The nation is abuzz with updates about the 2020 presidential race, however another election is fast approaching for Boston residents. One that is arguably much more impactful on their day to day lives – The Boston City Council Elections. In preparation for the preliminary municipal election on September 24th, over the next two weeks we’ll be focusing on two of the hottest city council races for District seats 5 and 8.

This week Under the Radar was joined at WGBH's satellite studio at the Boston Public Library by seven of the eight candidates for the Boston City Council District 5 seat. District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Roslindale, Mattapan and Readville.

Under the Radar will be back at the Boston Public Library on Thursday, September 19th at 3PM, to speak with candidates for the Boston City Council District 8 seat. You can learn more by checking the BPL Studio Calendar.

Boston’s preliminary City Council elections will be taking place on Tuesday, September 24th. The deadline to register for the November 5th elections is October 16th.

Guests in first half:

Ricardo Arroyo – Attorney born and raised in Hyde Park. His father, Felix D. Arroyo, was the first Latino to serve as a City Councilor in Boston. Ricardo is a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services. This is his first time running for public office.

Cecily Graham - Community organizer and elementary school lead teacher. She’s a lifelong resident of Hyde Park and a first generation Caribbean American. She’s running for public office for the first time.

Jean-Claude Sanon – Resident of Roslindale. Jean-Claude is an activist and radio and television announcer. He’s making his third bid for the District 5 seat.

Alkia Powell - A resident of Hyde Park. Formerly she was a City Hall staffer at the Mayor’s Office of Fair Housing and Equity and the Office of Economic Development. She is also a first-time candidate.

Guests in second half:

Mimi Turchinetz - A Mattapan-born attorney and community advocate currently living in Hyde Park. Mimi is the assistant deputy director of the Mayor’s Office for Financial Empowerment, and founder and president of the Southwest Boston Community Development Corporation. She also ran for the District 5 seat in 2013.

Justin Murad - Lifelong Hyde Park resident and a paralegal for the City of Boston Law Department. He’s 24 years old and this is his second bid for District 5 City Councilor.

Maria Esdale Farrell - Hyde Park-raised community advocate. She is currently District 5 City Councilor Tim McCarthy’s Education Adviser. This is her first time running.

*Candidate Yves Mary Jean was unable to join us for this discussion.

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UTR is produced by Franziska Monahan. Doug Shugarts and John Parker are our engineers. Melissa Rosales is our intern.

Under the Radar is a production of WGBH.