Harvard University professor Danielle Allen, who has not held an elected office, is scheduled to announce her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor of Massachusetts on Tuesday morning.
He is expected to announce his candidacy at 10:00 am on Boston Common in front of the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial.
Allen, 49, is the first black woman to run for governor as a member of a prominent party in Massachusetts history. She announced in December that she was exploring joining the fray and has been traveling the state ever since to speak with residents.
In an interview Monday with NBC10 BostonAllen addressed the historical element of his campaign.
“You feel a great sense of responsibility, but also a sense of sadness because it shouldn’t have taken us 250 years to get to a point where this is possible,” he said.
Allen said in a video on his campaign website that the state’s elected leaders have defrauded the state.
“We all have a role to play in putting our society back on a path that really distributes opportunity fairly, and if our elected officials are not delivering, then we have to make a change.”
The reaction to the pandemic was “the last straw” that has left her with a “deep sense of betrayal.”
Allen enters the race at a time when Massachusetts politics is changing.
Kim Janey became Boston’s first black mayor just a few months ago, and most of the leading candidates for the fall election are not white.
Allen will be the second declared candidate from the Democratic field after former state senator Ben Downing. State Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz is exploring an offer and Attorney General Maura Healey has been mentioned as a possible candidate.
On the Republican side, Gov. Charlie Baker has yet to announce whether he will seek a third term. If he doesn’t, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito would probably be the favorite.
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