Northeastern University’s School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs will host a Q-and-A-style public forum on Sunday featuring Boston’s mayoral and city council at-large candidates in advance of next month’s election, which is less than two weeks away.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Northeastern, will moderate the forum, which is free and open to the public. It will be held Sunday Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in Blackman Auditorium, in conjunction with co-sponsors including the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern, the League of Women Voters of Boston, the Ward Fellows of Boston Latin School alumni group, and Revolution Radio Network—whose president, Northeastern alumnus Jeffrey Santos, helped to organize the event.
“This is an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to engage with candidates in a meaningful way on the eve of this important upcoming election,” said Joan Fitzgerald, dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs.
Pamela Julian, president of the League of Women Voters of Boston, will join Fitzgerald in welcoming the two mayoral and eight city council at-large candidates.
The Nov. 5 election will mark the first time in two decades Boston will elect a new mayor. Thomas M. Menino has held the office since first being elected in 1993.
At the forum, the eight city council at-large candidates will field a range of questions from the audience, which will include students from Northeastern’s College Democrats and College Republicans student groups and students from the Boston Latin School. Mayoral candidates John R. Connolly and Martin J. Walsh will separately tackle audience questions relevant to their respective campaign priorities and visions for Boston’s future.
The candidates for the city’s four city council at large seats are: current city councilors at large Ayanna S. Pressley and Stephen J. Murphy; Martin J. Keough, a lawyer from West Roxbury; Jack F. Kelly III, a former neighborhood coordinator; Annissa Essaibi-George, an East Boston High School teacher and small business owner; Michael F. Flaherty, former city councilor at large; Michelle Wu, former campaign aide for current U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren; and Jeffrey Michael Ross, an immigration lawyer.
The event aligns with the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs’ ongoing work to foster interdisciplinary social science research on critical public policy issues, provide policy-relevant and professional training for tomorrow’s leaders, energize sustained community involvement through collaborations with local and regional institutions, and offer a venue for public discourse and problem solving.
– By Northeastern News
