David Halbert, a former City Hall and State House staffer, conceded Wednesday evening in the at-large race, making way for Erin Murphy, the fourth-place finisher, to be sworn into office next year along with incumbents Michael Flaherty and Julia Mejia, and newcomer Ruthzee Louijeune.
“While this is not the result we were hoping for, I am incredibly proud of the campaign we ran and am thankful for the invaluable support of my family, my campaign team, and all of the volunteers who helped move our campaign forward every day, having the important discussions with voters,” Halbert said in a statement.
Murphy, a Boston Public Schools teacher, had a 325-vote lead over Halbert, according to the city’s unofficial election results. All of the city’s 255 precincts had been reported as of Wednesday.
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In a statement late Wednesday afternoon, Murphy thanked her supporters and congratulated her fellow winners.
“Because of you and the unbelievable amount of hard work we’ve put in over the last ten months, we can stand together and celebrate Boston, and the choice our friends and neighbors made at the ballot box yesterday,” Murphy said.
Halbert had called the four winners, congratulating them on their success, he said in his statement.
“I look forward to seeing how the new Administration and all members of the Council work to immediately and comprehensively address the most pressing issues facing our city, and I will be working to advance the same goals that shaped my platform,” Halbert said.
Before Halbert’s concession, the at-large results were uncertain. The Associated Press called every municipal race and confirmed the top three vote-getters in the at-large race as winners, but by late afternoon Wednesday had yet to confirm Murphy’s win.
Earlier Wednesday, Halbert’s campaign said in a statement said that “many ballots have yet to be tabulated” and were waiting on final results to make further comment; Murphy, meanwhile, remained confident in her victory.
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“We put in the hard work, and the voters came out,” she said. “We’re victorious, we won, and we’re already reaching out to start that transition to City Council.”
In the 2019 race, which was ultimately decided by one vote in favor of Mejia, Murphy and Halbert placed sixth and eighth, respectively.
Tiana Woodard is a Report for America corps member covering Black neighborhoods. She can be reached at tiana.woodard@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @tianarochon.