Yawu Miller, “Mayoral candidates face an electorate that’s moving to the left,” Bay State Banner, June 9, 2021.

Recent polling has painted a picture of a Boston electorate ready to embrace progressive change, showing that 76% of voters support rent control, 60% want an elected school committee and 48% support reducing spending on police and investing the savings in anti-violence and social service programs, versus 36% who oppose such a move.

Yet among the six candidates running for mayor, support for those three positions is lacking. Only Wu supports rent control, none supports a fully elected school committee and Essaibi George, Barros and Santiago have voiced varying degrees of opposition to police reforms backed by Progressive Massachusetts chapters.