Election roundup: Santiago, Edwards in a budget spat; JP/West Roxbury council candidate leaves race

Jon Santiago took note last week of the way the city council and the acting mayor are duking it out over a city budget that's due before July 1 and told the council to be good little boys and girls and knock it off:

This is a reckless game of political football between mayoral candidates. The biggest loser? Boston.

Leadership is about bringing folks together to get hard things done — not creating chaos and uncertainty. Now let's pass a budget.

City Councilor Lydia Edwards, who has been leading the charge to get the council more authority over the city budget, told him to stick to his knitting in his current job as a state rep:

No, this is a legislative body working hard to get a budget done.

Doesn't the state's fiscal year also start July 1? Maybe you should worry more about getting your own budget done than about what's happening in the council.

Santiago told her to have fun storming the castle:

The last few weeks in your chamber have been about political theater, not productivity. Boston hasn’t failed to pass a budget in 35+ years—don’t miss the mark.

Good luck @LydiaMEdwards & don’t politicize the pandemic recovery. There’s too much at stake.

In other news

Kelly Ransom announced this morning she's leaving the race for the District 6 (Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, Mission Hill) council seat Matt O'Malley is giving up, due to "an immediate family member's emergency medical situation."

My family needs me in a way that I have never been needed before. While withdrawing from this race is one of the most painful decisions I have ever made for myself, the thought of losing fleeting time with a family member is a pain that I cannot carry inside me for the rest of our earth.

Without mentioning names, she added that:

District Six is in good hands. A strong, brave, tenacious woman of color will be our next representative on the Council and the joy that I feel when I think of the direction we are headed in as a City is pure and vibrational.

The remaining candidates are Kendra Hicks of JP and Mary Tamer and Winnie Eke of West Roxbury.

A legislative endorsement

No, not for Santiago, who has the support of numerous state reps, some of whom actually represent Boston, but for Michelle Wu. Senator Sal DiDomenico, who represents Charlestown, Allston, Brighton, the West End, and other places outside the city limits, and who said:

Having served alongside her for nearly a decade, I know Michelle always shows up in community and stands up for working families with a bold vision and a track record of getting things done. She’ll be the leader we need to support our public schools, make Boston more affordable, and create opportunity in every neighborhood.

Also in an endorsing mood today: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who endorsed Ruthzee Louijeune for one of the four at-large council seats. Louijeune worked on Warren's presidential bid.

Ruthzee is the advocate working families need on the Boston City Council. As a lawyer and Boston native, she fought to uplift the diverse communities of Boston and addressed racial and economic justice head-on.

Debate time

All six candidates for mayor have agreed to an in-person forum at 8 a.m. on Tuesday at Suffolk Construction, 65 Allerton St. Sponsored by the Newmarket Business Association, South End Forum, Andrew Square and McCormack Civic Association, DSNI and Pine Street Inn.