Republican Pastor Roy Owens, a former Boston Public Schools teacher, is challenging incumbent Democratic state Rep. John Moran for the 9th Suffolk District seat.
Owens said his “opponents have failed to take a stand against laws forcing pastors to promote unhealthy lifestyle habits in their churches or face jail and large fines,” according to his website.
Moran succeeded former state Rep. Jon Santiago in June 2023 after Santiago was tapped to run the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans’ Services.
He previously worked at Bose and was a member of Boston City Council member Tania Fernandes Anderson’s Advisory Council from 2021 to 2023.
Moran’s priorities include creating affordable housing for constituents, protecting reproductive and LBGTQ+ rights, and improving public transportation, according to his campaign website.
This race isn’t Owens’ first run for office.
He ran in several past elections, including Boston City Council District 7 in 2023, 2019, 2017 and 2015; the 5th Suffolk District race in 2022 and 2018; Boston City Council-at-Large in 2021; against U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley in 2020, and in the 2nd Suffolk District race in 2014 and 2012.
His priorities include opposing new liquor licenses on Blue Hill Avenue. He suggested that 7-Eleven “has moved to control the alcohol and marijuana drug market in Massachusetts,” according to his website.
