Jamaica Plain News (https://www.jamaicaplainnews.com/tag/andrea-campbell)
The next JP Progressives political forum will be with Democratic Party candidates for Attorney General on July 13. The Democratic Party field includes former Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell, Shannon Liss-Riordan, and Quentin Palfrey. Two of three candidates are confirmed to attend. The forum will be on Wednesday, July 20 at 7 pm via Zoom. Please Register at tinyurl.com/JPP-2022-AG.
Acting Mayor Kim Janey announced on Thursday that all city employees must report their COVID-19 vaccination status or submit to weekly testing. But the testing mandate will be phased in during two months. The updated policy applies to all city employees, onsite contractors and volunteers who provide services onsite at city worksites. That includes all full-time, part-time, seasonal, emergency and probationary workers. The requirement to report one's vaccination status doesn't begin until August 30, when employees can begin to upload their vaccination verification information into the Vaccination Verification online portal.
District 4 City Councilor Andrea Campbell has thrown her hat into the ring to be the next mayor of Boston. "In this profound moment of reckoning for our country and our city, as people rise up to demand change, Boston needs leadership that not only understands, but has lived the systemic inequities facing our residents every day," said Campbell on her campaign site. "I’m running for Mayor to be that leader, to confront racism head-on, eradicate inequities, and finally make Boston a City that works for everyone." Campbell was the first the first Black woman to serve as Boston City Council president, and was long rumored to be running for mayor. Campbell announced her candidacy on Thursday in front of 1850 Washington St.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr was in Boston on Thursday and met with Boston Police Commissioner William Gross. That meeting sparked criticism from many elected officials, and led to Gross defending why he met with the controversial head of the Department of Justice. The U.S. Department of Justice tweeted out a photo of Barr and Gross shoulder-to-shoulder, and not wearing masks together in Boston. Supposedly it was the first time a sitting U.S. Attorney General had visited the Boston Police Department. As chief legal counsel to the president, Barr has most recently been widely condemned for ordering peaceful protestors to be teargassed in Washington D.C. to clear the way for President Trump to walk where the protestors were occupying so he could do a photo op.
Saying that Boston needs to be a leader in battling racism, Mayor Marty Walsh declared racism a public health crisis. He also announced that 20% or $12 million of the Boston Police Department's overtime budget will be reallocated as investments in equity and inclusion in the city. "In Boston, we embrace the opportunity this moment and this movement offers us," said Walsh on Friday. "We stand with our Black community and communities of color to lead the change toward a more just and equitable society. With these actions, we will increase equity in public safety and public health, and launch a conversation that can produce lasting, systemic change to eliminate all the ways that racism and inequality harm our residents."
Mayor Marty Walsh and the Boston City Council were sworn into office on Monday, and nothing was more moving than At-Large City Councilor Julia Mejia adding to her American Dream. We'll just let Mejia tell it. And to think that Mejia was almost not elected, as she won a recount by one vote against Alexandra St. Guillen. Not only did Mejia make history, but this current Boston City Council also changed Boston history, which was pointed out by many people, including District 4 City Councilor Andrea Campbell.
District 4 City Council Andrea Campbell was unanimously chosen as the Boston City Council president on New Year's Day. Campbell is now the city council president in only her second term in office after being first elected to the council in 2015. District 4 primarily includes Dorchester and Mattapan, as well parts of Roslindale and a small part of Jamaica Plain. Below is Campbell's inaugural speech given during the Boston City Council's first meeting on New Year's Day:
Good afternoon! I want to welcome all of you -- family, friends, and guests -- to the Boston City Council chamber on this historic day in the city of Boston.
As expected Mayor Martin Walsh easily defeated District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson for a second term. But it was the Boston City Council races that were more interesting. Walsh took 65% of the vote to Jackson's 33%, according to unofficial results as of 10:30 pm on Tuesday. The only truly contested race in Jamaica Plain was the District 7 race (there's a little bit of District 7 in JP by Egleston Square). After a preliminary that had more than a dozen candidates Kim Janey and Rufus Faulk faced each other.
What do you need to know about Tuesday's election? How about perhaps it's the sleepiest low-key election in Boston history? At least in the last 25 years. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh is expected to cruise past current District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson in the mayoral race. In the September preliminary Walsh took more than 60% of votes and Jackson got 29%.
Much to the frustration of Jamaica Plain residents and those in other Boston neighborhoods, there has been a noticeable increase in airplane noise in recent months. Several Boston city councilors recently wrote a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration and Massport to express their own concerns, as well as their constituents' reported vexation. Seven city councilors representing Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, Mattapan, Roslindale and West Roxbury penned the letter to Amy Lind Corbett, the regional administrator of the New England region for the FAA, and Thomas Glynn, CEO of Massport. "Nearly every morning, planes begin to fly overhead at or before 6 a.m. and often continue essentially non-stop for hours at a time. This can negatively impact an individual’s sleeping pattern, acuity, and quality of life," says the letter.