Boston Mayor Michelle Wu defended her decision to host a holiday party for elected officials of color after accidentally sending invitations to all members of the city council via email.
A city employee accidentally sent an email to all city councilors on Tuesday, inviting them to an “Electeds of Color Holiday Party” being held Wednesday night. The invitation was supposed to be exclusively for the city’s six council members of color but was sent to the full 13-member panel.
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Fifteen minutes after that email was sent, Wu’s aide, Denise DosSantos, issued an apology.
“I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” DosSantos wrote in another email, per the Boston Herald. “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.”
Wu, Boston’s first Asian American and woman mayor, said the “Electeds of Color Holiday Party” has been a tradition for over a decade and called the email an “honest mistake.”
“We’ve had individual conversations with everyone, so people understand that it was truly just an honest mistake that went out in typing the email field,” Wu said hours before the party on Wednesday.
After Wednesday night’s city council meeting, two council members of color defended the party to the media, saying it’s a space for elected officials of color to come together.
“It is not at all divisive, it is creating spaces for people and communities and identities with shared experiences to come together,” Ruthzee Louijeune, city councilor at-large, said, per 7 News. “We are still breaking barriers, and it is so important for us to carve out and create that space.”
Outgoing Councilman Ricardo Arroyo agreed, telling reporters in “no way is it supposed to be divisive” or cause “any friction.”
“The fact of the matter is it’s much ado about nothing in terms of having a holiday party,” Arroyo said. “In no way is it supposed to be divisive, causing any friction, and in my experience, most of my colleagues are aware the EOC exists.”
However, outgoing Councilman Frank Baker, a white member, called the party “unfortunate and divisive” but clarified he was not offended by the email.
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“I don’t really get offended too easily,” Baker said. “To offend me, you’re going to have to do much more than not invite me to a party.”
“I find it unfortunate that with the temperature the way it is, that we would further that division,” Baker added.
