Boston City Council race

Over the last five weeks, five candidates pulled papers to run for Boston City Council seats in this year’s election. While there’s nothing unusual about the timing — savvy candidates know an early start can be key to successful fundraising — three of the candidates share an employer who some say has played an outsized role in Council politics.

When voters in Roxbury and parts of the South End and Fenway go to the polls for the city’s Sept. 12 preliminary, there will be no shortage of choices in four City Council districts.