Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has defended her decision not to invite white people to a Christmas party.
The 38-year-old, who was elected to run the Puritan City in 2021, swatted away her critics just hours before hosting the controversial gathering inside the city’s official reception hall Wednesday.
Wu conceded it was a mistake that every member of the Boston City Council received an invitation.
She had already spoken to those who were not intended to attend the event.
Mayor Michelle Wu speaks during a press conference
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Wu said: “We had individual conversations with everyone so people understand that it was truly just an honest mistake that went out in typing the email field.”
Boston’s first female of colour and Asian-American mayor came under fire when her director of City Council relations.
City Council relations director Denise DosSantos sent an exclusive party invitation to all members of the City Council instead of just the select invitees.
Boston’s City Council is comprised of six minority and seven white members.
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Boston’s City Council is comprised of six minority and seven white members
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White members had their invitations rescinded about 15 minutes after the original email was sent.
“I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” DosSantos wrote in her follow-up.
“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 doubled down on her defence of the party by claiming it had become a yearly tradition for members of the “diverse” group to take turns hosting the party.
The skyline of the Financial District looking across the Fort Point Channel on November 3, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts
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“I’ve been a part of a group that gathers, representing elected officials of color across all different levels of government in Massachusetts,” Wu said.
“A group that has been in place for more than a decade, and the opportunity to create a space for people to celebrate and rotate who hosts.”
She added: “I think we’ve all been in a position at one point where an email went out, and there was a mistake in the recipient.”
However, residents across New England have expressed their outrage at the situation on social media.
Mayor Michelle Wu delivers her first State of the City Address at MGM Music Hall at Fenway on January 25, 2023 in Boston
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Radio host Howie Carr said: “Mayor Wu is NOT dreaming of a white Christmas. And she will NOT be serving white wine tonight. Or white-meat chicken. No palefaces invited to Parkman House powwow!”
Conservative X user Rod Dreher added: “So in Boston, you can’t attend the mayor’s holiday party if you are white.
“How much longer are Americans going to tolerate this left-wing racist c**p?”
Democrat City Council member Frank Baker, who is white and was originally invited, also said: “I find it unfortunate that with the temperature the way it is, that we would further that division.”