Politics & Government

Charlestown Man Considering City Council Run

Former Mayor's Office liaison Jack Kelly has said he may seek one of four at-large seats.

A Charlestown resident is considering a run for Boston City Council.

Jack Kelly, who formerly served as Charlestown's neighborhood liaison in the Mayor's Office, has announced interest in running this year for one of the council's four at-large seats, the Dorchester Reporter wrote on Monday.

Kelly, who served as the mayor's community liaison from 2006 to 2011, told the Reporter that he was "considering all my options" and hadn't made a final decision about running.

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The Charlestown resident currently works as a community relations manager at Massachusetts General Hospital. According to his LinkedIn page, Kelly serves on a number of community organizations, including Charlestown Against Drugs and the Charlestown Substance Abuse Coalition.

He previously wrote a column on Charlestown Patch called "Leaning Forward from Bunker Hill," writing about politics, sports and social issues.

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Kelly has a bachelor's in political science from the University of Massachusetts Boston, according to the LinkedIn profile.

Speaking to Patch on Tuesday afternoon, Kelly reiterated that he had not made a decision yet on whether he would run but said he was "just observing and keeping my options open." 

At MGH, Kelly is working on a project designed to increase awareness of and testing for sexually transmitted diseases such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV. He currently works out of the MGH Charlestown clinic on High Street.

"I'm very happy where I'm at now," Kelly said. "I'm very excited to be working for Mass. General Hospital. [The City Council run] is just something that I'm keeping my options open about. People have come up to me and asked."

In December, South End resident Michelle Wu announced she plans to run for one of the four at-large City Council seats, becoming the first candidate of this election season to do so.

Candidates can apply for nomination papers to run for Boston City Council beginning on April 17, according to the 2013 Election Calendar posted on the Boston Election Department web page. At-large city council candidates must collect a minimum of 1,500 signatures of registered Boston voters to make it on the ballot.

City councillors currently holding the four at-large seats include Felix Arroyo, John Connolly, Stephen Murphy and Ayanna Pressley.

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