REMINDER: Recount being sought in Boston City Council District 7 race after Mavrick Afonso finishes 20 votes shy of 2nd place
Rodney Singleton
Recount being sought in Boston City Council District 7 race after Mavrick Afonso finishes 20 votes shy of 2nd place
Mavrick Afonso, running for Boston City Council District 7, passed out campaign cards during the Roxbury Unity Parade in Boston in July. Pat Greenhouse/Globe StaffDistrict 7 candidate Mavrick Afonso is formally requesting a recount of last week’s preliminary election in the crowded race to succeed federally convicted Tania Fernandes Anderson on the Boston City Council, Afonso’s campaign announced Monday.
Afonso, who works for the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, came in third in last week’s preliminary election with just 20 fewer votes than the second place finisher, according to the city’s unofficial election results.
Former track and field star and current coach Said Ahmed earned 1,155 votes last week, while attorney and senior pastor the Rev. Miniard Culpepper claimed 1,102 votes, according to the city’s unofficial tally. The two were set to advance to November’s general election, a result Afonso — who got 1,082 votes in the preliminary — is now seeking to contest given the tight margin between him and Culpepper.
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“With so much at stake for District 7, voters deserve certainty that every ballot was counted correctly,” Afonso said in a statement Monday. “This isn’t about politics, it’s about protecting the integrity of our democracy. The fact that other candidates and community leaders are united proves that fairness matters more than campaign lines.”
Several other candidates who ran for the District 7 spot, the only open seat on last week’s preliminary election ballot, support Afonso’s recount request, his campaign said.
Fellow District 7 candidates Said Abdikarim, Samuel Hurtado, and Wawa Bell are helping Afonso collect the necessary signatures for his recount petition, which his campaign will file with the Boston Election Department Monday, according to the Afonso campaign.
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“This race is far too close to leave to chance,” Abdikarim said in a statement shared by the Afonso campaign.
“A transparent recount will allow us to respect the voter’s voices, and allow the District to move onto November,” Hurtado added in a statement.
Culpepper fully supports a recount in light of how close Tuesday’s results were, he told The Boston Globe in a statement Monday. But he said he remains confident the recount will be consistent with the city’s unofficial tally, and that his campaign will move on to November.
“Every voter deserves the assurance that their voice was heard and their ballot counted,” Culpepper wrote in the statement. “What matters most is protecting trust in this process.”
Ahmed, in a statement Monday evening, also said he respects Afonso’s right to request a recount, but is confident he will retain his first place spot.
The District 7 position had the most crowded field of candidates out of all the races on last Tuesday’s ballot, with 11 people vying for the seat. The district includes some of the city’s most diverse and historically disenfranchised neighborhoods, including Roxbury, and parts of Dorchester and the South End.
Fernandes Anderson, who previously made history as the first Muslim and formerly undocumented person to be elected to the council, decided not to run for reelection after agreeing to plead guilty to federal corruption charges earlier this year.
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Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of votes Afonso received in Tuesday’s preliminary election. He got 1,082 votes, according to the city’s unofficial results. The Globe regrets the error.
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.g...@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.
Rodney Singleton
Mavrick Afonso is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: MFA Recount Training
Time: Sep 19, 2025 05:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86516258436?pwd=0OtuVBm2mM7TnXC1EzDw0nwKSmO94o.1
Meeting ID: 865 1625 8436
Passcode: 0SW6c8
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On Sep 18, 2025, at 4:14 PM, Rodney Singleton <rodne...@gmail.com> wrote:
Rodney Singleton
Mr. Singleton,
Thank you for your email. I am honored to be part of a grand coalition of people to support this recount. My brother, WaWa Bell, is also part of this effort and is supportive of Mr. Afonso's request for a recount.
In Solidarity
Said Abdikarim
Rodney Singleton
Rodney is being kind, or diplomatic, or both!. The recount today was scheduled for 8:30 am-3:00 pm. Due to a series of delays, including finding one of Ward 4 precinct's seal broken when they went into the vault to retrieve the ballots and 16 ballots missing which had not been found when we left, the actual recount never started. We never recounted one vote! The great news is that we had an awesome turnout of volunteers to make sure the Dy ballots are counted correctly. The recess was finally called due to a water main break at 12:30 pm. 4 hours after the scheduled recount was to begin! I think the water break saved them from a total mess today. I urge you to attend and volunteer tomorrow. We will probably lose some volunteers from today but we want to make sure we have enough observers, especially since we already know some ballots are missing. We must get this right for D7!Dianne
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Rodney Singleton
I just need to take a minute to remind people that the caution, that’s something is rotten in Denmark, clearly or actually describes the status of things here in Boston.The idea that the water main, or the sewer pipe break or whatever broke was already in place before Hundreds of volunteers waited around four hours. only to be told that they would have to come back on a Sunday is ridiculous.To be told that we could no longer continue with the process of the recount, after 4 hours of procrastination, leaves, one to wonder was the overload of crap coming out of City Hall. The reason the sewer line burst in the first placeAll able body lovers of justice, workers for freedom and committed leaders in the fight for what is right, in the memory of my sister MukIya Baker Gomez, should make every effort possible to try and be back at City Hall, even if you have to wear your wading boots, to make sure this recount is done.From an unprecedented delay, to the question of missing ballots, we have an obligation to our community and ourselves to make sure this recount is done…properly.I know that your God/our God will understand that this task, left with us has called us from our usual role of phrase and worship. God will give us grace. And in the name of the God, which you serve, I asked that you make the effort to be present tomorrow morning, Sunday, September 21, 2025, back at the City Hall of Boston, to complete the task we began in Faith.Peace and blessings on you all.Louis Elisa,President, GTNA,D7 council memberOn Sep 20, 2025, at 5:45 PM, Rodney Singleton <rodne...@gmail.com> wrote:
Guilty as charged, Dianne. I was being kind. Perhaps too kind, where kindness wasn't warranted.Importantly, and notwithstanding water main breaks and happenstance that distract from the goal of an accurate count, we need to address uncovered anomalies and complete our recount.Grateful is a sentiment that should be expressed, as well. The turnout was amazing! Thank you all!But we need to maintain our momentum! Please volunteer tomorrow and engage a neighbor or two, or three to join you so we can get this right for our D7 constituents.Thanks again!-Rodney
On Sat, Sep 20, 2025 at 4:56 PM Dianne Wilkerson <newda...@gmail.com> wrote:
Rodney is being kind, or diplomatic, or both!. The recount today was scheduled for 8:30 am-3:00 pm. Due to a series of delays, including finding one of Ward 4 precinct's seal broken when they went into the vault to retrieve the ballots and 16 ballots missing which had not been found when we left, the actual recount never started. We never recounted one vote! The great news is that we had an awesome turnout of volunteers to make sure the Dy ballots are counted correctly. The recess was finally called due to a water main break at 12:30 pm. 4 hours after the scheduled recount was to begin! I think the water break saved them from a total mess today. I urge you to attend and volunteer tomorrow. We will probably lose some volunteers from today but we want to make sure we have enough observers, especially since we already know some ballots are missing. We must get this right for D7!Dianne
On Sat, Sep 20, 2025 at 3:19 PM Rodney Singleton <rodne...@gmail.com> wrote:
Thank you Said!Update:There was a water main break down at city hall this afternoon. Sadly, our recount efforts were interrupted and postponed until tomorrow morning, given the water to the city hall building had to be shut down.But there's always an opportunity, right! You can still participate in our recounting efforts. Here is how. Show up tomorrow at 8:15am at the Congress Street entrance to join us.-Rodney
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Rodney Singleton
Election workers sorted ballots during the recount at Boston City Hall. John Tlumacki/Globe StaffOn Saturday in City Hall, municipal Democracy was laid low by a more potent force: dozens of nonfunctioning toilets.
The day’s plans to carry out a recount in the races for mayor and a City Council district were temporarily dumped after a busted water main outside meant that it appeared nary a commode available there could flush. That meant City Hall could not support the recount, and everyone had to come back the next day — as long as it’s fixed.
“We expect to be back here at 9 a.m.,” Boston Elections Commission Chair Eneida Tavares said after breaking the news to the dozens who had gathered and waited for hours in the bowels of Boston City Hall but had seen no votes counted.
The recounts come at the request of two candidates, Domingos DaRosa in the mayoral contest and Mavrick Afonso in the District 7 council race. Each finished third in their respective campaigns and collected signatures to force another tally in an effort to advance to the general election.
Saturday morning brought an unusual scene. Boston’s infamous brutalist governmental building was sandwiched between a large water main break that had closed Congress Street and dozens of horses happily munching on hay as workers on City Hall Plaza readied Boston’s first rodeo in a century.
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Inside, a different horse race was expected to start at 9 a.m. with the beginning of the recount. But little appeared to happen for hours.
Around 30 election officials and volunteers sat quietly at folding tables set up on a lower level, armed with rulers and red pens as they prepared to count. And dozens of name-tag-spangled campaign volunteers milled about on an upper level, chomping on pizza as they waited to serve as observers at each table.
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Some workers took out ballots and began to sort them in preparation for the recount. A few wore gloves as they opened up large gray boxes and removed manila envelopes, and then, in turn, opened those envelopes to reveal the ballots.
But ultimately, after some time of sorting the ballots for counting — the recount is only happening for the political wards of the city where candidates seeking a new tally garnered enough signatures — Tavares dismissed everyone.
The water main break had knocked out the plumbing, meaning no toilets in City Hall were working, she told the crowd, gavel in hand. They’d try again Sunday, as long as the issue is fixed.
A water main broke on Congress Street by Boston City Hall on Saturday morning forcing the closure of the street. John Tlumacki/Globe StaffIt’s unclear exactly how long the count will take, though a painstaking recount of the full city during the 2019 general election lasted three days, and less than a third of the city is being recounted here.
After Tavares’s announcement, Alfonso, who’s pushing for a recount in the District 7 race, rallied his supporters.
“We are invested in this process, and we will be back tomorrow,” he told the Globe a few minutes later.
In that race to succeed federally convicted Tania Fernandes Anderson on the Boston City Council, Afonso requested a recount after he trailed the second-place finisher by just 20 votes in the preliminary election earlier this month.
Afonso works for the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Former track and field star and current coach Said Ahmed earned 1,155 votes in the District 7 race last week, while attorney and senior pastor the Rev. Miniard Culpepper claimed 1,102 votes, according to the city’s unofficial tally. The two were set to advance to November’s general election, a result Afonso, who got 1,082 votes in the preliminary, is now contesting, given the tight margin between him and Culpepper.
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On his way out of City Hall on Saturday, Culpepper noted that he’d normally be in church Sunday morning, but he’d been looking forward to participating in the process as his council district seeks to fill an open seat.
“I have faith in the Lord, and I have faith in the Boston Elections Department,” Culpepper said with a laugh on his way out.
In the mayoral race, Mayor Michelle Wu finished first by an enormous margin, a result that all but secured her second term and ultimately led her main opponent, Josh Kraft, to drop out of the race entirely.
There is little possibility that the recount could change the outcome of the mayor’s race, given how far ahead Wu is of her remaining rivals. Wu drew 66,398 votes to DaRosa’s 2,409, according to unofficial city tallies. (Kraft earned 21,324.)
But there are some stakes to the recount. Under state law, if a candidate withdraws from the general election ballot, as Kraft now has, it is possible to replace him with the next highest vote-getter. But that candidate must have received “a number of votes at least equal to the number of signatures required by law to place his name on the preliminary election ballot.”
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DaRosa has so far not cleared that bar. The number of signatures required to get on the preliminary election ballot was 3,000. Given that the unofficial tally has him at 2,409 votes, he would need to gain almost 600, a quarter of his current mark again, to make the ballot.
And because he gathered enough signatures for a recount in just five of the city’s 22 wards, all of those newly discovered votes would have to come from Wards 4, 8, 9, 16, and 18.
If that remarkable circumstance does not come to pass, Wu would be the only candidate on the ballot in November’s general election.
Sean Cotter can be reached at sean....@globe.com. Follow him @cotterreporter.