After five months on the campaign trail, Baton-Rouge, La. native Landon Lemoine has announced his withdrawal from the race for District 8 City Council. Lemoine told the Sun that he has been balancing a full-time job with his campaign, and decided that he would not have the proper time to dedicate to the community. Lemoine works for a healthcare startup and said he has just been granted more responsibility as the company embarks on a hiring spree this summer. He submitted the following letter to the Sun:
“When I launched this campaign in February, my goal was to bring a new voice – a working voice – to the City of Boston.
Through the course of this campaign, my love for our city and the people of Boston has only grown. I have been moved by the stories I have heard on the campaign trail, stories that have confirmed for me that our community is being held back by the politics of the past that have failed to keep up.
“Recently, it has become clear that due to increasing professional responsibilities, my time engaging with the residents of District 8 would be limited, preventing me from running the kind of grassroots campaign I need and want to run. While this is challenging for me to say, I am withdrawing my candidacy for District 8 City Councilor.
“I want to thank everyone who has supported this campaign and want to reassure this community, my community, that I will not stop fighting and working for a stronger, better Boston. There is a lot of work to be done and I will continue to be involved in the neighborhoods, and organizations that I have encountered along the way.
“Thank you again for your support and dedication to making our city a stronger community for everyone.”-Landon
This leaves five remaining candidates in the race, with the primary election on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Lemoine said he “won’t be endorsing any District 8 candidate in the near-term,” but he will be involved in the at-large race supporting candidate Alejandra St. Guillen.
“My work in the neighborhood is just getting started and I look forward to representing the constituents and neighbors who put their support behind me,” Lemoine said. “It’s clear after knocking thousands of doors and speaking to voters across the District that we need a new type of representation in our local government.”