Tito Jackson (politician)

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Tito Jackson
Tito Jackson (7897504902) (1).jpg
Boston City Council Member for District 7
In office
March 2011 – December 2017
Preceded byChuck Turner
Succeeded byKim Janey
Personal details
Born (1975-04-11) April 11, 1975 (age 46)
South End, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceDorchester, Boston, Massachusetts
Alma materUniversity of New Hampshire
OccupationFormer Boston City Councillor, District 7

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.[1] In 2017, he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Boston.

Life[]

Jackson was born to a young teenager who had been sexually assaulted.[2] He was adopted by Rosa and Herb Jackson after months in foster care,[3] and grew up in Roxbury’s Grove Hall neighborhood.[4] His father was a community activist and his mother ran a home day care.[5] Jackson attended Brookline High School and later graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history.[6]

In 2018, he reunited with his biological mother.[2] His biological mother is one of the subjects of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Common Ground by J. Anthony Lukas, which focused on desegregation busing in Boston.[2]

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.[7]

Boston City Council[]

Jackson at the Maura Hennigan 2012 Boston Caribbean Carnival parade, with Ayanna Pressley, Elizabeth Warren, and Maura Hennigan

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.[8]

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[9] and defeated Cornell Mills, the son of former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson,[1] 82 percent to 16 percent in the general election.[10]

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.[6]

In 2014, the City Council passed an ordinance by Jackson to create a commission on Black men and boys. Mayor Marty Walsh vetoed the ordinance, arguing that such a commission would, "duplicate and complicate efforts that my administration is already engaged in", and that the ordinance was written in such a way that he believed it would violate the city charter.[11][12][13] Such a commission would eventually be formed in 2021, with the City Council passing a resolution to form a similar commission, which then-acting mayor Kim Janey signed into law in September 2021.[11]{[14]

In 2015, Jackson pressured the committee behind Boston's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics to release the unredacted copy of its original bid for the games.[15]

Jackson was a prominent opponent of 2016 Massachusetts Question 2.[16][17]

2017 mayoral election[]

Main article: 2017 Boston mayoral election
Mayoral campaign logo
Jackson in 2017

In January 2017 Jackson announced he would run for Mayor of Boston in the 2017 mayoral election against the incumbent, Marty Walsh.[18] In launching his candidacy, Jackson positioned himself as the "progressive" candidate in the race, and cited issues such as income inequality and housing as central to his candidacy.[19]

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.[20]

Jackson focused much of his efforts on aiming to win the city's Black vote.[21]

Jackson lost the general election race with 34 percent of the votes to Walsh's 65 percent.[22]

Subsequent political involvement[]

In the 2021 Boston mayoral election, Jackson endorsed the unsuccessful primary campaign of Kim Janey,[23] and the general election campaign of Michelle Wu.[24]

Post-political career[]

Jackson at a 2020 George Floyd protest in Franklin Park

As of 2019, Jackson is the chief executive of Verdant Medical, a Massachusetts medical & recreational marijuana company.[25] He tested positive for coronavirus in March 2020.[26]

Electoral history[]

City Council[]

2009 Boston City Council at-large election
Candidates Preliminary Election[27] General Election[28]
Votes % Votes %
John R. Connolly (incumbent) 35,182 18.08 51,362 18.35
Stephen J. Murphy (incumbent) 30,365 15.61 51,008 18.22
Felix G. Arroyo 25,859 13.29 45,144 16.13
Ayanna Pressley 16,866 8.67 41,879 14.96
Tito Jackson 12,535 6.44 30,203 10.79
Andrew Kenneally 12,653 6.50 24,249 8.66
Tomás González 10,122 5.20 18,310 6.54
Doug Bennett 10,529 5.41 16,842 6.02
Ego Ezedi 9,260 4.76
Hiep Quoc Nguyen 7,691 3.95
Sean H. Ryan 6,665 3.43
Jean-Claude Sanon 5,386 2.77
Robert Fortes 5,071 2.61
Bill Trabucco 3,132 1.61
Scotland Willis 2,639 1.36
all others 595 0.31 951 0.34
2011 Boston City Council district 7 special election[29]
Candidate Votes %
Tito Jackson 2,829 81.98
Cornell Mills 557 16.14
Althea Garrison (write-in) 46 1.33
all others 19 0.55
Total votes 3,451 100
2011 Boston City Council district 7 election
Candidates Preliminary Election[30] General Election[31]
Votes % Votes %
Tito Jackson (incumbent) 1,876 76.07 4,818 84.35
Sheneal Parker 273 11.07 799 13.99
Althea Garrison 216 8.76 47dagger 0.82
Roy Owens 85 3.45
all others 16dagger 0.65 48dagger 0.84
Total 2,466 100 5,712 100

dagger write-in votes

2013 Boston City Council district 7 election[32]
Candidate Votes %
Tito Jackson (incumbent) 7,676 74.61
Roy Owens 1,680 16.33
Jamarhl C. Crawford (write-in) 653 6.35
all others 279 2.71
Total votes 10,288 100
2015 Boston City Council district 7 election
Candidates Preliminary Election[33] General Election[34]
Votes % Votes %
Tito Jackson (incumbent) 1,409 66.40 2,983 66.64
Charles L. Clemons Jr. 381 17.95 1,444 32.26
Haywood Fennell Sr. 104 4.90 16dagger 0.36
Althea Garrison 98 4.62 0dagger 0.00
Roy Owens 74 3.49
Kevin A. Dwire 34 1.60
all others 22dagger 1.04 33dagger 0.74
Total 2,122 100 4,476 100

dagger write-in votes

Mayor[]

2017 Boston mayoral election
Candidates Preliminary election[35] General election[22]
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%
all others 428 0.77 708 0.66
Total 55,791 100 107,377 100

References[]

  1. ^ a b Martin, Phillip. "Replacing Turner, Tito Jackson Wins City Council Spot". WGBH. WGBH. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Irons, Meghan E. (April 14, 2021). "Tito Jackson found his birth mother. Their family's journey is a tale of Boston history". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  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. ^ Irons, Meghan E. (April 14, 2021). "Tito Jackson found his birth mother. Their family's journey is a tale of Boston history". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  6. ^ a b "Welcome titojacksonformayor.com - BlueHost.com". Titojacksonforboston.com. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  7. ^ White, Anna (25 September 2017). "Mayor of Boston Candidate Profile: Tito Jackson". Caught In Southie. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  8. ^ Guilfoil, John M. (December 21, 2010). "Tito Jackson set sights on City Council seat". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Special Preliminary Municipal Election - City Councillor District 7" (PDF). City of Boston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  10. ^ "Special Municipal Election - City Councillor District 7" (PDF). City of Boston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  11. ^ a b Gavin, Christopher (September 16, 2021). "Boston councilors again approve Commission on Black Men & Boys". Boston.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  12. ^ Van Zuylen-Wood, Simon (April 3, 2016). "Marty Walsh Is Not Tom Menino". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  13. ^ Miller, Yawu (5 March 2014). "Tito Jackson spearheads Boston commission on black boys and men". The Bay State Banner. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  14. ^ "MAYOR JANEY SIGNS ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING BLACK MEN AND BOYS COMMISSION". Boston.gov. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  15. ^ Moore, Mary (July 14, 2015). "City councilor sets deadline for Boston Olympics group to produce information". www.bizjournals.com. Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  16. ^ McNamara, Brittney (October 3, 2016). "Passing Question 2 irresponsible, opponents say". MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  17. ^ Dezenski, Lauren (September 13, 2016). "Advocates stake out positions on charter ballot question". Politico PRO. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  18. ^ Atkinson, Dan (2017-01-11). "Tito Jackson declares he's running for mayor". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  19. ^ "Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson Is Running For Mayor". WBUR. January 12, 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  20. ^ Irons, Meghan E. (2017-09-26). "Walsh, Jackson proceed to general mayoral election in Boston". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  21. ^ Brooks, Anthony (23 August 2021). "Push To Unite Black Vote Behind Janey Prompts Pushback In Boston Mayoral Race". www.wbur.org. WBUR. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  22. ^ a b "MUNICIPAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 7, 2017 : MAYOR CITY OF BOSTON" (PDF). Boston.gov. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  23. ^ Kashinsky, Lisa (10 August 2021). "JACKSON endorses JANEY — Campaigns SPLIT on STAFF VAX requirements — Climate report prompts CALLS for ACTION". Politico.com. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Boston mayor's race sours". politico.com. Politico. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  25. ^ Adams, Dan (January 17, 2019). "Former city councilor tells of plans for marijuana business". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  26. ^ Bowker, Brittany (March 29, 2020). "Former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson tests positive for coronavirus". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  27. ^ "CITY OF BOSTON MUNICIPAL ELECTION - SEPTEMBER 22, 2009 CITY COUNCILOR AT LARGE" (PDF). City of Boston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  28. ^ "CITY OF BOSTON MUNICIPAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 3, 2009 CITY COUNCILOR AT LARGE" (PDF). City of Boston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  29. ^ "CITY OF BOSTON SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION - March 15, 2011 CITY COUNCILOR DISTRICT 7" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  30. ^ "CITY OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY MUNICIPAL ELECTION - SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 CITY COUNCILOR DISTRICT 7" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  31. ^ "CITY OF BOSTON MUNICIPAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 8, 2011 CITY COUNCILOR DISTRICT 7" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  32. ^ "CITY OF BOSTON MUNICIPAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 5, 2013 CITY COUNCILOR DISTRICT 7" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  33. ^ "CITY OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY MUNICIPAL ELECTION - SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 CITY COUNCILOR DISTRICT 7" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  34. ^ "CITY OF BOSTON MUNICIPAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 3, 2015 CITY COUNCILOR DISTRICT 7" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  35. ^ "PRELIMINARY MUNICIPAL ELECTION - SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 MAYOR" (PDF). Boston.gov. Retrieved 2017-11-14.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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