I am officially announcing my candidacy for Boston City Council At-Large.
Boston is the best city in the world. It has given me, and countless others, access to limitless opportunity. When you love something as much as I love this city, it is important to not just celebrate our successes, but also to identify our challenges and work tirelessly to fix them. This is what I have committed my professional life to, and it is what I will do as your Boston City Councilor At-Large.
I’m a Boston kid. I grew up on Mission Hill in the 1980s in a large Nigerian family. I attended high-quality parochial and public schools and graduated from BPS, UMass Amherst, and law school. Unfortunately, many friends from my neighborhood did not receive the same opportunities, education, and services they needed and ended up going down a different path – leading to incarceration and underemployment.
After graduating from college, I was given an opportunity that changed my life. Mayor Tom Menino hired me to be his neighborhood coordinator for Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Mission Hill, Fenway & Kenmore. Here, I delivered City services, working with residents on the little things and the big and seeing firsthand how responsive government can change the lives of people.
Under the leadership of Boston’s last four mayors – Tom Menino, Marty Walsh, Kim Janey, and Michelle Wu – I have spent nearly two decades working daily to improve our city. From serving as Executive Director of the City of Boston’s Office of Fair Housing, Equity & Civil Rights to my tenure as Deputy Commissioner/Director of Housing at Boston’s Inspectional Services Department, I have a comprehensive understanding of what works in City government, and frankly, what needs to be overhauled.
I will be a City Councilor for all of Boston, bringing experience, professionalism, civility, and an appreciation for varying viewpoints to get things done for our residents.
Please join me as I bring this commonsense approach to expanding access to affordable housing and homeownership opportunities, investing in our public schools, ensuring our neighborhoods are safe and healthy, supporting Boston’s small businesses and regional economic engine, standing up for our seniors, and delivering effective and responsive constituent services.