What leadership do you seek for the City of Boston?

I hope you did not miss #BlackBusinessMonth in August, but if so, you can still celebrate! Each August we celebrate Black-owned businesses, with the intent to inspire support year-round. YW Boston recently teamed up with?Black Owned Bos.?for our?fourth annual Small Business Map. Each business featured is a Boston-local small business owned and operated by women and people of color, with many owned by Black entrepreneurs. I encourage you, especially given the impact of COVID-19 on minority-owned businesses, to check out this year's and previous year's maps and explore local shops and restaurants beyond your usual haunts.

This is a wonderful time to be a Bostonian. As we appreciate the last of the summer and transition to our most popular season, fall, it is a great time to enjoy outdoor activities and patio dining. With fall comes election season.?In addition to encouraging you to shop Black this month, I recommend you get involved with the upcoming local election.

Boston's?preliminary municipal election?takes place on September 14th. We will likely elect our first-ever person of color to be Mayor of Boston. And with many of the mayoral candidates stepping away from their time on the City Council, there will be a number of open city council spots to vote on. You can preview the ballot?here.

I urge you to spend time considering these races and the type of leadership you seek for Boston. The next elected mayor will have a number of pressing issues on their desk: affordable childcare, racial justice, the ongoing response to COVID-19. To support you in your research, YW Boston's Advocacy Committee?asked each candidate five questions related to our mission to eliminate racism and empower women. For those who responded, we published their answers in our?mayoral questionnaire blog. We hope that you find this useful.

The two mayoral candidates with the highest number of votes on September 14th will move forward to the final ballot on November 2nd. YW Boston looks forward to working with whomever becomes our next elected Mayor of Boston.

Warmly,

Beth Chandler

President & CEO, YW Boston