Tito Jackson (politician)

Tito Jackson is an American politician who was a member of the Boston City Council. He represented council District 7, which consists of the Roxbury neighborhood and parts of Dorchester, South End, and Fenway.[2] In 2017, he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Boston.

Tito Jackson
Boston City Council Member for District 7
In office
March 2011 – December 2017
Preceded byChuck Turner
Succeeded byKim Janey
Personal details
Born1975/1976 (age 44–45)[1]
Grove Hall, Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceDorchester, Boston, Massachusetts
Alma materUniversity of New Hampshire
OccupationFormer Boston City Councillor, District 7

Early life

Jackson was born to a young teenager who had been sexually assaulted. He was adopted by his current parents after months in foster care.[3] Jackson grew up in Roxbury’s Grove Hall neighborhood, the son of Rosa and Herb Jackson, who were community activists in the city.[4] Jackson attended Brookline High School and later graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.[5]

Political career

In 2007, Jackson became the Industry Director for Information Technology in Governor Deval Patrick’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. Later, Jackson became the Political Director on Governor Patrick’s successful re-election campaign in 2010.[5]

Boston City Council

In the Boston City Council election of 2009, Jackson ran as an at-large candidate. He lost in his first attempt by 11,676 votes.[6]

Jackson ran in the 2011 special election for the District 7 seat to succeed Chuck Turner, who was expelled from the City Council after a public corruption investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Jackson finished first out of seven candidates in the preliminary election[7] and defeated Cornell Mills, the son of former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson,[2] 82 percent to 16 percent in the general election.[8]

Councillor Jackson was the Chair of the Committee on Education, and the Chair of the Special Committee on the Status of Black and Latino Men and Boys. Councillor Jackson also served as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Healthy Women, Families and Communities. In addition, he was a member of six other Committees: City, Neighborhood Services and Veteran Affairs; Homelessness, Mental Health and Recovery; Housing and Community Development, Jobs, Wages and Workforce Development; Public Safety and Criminal Justice; and together with all other Councillors, the Committee of the Whole.[5]

2017 mayoral election

In January 2017 Jackson announced he would run for Mayor of Boston in the 2017 mayoral election against the incumbent, Marty Walsh.[9]

In the preliminary election held on September 26, 2017, Jackson received 29 percent of the votes to Walsh's 63 percent. Jackson moved onto the general election on November 7, 2017. Only 14 percent of the city's voting population cast votes compared to the last preliminary mayoral contest in 2013 with 31 percent.[10]

Jackson lost the general election race with 34 percent of the votes to Walsh's 65 percent.[11]

Results

Note: 0.66% were write-in votes in the general election.

Candidates Preliminary election[12] General election[11]
Votes % Votes %
Marty Walsh 34,882 62.52% 70,197 65.37%
Tito Jackson 16,216 29.07% 36,472 33.97%
Robert Cappucci 3,736 6.70%
Joseph Wiley 529 0.95%

Post-political career

As of 2019, Jackson is the chief executive of Verdant Medical, a Massachusetts medical & recreational marijuana company.[13] He tested positive for coronavirus in March 2020.[1]

References
  1. Bowker, Brittany (March 29, 2020). "Former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson tests positive for coronavirus - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  2. Martin, Phillip. "Replacing Turner, Tito Jackson Wins City Council Spot". WGBH. WGBH. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  3. Irons, Meghan E. (2017-01-11). "I want to become the 55th mayor of the City of Boston". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  4. "Tito Jackson". City of Boston. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  5. "Welcome titojacksonformayor.com - BlueHost.com". Titojacksonforboston.com. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  6. Guilfoil, John M. (December 21, 2010). "Tito Jackson set sights on City Council seat". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  7. "Special Preliminary Municipal Election - City Councillor District 7" (PDF). City of Boston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  8. "Special Municipal Election - City Councillor District 7" (PDF). City of Boston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  9. Atkinson, Dan (2017-01-11). "Tito Jackson declares he's running for mayor". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  10. Irons, Meghan E. (2017-09-26). "Walsh, Jackson proceed to general mayoral election in Boston". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  11. "MUNICIPAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 7, 2017 : MAYOR CITY OF BOSTON" (PDF). Boston.gov. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  12. "PRELIMINARY MUNICIPAL ELECTION - SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 MAYOR" (PDF). Boston.gov. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  13. Adams, Dan (January 17, 2019). "Former city councilor tells of plans for marijuana business". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 22, 2019.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.