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Friday, March 29, 2024
Jay Livingstone said Wednesday that he is running for special election to the House in the 8th Suffolk District.

Jay Livingstone said Wednesday that he is running for special election to the House in the 8th Suffolk District.

With state Rep. Marty Walz resigning to become president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Beacon Hill resident and self-described progressive activist Jay Livingstone said Wednesday that he will run to replace her in the 8th Suffolk District. The district includes Cambridgeport and parts of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology area as well as parts of Beacon Hill, Back Bay and the West End in Boston.

Walz has said she’s leaving this month and starting with Planned Parenthood next month. A special election to replace her has been set for June 25, with a May 28 primary.

Nils Tracy, a research analyst at the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation and another Beacon Hill resident, said Saturday that he was running as well.

In a press release, Livingstone said he was “excited to take this step to provide the independent progressive leadership the residents of this district deserve.”

Livingstone claims experience in leading voter outreach and organizing efforts in communities throughout and beyond the district, including for candidates Elizabeth Warren, Deval Patrick, Mac D’Alessandro and Suzanne Lee. He is also a board member of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, and is clerk of its Zoning and Licensing Committee. Tracy is a member of the association.

“For years, I’ve had the opportunity to engage with residents of each of this district’s neighborhoods and worked side by side with some of the most committed community leaders in the area,” Livingstone said.

Hillary Clinton fundraiser Frances Burke will lead his campaign, and earning the support of a broad coalition of community leaders, activists, and donors, he said. Livingstone said he deposited more than $10,000 in contributions into the campaign account Wednesday.

“Jay Livingstone will run a responsive, independent-minded, people-focused campaign,” Burke said in the press release.  “He is highlighting inclusiveness, sensible economic policy with accountability, and gender equity. It is an honor for me to chair Jay Livingstone’s campaign to be our next State Representative.”

Livingstone  was raised in North Attleboro and graduated from the University of Connecticut and George Washington University Law School. His work experience includes serving as assistant district attorney for the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office. He lives on Beacon Hill, and works as an employment discrimination and criminal defense attorney and adjunct professor at Northeastern Law School.

This post was updated Feb. 9, 2013, with dates regarding a special election.