A Wu administration official, on behalf of the mayor, mistakenly sent all Boston city councilors an email Tuesday inviting them to a holiday party that was meant exclusively for “electeds of color,” prompting an apology and mixed reactions.
Denise DosSantos, the mayor’s director of City Council relations, told the body’s “honorable members” that, “on behalf of Mayor Michelle Wu,” she was cordially inviting each of them “and a guest to the Electeds of Color Holiday Party on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Parkman House, 33 Beacon St.”
Approximately 15 minutes later, however, DosSantos sent out a follow-up email to city councilors, apologizing for the prior email, which was apparently only meant for those who were invited. The body includes seven white councilors and six of color.
“I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” DosSantos, a Cape Verdean Black woman, wrote. “I did send that to everyone by accident, and I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.”
Whether the email offended the excluded councilors was unclear, several of whom chose not to respond to the Herald’s request for comment.
Outgoing City Councilor Frank Baker, who is white, described the mayor’s decision to exclude some members as “unfortunate and divisive,” but said the email didn’t offend him personally.
“I don’t really get offended too easily,” Baker told the Herald. “To offend me, you’re going to have to do much more than not invite me to a party.”
Baker said he wasn’t sure what the reasoning behind the mayor having a separate party based on racial lines was, but said he didn’t think it was a “good move,” given the recent tensions on the City Council.
“I find it unfortunate that with the temperature the way it is, that we would further that division,” Baker said.
Councilor Brian Worrell, who is Black and was vying for the Council presidency before tentatively agreeing to become the body’s vice president next term, defended the invite, however, saying that the holiday party is simply another example of reflecting “all kinds of specific groups” in city government.
“We make space and spaces for all kinds of specific groups in the city and city government,” Worrell said in a statement. “This is no different, and the Elected Officials of Color has been around for more than a decade.”
Of the city employee who sent the email, Worrell said, “Denise has a strong working relationship with the Council and our office. As she said in her follow-up email, she meant no ill will.”
In an email to DosSantos and her colleagues, Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who describes herself as an African immigrant and Muslim-American woman, was more candid, saying that there is “no need for apologies at all.”
“Your email should not offend anyone and there is absolutely no confusion,” Fernandes Anderson wrote. “Just like there are groups that meet based on shared interests or cultural backgrounds, it’s completely natural for elected officials of color to gather for a holiday celebration.”
She added, “Many groups celebrate and come together in various ways, and it’s not about excluding anyone. Instead, it’s about creating spaces for like-minded individuals to connect and support each other.”
Further, Fernandes Anderson described the Wu administration’s effort to “organize a holiday celebration specific to elected officials of color” as “commendable.”
The mayor’s decision to host an exclusive party is not typical of past administrations, according to Michael McCormack, an attorney who served five terms on the City Council.
If former mayors Tom Menino or Ray Flynn were to hold a holiday party, for example, he said, the invitation would have been sent to the entire City Council.
“The problem is that Boston and race, unfortunately, are synonymous,” McCormack said. “I’m just hoping it was a mistake. It’s not something that anyone in the mayor’s office should be proud of.”
Ricardo Patrón, a Wu spokesman, said Wednesday’s holiday party is just one of many that are going on this month.
The mayor, an Asian-American woman, as an elected official of color, was asked to host the annual holiday party for the Electeds of Color group, Patrón said, noting that the host and location changes every year.
He said there is a larger holiday party next week that’s open to all Wu’s cabinet members, city councilors and the Boston state delegation at the State House.
