelle Wu

Boston mayor Michelle Wu held her first State of the City address on January 25. Her address notably covered the need for affordable housing and changes to the city’s urban planning strategy. “Together, we can build a Boston thatʼs more green than concrete,” she told an assembled audience in the city’s MGM Music Hall. “Where housing is a given, not a godsend, and mobility is the minimum, not a miracle. Where the things we build inspire—but donʼt define—us; and where each generation shines brighter than the last.”

Elected in November 2021, Wu is the first woman and first person of color to serve as Boston’s mayor. Here are five interesting things to know about the 38-year-old politician who is shaping the 24th-most populous city in the US:

#1.) Daughter of immigrants

Wu’s parents—Han and Yu-Min—immigrated from Taiwan shortly before she was born. Her father was a chemical engineer and had come to the US to join the graduate program at Illinois Institute of Technology. Wu’s parents barely knew any English at the time. As a young girl, Wu was tasked with acting as their interpreter when needed. ”They always made us feel that we could do anything, but whatever we chose, we had to be the best,” her sister, Sherelle Wu, said of her parents in an interview with New York Times reporter Ellen Barry.

#2.) Cared for ailing mother

Shortly after earning her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, Wu returned home to suburban Illinois to care for her mother, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. With her father living separately following her parents’ divorce, Wu became the primary parent to her 11-year-old sister. She opened a small tea shop in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood with her then-boyfriend Conor Pewarksi, who she would later marry in 2012. Wu eventually moved back to Boston, bringing her younger sister and mother with her.

#3.) Taught by Elizabeth Warren

While attending Harvard Law School, Wu made a bond with future Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, who taught contract law. Warren recalled being amazed by Wu’s story: that she was supporting her mother and younger sister while going to school full time. “Michelle was doing something in law school that, in 25 years of teaching, I never knew another student to be doing,” Warren told New York Times reporter Ellen Barry. In 2012, Wu joined Warren’s Senate campaign as a political and constituency group organizer.

#4.) Became City Council President

In 2013, Wu won a seat on Boston’s City Council. Three years later, she became the first Asian-American and the first woman of color ever to be elected as the body’s president. As a city councilor, Wu “advocated for language access, small-time business owners, and divestment of state retirement funds from fossil fuels,” wrote Harvard Crimson staff writer Samuel E. Liu.

#5.) Received pushback on Covid-19 regulations

In December 2021, the newly elected Boston mayor announced that proof of vaccination would be required in order for individuals to enter many indoor spaces. Following Wu’s announcement, her social media was flooded with racist and xenophic abuse. “This is not new, in my political career, but it has been quite intense over the last couple days,” she told GBH News’ Adam Reilly. “Because there’s been, it seems like, a national descent of hate … across various social media channels and flooding into the city’s 311 call center.”