Sharon Durkan

Durkan grew up in the U.S. state of Georgia. Durkan attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.^[1]

While in college, Durkan became the finance director for State Senator Eric Lesser. In 2015, shortly after graduating college, she began working for the reelection campaign of then-City Councilor Michelle Wu.^[1] She came to be an experienced political consultant.^[1][2] She worked as the Massachusetts Finance Director for U.S. Senator Ed Markey's 2020 reelection campaign.^[3] She taught training sessions in the Emerge Massachusetts program.^[1] She also took the position of chair of the Ward 5 Democratic Committee.^[1]

Durkan represents District 8 on the Boston City Council. The district covers some of the most densely-populated areas of the city. It includes portions of Back Bay, Fenway, West End, Mission Hill and Beacon Hill.^[2][3]

On July 25, at the age of 32, Durkan was elected to the Boston City Council in a special election to fill the remainder of the term vacated by Kenzie Bok when Bok became the head of the Boston Housing Authority. Durkan's opponent had been Montez Haywood, a longtime prosecutor at the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. The campaign was Durkan's first campaign for public office. Durkan won more than 70% of the vote, with 29% going to Haywood and a half-percent going to write-in votes. Haywood had previously run for the seat in 2019, having performed weakly in that election. Durkan's campaign was centered on issues related to transportation, housing, mental healthcare, and climate change.^[1] Durkan received a plethora of endorsements from notable politicians, including Senator Ed Markey,^[2] Mayor Michelle Wu, At-Large City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune^[1] She also received the endorsement of her predecessor, Kenzie Bok.^[4] Durkan strongly outperformed her opponent in fundraising.^[1]

Durkan was sworn-in on August 7, 2023.^[5]

At a City Council meeting early October, Durkan and Frank Baker opposed holding an immediate vote on a resolution proposed at the meeting by Tania Fernandes Anderson related to the Israel–Hamas war. Unlike a different proposed resolution related to the conflict that was being discussed at the meeting, Fernandes Anderson's resolution was not focused on condemning the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and instead centered on calling for a ceasefire.^[6] Fernandes Anderson's resolution characterized the attack as a "military operation" rather than an act of terrorism.^[7] The resolution was referred to the committee of the whole instead of being voted on.^[6]

Durkan faced Montez Haywood again in a November 2023 election for a full term.^[2] The election map used for this election differed from that of the August special election, as it used a map redistricted to reflect the results of the 2020 United States Census.^[3] Durkan again received Mayor Wu's endorsement.^[8] Durkan won reelection, again capturing more than 70 percent of the vote.^[9] Durkan serves as chair of the council's Committee on Planning, Development, & Transportation.^[10]

In February 2024, Durkan proposed the idea of having the city license official Boston merchandise as a means of generating revenue both for the city government and small businesses in the city. Durkan pointed to a similar venture that New York City had launched more than a decade prior. Jim Rooney (the CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce) lent his tentative personal support to Durkan's proposal, conditioning full support on small businesses being consulted.^[11]