Mobilia taking on Zakim for District 8 seat
Another City Council seat could see a contested race as candidates get ready to officially begin their campaigns today.
Kristen Mobilia, a Fenway community activist, is looking to challenge District 8 City Councilor Josh Zakim. Mobilia has created a campaign fundraising committee, according to state documents, and said she’ll apply for nomination papers at City Hall today, the first day they’ll be available.
District councilor candidates need to get 200 signatures from residents in the district by May 16 in order to run, while at-large candidates need 1,500 signatures. Open seats in Districts 1, 2 and 7 have drawn interest from nearly two dozen potential candidates already, with several other candidates eyeing at-large seats.
University of Massachusetts political science professor Erin O’Brien said the changing face of the council — which has seen five new members since 2014 — could be encouraging more people to run.
“Boston is a hard city to break into politically, the changes at the City Council suggest that’s becoming less of a case, the same networks aren’t putting forward every single candidate,” O’Brien said.
Mobilia, who serves on the Fenway Garden Society and works at a Newtonbased video production company, said she was influenced by the election of President Trump in 2016 to provide a female voice in politics, and said she wanted to bring more city government connections to the district.
“There’s not as close a tie between the neighborhoods and City Hall, people active in the neighborhoods could do more if we had more leadership in that area,” Mobilia said.
“I’m proud of my record delivering for the residents of District 8 over the past three years and look forward to seeking re-election in the fall and continuing to do this work,” Zakim said in a statement.