The current acting mayor made history in Boston, when she was elected this past March.
Boston Mayor Kim Janey announced in a video that she will be a candidate for mayor in the upcoming fall election, campaigning for a full term. Janey is the first woman and first Black mayor of the city.
“The work to address the challenges we face from COVID-19 and the racial inequalities that have been inherited from centuries of structural racism will take longer than a few months to change,” Janey said in a statement. “It is going to take fearless leadership, bold action and a commitment to doing the hard work to make Boston the equitable city our residents want, need and deserve. I am 100% committed to leading this change.”
A fourth generation Roxbury resident, Janey has built her career as an education advocate and non-profit leader. In 2017, she was elected to the City Council, becoming the first woman representing District 7. Central to Janey’s will be the issues of affordable housing, racial inequity, education advocacy, and the rights of women, according to the video.
“I’m ready to lead our city, to listen, to collaborate,” said Janey. “To fight this pandemic and the racial and economic inequalities that COVID only worsened. “
Shira Laucharoen is a reporter based in Boston. She currently serves as the assistant director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. In the past she has written for Sampan newspaper, The Somerville Times, Scout Magazine, Boston Magazine, and WBUR.