Boston mayor's election chief whose oversight led to state receivership bounced to different department

Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald on Mar 11, 2026

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BOSTON — Boston’s election chief has bounced to a different City Hall department after overseeing a chaotic 2024 presidential election that led to the city’s election department being placed in state receivership for “incompetence.”

Eneida Tavares, the city’s election commissioner since 2019, departed her longtime position on Feb. 20, Mayor Michelle Wu’s office confirmed on Tuesday.

Speculation about Tavares’ status with the city began after a LinkedIn job posting seeking applicants for the city’s election commissioner surfaced this week.

Michael Osaghae, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said Tavares left her Cabinet leadership position in the Elections Department voluntarily for “a new opportunity in the Public Facilities Department.”

Tavares began her new role as assistant director of project controls and compliance for the Public Facilities Department, which appears to be a lower-ranking city position, on Feb. 23, according to the mayor’s office.

Paul Chong, the commissioner of city records, will work as acting elections commissioner while the city searches for a permanent commissioner, the mayor’s office said.

“We’re grateful for Tavares’ 10 dedicated years of service in the Elections Department,” Osaghae said in a statement to the Herald. “During her tenure, she led many improvement initiatives including four recounts, the implementation of early voting during the pandemic, the execution of ballot drop boxes, redistricting and re-precincting efforts, and the rollout of poll-pad technology citywide.”

Tavares was paid $144,498 as election commissioner last year. The job posting lists the city’s salary for the position at $145,000.

The mayor’s office did not respond to a Herald inquiry about how much Tavares will be making in her new assistant-level position.

While praised by Wu’s office on her way out the door, Tavares is departing the Elections Department while it’s still in state receivership.

Secretary of State William Galvin placed the department in receivership in February 2025 for its failure to properly administer the 2024 state and presidential elections, which he said reflected “incompetence” on the part of the city.

Widespread ballot shortages in that fall election left voters waiting in lines for hours to vote. Galvin’s office on Election Day 2024 had to issue a directive to Boston Police to rush ballots to multiple polling locations so residents could vote, as Galvin said city staff wouldn’t answer the phone in the Elections Department.

Debra O’Malley, a spokesperson for Galvin’s office, said Tavares informed the Secretary of State’s office “in early February that she would be leaving her position as election commissioner.”

“This personnel change has no impact on the receivership, which was ordered by the secretary to be in place through the 2026 state election,” O’Malley said.

Wu’s office said the city has implemented a number of changes to improve elections processes since being placed in receivership. The Elections Department met the conditions of Galvin’s orders during the 2025 election cycle, the city said, and delivered 100% of required ballots to all 275 Boston precincts.

Issues were seen before 2025 election, however, when multiple ballots were mailed to some residents who requested to vote early by mail.

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