Don Alexis was first attracted to Mattapan and Blue Hill Avenue when he was 18 and visiting family shortly after immigrating from Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. The diaspora culture and the history of the neighborhood gave him the familiar vibe of home that he had left behind in the Caribbean.

It was a feeling that now, as the director of Caribbean Integration Community Development (CICD) – Mattapan’s only community development corporation – he is trying to preserve and create for others in building affordable rental and homeownership housing units throughout the area.

At-large City Councillor Ruthzee Louijeune says she has enough support among her colleagues on next year’s council to take over as the body’s president. Seven votes are required to win a majority on the thirteen-member body. Louijeune topped the ticket in Boston’s election last week, winning 44,479 votes in her second time on the citywide ballot.

Councillor Ruthzee Louijeune celebrated her re-election with her parents at dBar on Dorchester Avenue. Louijeune was the top vote-getter in Boston on Tuesday— winning 43,127 votes. Seth Daniel photo

Polls open on Tuesday, 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Boston’s local election cycle toggles between higher turnout years, with campaigns for City Council and Mayor, and “off years,” with only a race for the council. But 2023 is shaping up to be one of the “way off” years, when a dearth of expected at-large vacancies and candidates can flatten the curve on voter turnout.

MFA/Boston