I read the news (“City Councilor jumps ship,” Boston Herald, April 6) of Mayor Wu’s announcement that City Councilor Kenzie Bok would be appointed as the new Boston Housing Authority administrator starting next month. Bok will resign her District 8 council seat effective April 28.

According to our city charter, a special preliminary and general election must be called this summer (June and July)  to elect a candidate to finish out the term. This same scenario occurred in 2021 when Lydia Edwards won a senate race while serving as District 1 city council seat at the time.

If memory stands correct,  in a special election on May 3, 2021 the voter turnout  was dismally low . Then in September, in the regular scheduled  election, another preliminary and general election was held again for a new full term.

Seems quite expensive to elect a city council candidate in July whose term would end Dec. 31, doesn’t it? When a city council at large seat gets vacated, the runner-up who finished in 5th place simply finished out the unexpired term. Why not change the charter provision and select the runner-up in a district race too?

Sal Giarratani
East Boston

April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, and we all have an opportunity to improve the lives of homeless cats and dogs in our community. How? By helping your local animal shelter. With kitten season around the corner, pet shelters could use donations of food, toys, supplies, or simply your volunteer time.

Unfortunately, your local shelter isn’t getting much help from national animal groups like the ASPCA and Humane Society of the United States. Despite their names, these two organizations are not affiliated with local SPCAs and humane societies, and give little of the $500 million they raise every year to local shelters.

Local animal shelters work tirelessly to shelter, feed, and care for homeless pets in need, but they desperately need more support to continue their lifesaving work. Help a shelter near you today.

Will Coggin

Managing Director

Help Pet Shelters

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard (“City Targets Homicides,” 4/5/23). Michelle Wu has put together the Violence Reduction Center to meet with police  and community leaders, in her words “to reduce gun violence in the city”.

My three questions are, did you invite the criminals and do you care about any other type of violence or just guns because it keeps you in the headlines?

Did you also include prosecutors who are constantly pleading down cases and judges who are letting out dangerous repeat offenders with a slap on the wrist?

Finally, when I grew up there was a law on the books that said if you are caught with an illegal gun it is a one year mandatory prison sentence.

Is that still the law or have we decided to ignore that one as well?

Michael Westen
Malden