BHS Alum Tito Jackson Makes Campaign Stop In Brookline

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline High School Alum Tito Jackson was in Brookline Tuesday evening talking to old friends and working to get the word out about his campaign.

Although the Brookline residents can't vote for him as Mayor of Boston, they can support him in other ways, said Jon Spack who went to school with Jackson and helped organize the gathering that included another BHS face who came to show support for Jackson for Mayor of Boston; Rob Weintraub a retired headmaster of Brookline High.

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"Tito? I love Tito. If you know somebody who you love, you want them to be mayor because you want to love your mayor," said Weintraub as he sipped from a beverage at a Sears Road home where fellow BHS alumni came to hear Jackson and Weintraub.

Weintraub said he remembered Jackson from his days as a 6'2 177 lb Freshman football player at the high school with whom he worked closely.

"When I first started there were some race issues back then," said Weintraub. "Tito was a major player in starting the Student Alliance Against Racism."

Essentially said Weintraub, the pro active alliance was similar to today's Courageous Conversations at the high school. The students met on a weekly basis talked about the climate of the school and tried to get out ahead of any race-related events and help educate the community.

"Tito has an amazing - and tough - story," said Weintraub. Jackson grew up in Roxbury, adopted by a couple after living in foster care for months. He was a METCO student at BHS, where Weintraub worked with him and was impressed with his leadership. Weintraub said he was worried when he heard Jackson was going to head to University of New Hampshire, thinking it wouldn't be the most diverse college Jackson could go to.

"But he was a powerful figure at Brookline High, and he was a powerful figure at College - he became the president of the student body there, and now he's a powerful figure in Boston," said Weintraub.

Jackson for his part said his education in Brookline helped him see that public schools can work.

"One of the reasons I'm running for mayor is the inspiration I received from Brookline High School. The quality and the diversity and the insistence of the Brookline residents and high school community to provide the best education possible. I've seen what a successful public education looks like," he said. "My passion is to create the same opportunities for all the young people of Boston."

Jackson said part of what he wanted to do as mayor of Boston was to fully fund K-12 programs such as computer science, civics, universal art, ethics curriculum and partner with colleges to help connect students. He also said he was concerned with the price of housing. "50 percent of Boston makes $35,000 or less, but most housing is priced for people who make $100,000 or more," he said.

Jackson added he wanted to bridge Boston's wealth gap by raising affordable housing in the city from 13 percent to 20 percent and add 1,000 homes to cater to people wanting to buy but with low and moderate income in his first five years as part of a plan that encompassed more than just one off pieces.

Where will the money come for all of this?

One of the ways Jackson proposes is to cut police overtime and hire more police officers, said Jackson who spent a decade in the private sector before moving into politics. "In the private sector if you paid someone the same as their base pay in overtime, you'd just hire a new person," said Jackson.

Photos by Jenna Fisher/ Patch