(Photo by Ernesto J. Arroyo Photography) City Councilor Felix Arroyo announces his mayoral candidacy downtown on April 9.
City Councilor At-Large Felix Arroyo, a Jamaica Plain resident, and City Councilor Mike Ross, who represents part of the neighborhood, joined the mayoral race this week. At least two other JP-area officials—state Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez and City Councilor Charles Yancey—are still considering a run.
“I will bring my skills as a community organizer, my experience as a city councilor and my commitment to moving Boston forward to the office of mayor,” Arroyo said in a press statement.
Ross said in press statement that with the “spirit of community activism and determination to continue building a better Boston, I am announcing that I will be getting into the race for mayor. I love this city. I believe in its people and our limitless potential.”
In the statement, he talked about how his father, a Holocaust survivor, and his mother, who is gay, taught him about the immigrant experience and tolerance.
Along with Arroyo and Ross, the announced candidates at the Gazette’s deadline included Roxbury radio host Charles Clemons, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley of West Roxbury, City Councilor At-Large John Connolly of West Roxbury, City Councilor Rob Consalvo of Hyde Park, Hyde Park businessman Will Dorcena, Shawmut Construction community relations official Bill Walczak of Dorchester and state Rep. Martin Walsh of Dorchester.
Arroyo formerly worked as a union organizer and as an aide to former City Councilor Chuck Turner, and also previously served on the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council. He is the son of former City Councilor Felix D. Arroyo, who was a popular JP resident and the city’s first Latino councilor. Boston has never had a Latino mayor.
Ross, a Mission Hill resident, has represented District 8, which includes part of Hyde Square in JP, since 1999. The former City Council president is known as a longtime critic of the impact of college student housing on neighborhoods, for getting more local job opportunities in the Longwood Medical Area, and for advocating for a restaurant on the Boston Common. He is the son of Stephan Ross, a Holocaust survivor who co-founded the New England Holocaust Memorial downtown.
Other local elected officials have said they will not run for mayor. They include state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, state Rep. Russell Holmes, City Councilor Matt O’Malley and City Councilor Tito Jackson.
O’Malley, a JP resident, recently endorsed Connolly’s campaign.
City Councilor and mayoral candidate Mike Ross. (Courtesy Photo)