Last week, 314 Action Fund announced its endorsement of Dr. Jon Santiago in the race to become the next mayor of Boston. A physician, Santiago has fought on the side of science in the emergency room and in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he has served the people of the ninth Suffolk district since 2019. Dr. Santiago would be the first physician to serve as mayor of Bos-ton in nearly 150 years.
“Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Jon Santiago has shown remarkable leadership — from treating patients as an emergency room physician at Boston Medical Center to fighting for pro-science policies that help Boston families,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action. “Dr. Santiago’s backgrounds in medicine and policy make him uniquely qualified to lead Boston as the city continues to recover from the pandemic and into a more just and more equita-ble future. We’re proud to support him and are eager to help make sure Bosto-nians know his story.”
“I am thrilled to be endorsed by 314 Action,” said Dr. Jon Santiago. “A STEM program changed my life and set me on a path to achieve my dream of becom-ing a medical doctor. As mayor, I will use my background to reimagine and re-shape Boston by using the mayor’s office to expand STEM learning for our stu-dents and let science guide sustainable policy making.”
314 Action Fund is committed to building a bench of strong STEM candidates at the state and local levels who may pursue higher office in the future. In 2020, 314 Action Fund committed $1 million to elect scientists running for state leg-islative offices across the country in a partnership with the Democratic Legisla-tive Campaign Committee and Democratic legislative caucuses. In 2022, 314 Action Fund will aim to spend $50 million to elect scientists across all levels of government, with initial targets of seven U.S. Senate races, forty U.S. House races, and twenty-one statewide races.