Tito Jackson (politician)


Tito Jackson is an American politician who was a member of the Boston City Council. He represented council District 7, which consists of the Roxbury neighborhood and parts of Dorchester, South End, and Fenway. In 2017, he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Boston.

Early life

Jackson was born to a young teenager who had been sexually assaulted. He was adopted by his current parents after months in foster care. Jackson grew up in Roxbury’s Grove Hall neighborhood, the son of Rosa and Herb Jackson, who were community activists in the city. Jackson attended Brookline High School and later graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.

Political career

In 2007, Jackson became the Industry Director for Information Technology in Governor Deval Patrick’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. Later, Jackson became the Political Director on Governor Patrick’s successful re-election campaign in 2010.

Boston City Council

In the Boston City Council election of 2009, Jackson ran as an at-large candidate. He lost in his first attempt by 11,676 votes.
Jackson ran in the 2011 special election for the District 7 seat to succeed Chuck Turner, who was expelled from the City Council after a public corruption investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Jackson finished first out of seven candidates in the preliminary election and defeated Cornell Mills, the son of former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson, 82 percent to 16 percent in the general election.
Councillor Jackson was the Chair of the Committee on Education, and the Chair of the Special Committee on the Status of Black and Latino Men and Boys. Councillor Jackson also served as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Healthy Women, Families and Communities. In addition, he was a member of six other Committees: City, Neighborhood Services and Veteran Affairs; Homelessness, Mental Health and Recovery; Housing and Community Development, Jobs, Wages and Workforce Development; Public Safety and Criminal Justice; and together with all other Councillors, the Committee of the Whole.

2017 mayoral election

In January 2017 Jackson announced he would run for Mayor of Boston in the 2017 mayoral election against the incumbent, Marty Walsh.
In the preliminary election held on September 26, 2017, Jackson received 29 percent of the votes to Walsh's 63 percent. Jackson moved onto the general election on November 7, 2017. Only 14 percent of the city's voting population cast votes compared to the last preliminary mayoral contest in 2013 with 31 percent.
Jackson lost the general election race with 34 percent of the votes to Walsh's 65 percent.
;Results
Note: 0.66% were write-in votes in the general election.

Post-political career

As of 2019, Jackson is the chief executive of Verdant Medical, a Massachusetts medical & recreational marijuana company.