By Olivia Rynberg-Going, NWPC Political Planning and Action Intern
Elaine O’Neal, Mayor-Elect of Durham
Elaine O’Neal, former judge and attorney, won her election for Mayor of Durham, North Carolina with 85 percent of the vote. [In 2020, Biden received 80% of the vote.] On December 6th, O’Neal will take office and become Durham’s first Black female mayor.
O’Neal grew up in Durham. She attended North Carolina Central University and graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Math. After attending the NCCU School of Law, O’Neal was a district court judge for 17 years.
O’Neal has always been a trailblazer. She was the first woman to be named Durham’s Chief District Court Judge, and later, Durham’s first female Superior Court Judge.
As a judge in the 90s, O’Neal fought for the rights of LGBTQ+ families, advocating for same-sex adoptions and gay marriage nearly 20 years before the Democratic Party joined in support.
In 2021, more than 200 people have been shot; Deadly shootings have increased by 30% in Durham. As a former judge, O’Neal is aware of the factors leading to this violence, and she’s pledged to keep all Durhamites safe.
“You have to engage in the streets and go and talk to young people about who they are and what they need.” – Elaine O’Neal, Mayor-Elect of Durham, North Carolina.
Michelle Wu, Mayor-Elect of Boston
Michelle Wu grew up near Chicago and moved to Boston to attend Harvard University. At Harvard Law school, Wu was taught by one of her political mentors: Elizabeth Warren.
Wu was elected to Boston city council in 2013. The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Wu was the first Asian American woman to sit on the council, and in 2016 she became the first Asian American council president. During her time on the Boston City Council, Wu protected the city from employing health insurance agencies with transphobic coverage policies. Wu worked alongside climate activists to ban plastic bags, and provided paid parental leave to municipal employees.
This mayoral election has been notable since it began uncontested – no incumbent sought reelection. In the unaffiliated primary, every significant contender was a woman of color.
Kim Janey, has served as acting mayor of Boston since March. Janey, a Smith College alum, succeeded Mayor Walsh after he was named President Biden’s Labor secretary. Janey was Boston’s first Black and female mayor. Wu will be Boston’s first elected female mayor, mayor of color, and the first mayor of Boston born outside of the city in nearly 100 years.
Wu campaigned on restoring rent control, pushing back against gentrification, re-distributing city contracts to firms owned by Black Bostonians, and economically accessible public transportation for everyone. Wu’s ambitious plans gained her some critiques, but on Tuesday night Boston’s voters chose her – not in spite of – but because of these plans.
Pauline Bart Remembered
Pauline Bart received her BA, MA, and PhD from UCLA, and is credited as one of the first feminist sociologists.
Bart’s interest in feminist sociology began in college after she obtained an illegal abortion. Bart suffered complications after her abortion, but the hospital refused to help her until she had divulged the name of the doctor who had performed the procedure. Years later, this drove Bart to study the Jane Collective, also known as the “Abortion Counselling Service of Women’s Liberation” an underground organization operating out of Chicago, Illinois.
In 1973, Bart studied gynecological textbooks – the medical sources used to teach gynecology students – and found that male pleasure overshadowed women’s reproductive health over and over again. At the time, 93.4% of gynecologists were male. Bart’s work contributed to the rise of midwife-led birth movements in the 70s and 80s.
Bart’s most famous work may have been her doctoral thesis, later published as: Portnoy’s Mother’s Complaint. Bart visited women – often housewives, often Jewish – hospitalized for depression. Her interviews documented the tremendous suffering of divorced empty-nesters who had lost their primary roles as caretakers, and found themselves suddenly alone without the skills necessary to thrive in the job market.
In the 1980s, Bart studied the intersections of pornography and violence against women.
Bart taught classes in sociology, nursing, and public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago until 1992 when she retired amidst controversy.
“In my experience, everything I have put into the establishment has been money dropped down a well and everything I have put into students has come back to me.” – Pauline Bart
Pauline Bart died of Alzhiemers in October at the age of 91.
Olivia Rynberg-Going is a current junior at Smith College, double-majoring in Government and the Study of Women and Gender. On campus, she participated in Smith’s Student Government Association as both a senator and director of elections and appointments. Her favorite policy areas include reproductive rights, 20th century SCOTUS decisions, voting rights, elections, and most of all: campaigns. Outside of politics, Olivia has a deep love of true crime, geography, and farm animals.
