Former city councilor Andrea Campbell announced her bid for Attorney General on Feb, 2 at a press conference in Dorchester. Campbell joins attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan and former Assistant Attorney General Quentin Palfrey in the race to fill the seat currently held by Maura Healey, who is running for governor.
Elected in 2015, Campbell was the first woman to hold the District 4 City Council seat, and she also ran for mayor of Boston during the last election.
“Now, Andrea is running for Massachusetts Attorney General to be your voice, your advocate, your champion—for fundamental change and progress,” her campaign website states. “To be an attorney general for justice for all. To be an attorney general for opportunity for all. Truly, to be an attorney general for all of us—no matter who you are, where you come from, or where you live.”
Campbell grew up in Roxbury, and her mother died in a car accident when she was eight months old—she was going to visit Campbell’s father in prison. Campbell lived in public housing and her brothers were in and out of prison, where her twin brother Andre died “as a pre-trial detainee,” according to her website.
“Through all of this, Andrea persevered,” her website states. “Thanks to loving relatives, community support and a network of teachers who encouraged her, she turned pain into purpose. She graduated from Boston Latin School and then worked her way through college with the help of grants and student loans, graduating from Princeton University and UCLA Law School.”
Campbell has held various roles in the legal field, from legal services attorney for the EdLaw project to an employment attorney to General Counsel at the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission. She also worked for Governor Deval Patrick as legal counsel.
In a series of tweets following the press conference, Campbell outlined some stops she made that day in Worcester and Springfield.
“Affordable housing is a critical building block that allows for upward mobility and opportunity,” she wrote. “I just visited the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance to learn about their collaborative response to addressing homelessness that fosters long-term housing stability.”
Campbell also visited the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester. “For me, after-school programs were a refuge from chaos at home. As AG, I will advocate for every child to have a place to go when the school day ends,” she tweeted.
Campbell also chatted with residents in Springfield—“We need to work collaboratively so small businesses, workers, and families partner to ensure prosperity and opportunity reach every corner of Massachusetts,” Campbell wrote.
More information about Andrea Campbell can be found on her campaign website, andreacampbell.org, or her Twitter, @AndreaForAG.