Coffee with Candidates: Kim Janey

BOSTON — Our Coffee with Candidates series returns with conversations with the five major candidates seeking to be the next mayor of Boston.

Our mayoral series wraps up with Boston 25 News Anchor Kerry Kavanaugh’s conversation with Boston’s Acting Mayor, Kim Janey.

They recently met up for coffee at the Dudley Café in Roxbury.

Janey has served as Boston’s acting mayor the last four months. She was City Council President at the time President Joe Biden tapped Mayor Marty Walsh to be his Labor Secretary. She is the first woman and first black person to lead the city of Boston.

She talked to Kavanaugh about what she learned about herself after, as she put it, she was dropped into the role of mayor.

“As a woman, and particularly as a black woman specifically had to always kind of meet the challenge, meet the moment, overcome adversity, certainly, in my personal life and my professional career,” Janey said. “And, you know, we certainly and continue to face a number of complex, unprecedented challenges. And so, I think, you know, just reaffirming my own kind of determination.”

Janey is born and raised in Roxbury. She lived through Boston’s bussing era. She was a mother at 16-years-old and is now a grandmother. She says all her experiences have shaped who she is as a leader.

Kavanaugh also spoke with Janey about Boston’s affordable housing crisis, a top issue for voters.

Watch the video to find out how she’ll tackle that plus see the rest of the extended conversation.

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Coffee with Candidates: Kim Janey

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