Full Name Michelle Wu Name Michelle Wu Political party Democratic Role Attorney | Profession Attorney Religion Roman Catholic | |
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Michelle Wu is an attorney and current President of the Boston City Council. She is the first Taiwanese American and first Asian American woman to serve on the Boston City Council, as well as the youngest current member. In January 2016, she was elected as President of the council and is that legislative body's first woman of color president.
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Bulding boston beyond councillor michelle wu
Family and education
Wu was born on the South Side of Chicago, IL to parents who had immigrated to the United States from Taiwan and is the oldest of four children. She graduated from Barrington High School in 2003, where she was valedictorian. In 2003, she was selected as a U.S. Presidential Scholar from the state of Illinois. During the 2002-2003 school year, Wu was also the President of the National Junior Classical League. Wu moved to the Boston area to attend college at Harvard University, where she would later also graduate from Harvard Law School in 2012.
Career
In 2010, Wu worked in Boston City Hall for Mayor Thomas M. Menino in the Office of Administration and Finance, and later as a Rappaport Fellow in Law and Public Policy under Menino's Chief of Staff Mitch Weiss. As a fellow, Wu created the Restaurant Roadmap guide to opening a restaurant in Boston, as well as spearheaded the Boston Food Truck Challenge which resulted in three foodtrucks opening on City Hall Plaza. In 2010, Wu also graduated from Emerge Massachusetts, an intensive training program for women who aspire to seek elected office. The following year, Wu worked at the Boston Medical Center-based Medical Legal Partnership, providing legal services to low-income patients.
In 2012, Wu, a former student of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren at Harvard Law School, worked as the Constituency Director for Warren's 2012 campaign against Scott Brown. In this role, Wu coordinated outreach to all constituency groups, including communities of color, the LGBT community, veterans, and women. She would announce her candidacy for Boston City Councilor At-Large a little more than a month after Warren's election.
Wu was first elected to Boston City Council At-Large in 2013. She finished the election in 2nd place to Ayanna Pressley garnering votes from 42% of voters. She was re-elected in 2015, again coming in second place to Pressley and garnering votes from 57% of voters. She has announced her intention to run for re-election in November 2017.
While in City Hall, she has focused on reforming the city's antiquated permitting system and passed paid parental leave for Boston municipal employees.