Mejia Wins At-large Race By One Vote After Recount

After a recount called by At-Large City Council candidate Alejandra St. Guillen after losing to Julia Mejia by 10 votes on election night, Mejia still came out victorious—but this time by only one vote. Mejia garnered 22,492 votes, and St. Guillen got 22,491, the Election Department announced on Dec. 9. Mejia will fill the fourth vacant At-Large council seat, joining Michelle Wu, Annissa Essaibi-George, and Michael Flaherty, who were all reelected in the September election.

St. Guillen has decided not to challenge the results a second time. In a statement put out by her campaign, she said: “After weighing all the options with my team and my family, I have come to the decision to not move forward with a court challenge. I am so grateful to every person who supported me over this last year in our campaign to build a better Boston for all. I am so proud of what we accomplished and even though we came up short, I feel like we are all winners.”

St. Guillen also congratulated Mejia on her victory and for “running an inspiring campaign and showing us all what we can accomplish when we have the courage to walk in our power.” She added that she believe St. Guillen will be an “excellent councilor” and looks forward to being represented to her. Mejia took to Twitter to show her gratitude for her supporters. “I am so overwhelmed by today’s results,” Mejia wrote on Monday night. “Thank you to all 22,492 people who believed in this #MejiaMovement. Today goes to show that #EveryVoteCounts. I want to thank my team who have been here from the beginning all the way to today’s final count.” Mejia also thanked all of the volunteers who aided in the recount process, as well as congratulated St. Guillen on her “incredible campaign.” Mejia wrote, “We made history TOGETHER.”