Community Organizer Barros Joins Boston Mayoral Field

The crowded field of candidates in the race for mayor of Boston continues to grow, as community organizer John Barros launched his campaign Thursday.

Barros, a son of Cape Verdean immigrants, started volunteering with the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative when he was a teenager. For the past 12 years he's been the nonprofit's executive director.

A graduate of Boston College High School and Dartmouth College, Barros says education has been central to his personal journey.

A member of the Boston School Committee, Barros voted against the city's new student assignment plan, which he says could have been better.

"I think that the plan needs to be tweaked to be more equitable," he said, "and I think at the same time we need to define quality — not just to measure schools but the way to get there."

He says as mayor his goal is to lead a city that offers a high quality education to every child.