With A Month To Go Before Boston's Mayoral Primary, Wu And Campbell Target Key Neighborhoods

City councilors and Boston mayoral candidates Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell criss-crossed the city campaigning amid steamy, summer weather over the weekend as the quickly approaching primary election heats up.

Campbell focused on Dorchester and Roxbury, where she launched a canvassing effort Sunday, knocking on doors in the neighborhood where Acting Mayor Kim Janey lives.

"We've got this!" Campbell told a small group of cheering volunteers and campaign staffers in Roxbury. "We can not slow down. I think we've door-knocked almost 3,000 doors this weekend."

Janey's supporters appear to be trying to consolidate Boston's Black vote behind the acting mayor. Last week, members of a group known as Wakanda II endorsed Janey.

“Kim Janey was the clear choice,” said Diane Wilkerson, a former state senator and leader of the group.

But on Sunday, Campbell, who is also Black, pushed back against what she called "the narrative that a Black candidate only attracts Black voters."

"Of course I'm going to [campaign] in the Black community — and of course I am a member of that community — spreading my message, connecting with those voters to earn their support," Campbell said. "But it's equally important to me to get out into other diverse communities — and there are many in the city of Boston — to also earn their support."

Michelle Wu is embracing the same idea, as she campaigned this past weekend in a number of neighborhoods including Brighton, Hyde Park, Chinatown, the North End, Mattapan, Roxbury and Dorchester.

"Issues of racial justice need to be at the forefront of every single mayoral candidate's agenda," Wu said.

But as her schedule of campaign events made clear, Wu's focus is citywide.

"No community is a monolith across many of the amazing demographics and neighborhoods in our city," she said.

In Dorchester, Wu visited a pop-up vaccination clinic to stress the importance of getting vaccinated — particularly in neighborhoods where rates are low.

"We just need to close the gaps in vaccinations — and we're in a race against the clock with the delta variant," Wu said. "So, I'm really encouraging people — and meeting people where they're at."

The mayoral field also includes City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George and the city's former economic development chief John Barros. The Sept. 14 primary will trim the field down to two.