By Sravan Gannavarapu
Boston University News Service
BOSTON — Boston’s acting mayor, Kim Janey, announced her candidacy and entered the city’s mayoral race on Tuesday, seeking a full term as the city’s first woman of color to serve in the role.
“I am leading Boston through a lens of equity, justice and love,” Janey said on Twitter. “But I know the challenges we face will take longer than a few months to overcome. I am running for a full term as mayor to ensure a better, stronger city for every Bostonian.”
The former City Council president made history in March when she became the first woman of color in Boston to hold the distinction as acting mayor, after Marty Walsh departed to join President Joe Biden as the U.S. Secretary of Labor.
“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 written statement.
Born in 1965, Janey grew up in the city’s Roxbury neighborhood as Boston began its court-mandated school desegregation plan in the 70s.
Eventually attending high school in Reading, Mass., through a voluntary program, Janey went on to become an activist in the community. She worked to improve the Boston school system before finding her way to the city council in 2017.
Janey became president of the City Council 2020. She also made history as the first woman and Black person to serve as acting mayor. Now, she plans to break another glass ceiling by taking on the role full-time.
Up until Janey, the role has primarily been held by men of Irish descent, with the exception of the late Thomas Menino, an Italian-American.
Janey isn’t the only person interested in the position. Among those also running for mayor are fellow council members Andrea Campbell, Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George. John Barros, the former city chief of economic development and state representative, Jon Santiago, are also in the mix.
The preliminary election will take place on Sept. 21.
