Economic development chief resigns
Boston economic development chief John Barros, who’s expected to run for mayor, has resigned his post — and a source close to him says he’s nearing a decision about jumping into the race.
Barros submitted his letter of resignation, and his last day is Friday, according to the city.
He’s thought to be gearing up for a run for the open mayoral seat. A source familiar with his deliberations said he’s getting close to making a decision.
Barros, who spent 13 years as executive director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, previously ran for mayor in 2013, finishing in the middle of the pack. But the winner, Mayor Martin Walsh, made Barros his economic development chief, a cabinet position the Roxbury resident has served in ever since.
Walsh is expected to depart in the coming weeks after the U.S. Senate approves him as the Labor secretary.
The contest to replace him continues to heat up, with, this week, state Rep. Jon Santiago joining City Councilors Andrea Campbell, Annissa Essaibi-George and Michelle Wu in the race. State Sen. Nick Collins and City Council President Kim Janey, who will become acting mayor when Walsh leaves, are also mulling runs.
Barros, in his resignation letter first reported by The Boston Globe, wrote to Walsh that he’s “proud” of the work they’ve done together.
He said, “I am grateful for the opportunity you gave me in 2014 to establish and lead the new cabinet of Economic Development, focused on growing our city’s economy in an equitable and sustainable way.”
He cites the recently released disparity study, which found only a very small percentage of Boston’s contracts were going to people of color and resulted in the city setting out new goals.
In the letter, he looks to turn those recent negative headlines to the positive, touting “the executive order setting a goal that the City spend 25% of the money it uses to purchase goods and services with businesses owned by people of color and women.”