Malden City Councilor Making Mayoral Run

MALDEN, MA — A City Councilor announced she is making a run for Mayor in 2027.

Karen Colón Hayes was first elected as a Councilor-at-Large in 2021 and is in the midst of her second three-year term. Throughout her local government career, she is credited with establishing and expanding the Malden Youth Council, being a founder of the Malden Warming Center at the Church of Nazarene on Eastern Avenue and she also has run the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

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Hayes was born in the Bronx neighborhood of New York. Her father is native to Puerto Rico and her mother immigrated from the Czech Republic. She first came to Malden more than 30 years ago where she raised three children along with her husband, Patrick.

“We searched for a long time to find a place to call home, and when we found Malden I knew immediately this was the place for us,” Hayes said in a statement. “As we stepped off the T in Malden Center, I instantly felt at home. I was met with many different faces, cultures and a “small town feel” in a city of 60,000 residents.”

Before deciding to stay at home and raise her children, Hayes worked for 25 years in numerous managerial roles in the fields of architecture and psychiatry research. No longer working gave Hayes the ability to get more involved in the community in Malden and beyond. In addition to being a City Councilor, she is also a board member for the Metro North Housing Corporation, a founding member of Malden Neighbors Helping Neighbors, and President of the Friends of Oak Grove.

Hayes is running against current School Committee member Jenn Spadafora. Incumbent Gary Christenson has not yet announced if he plans to run for reelection when his current term expires in 2027.

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