Kevin Hayden

My father, Bob Hayden, served many roles in our community: president of Boston’s NAACP, executive director of METCO, a regular columnist for the Bay State Banner, assistant superintendent of Boston Public Schools, a professor of African American studies at several Boston area universities and colleges, author of several books about Black excellence, and the preeminent expert on Black history in Boston and beyond.

Who would have thought that the phrase “Just say no” would inspire Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden to say yes to a career in law enforcement?

Interim District Attorney Kevin Hayden declared victory Tuesday evening after the Associated Press projected a win for his campaign with more than 15,000 mail-in votes yet to be counted.

After securing a judgement last Thursday ordering the release of redacted documents for a 2005 sexual assault case in which he was accused, City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo is claiming he’s been vindicated, citing a Boston Police Department finding that the allegations were, in an officer’s words, “unfounded.”

A woman whom the Boston Globe alleged suspected Ricardo Arroyo of sexually assaulting her after she blacked out at a party in 2007 hit back at the weekly newspaper in a statement released Wednesday stating that Arroyo was never a suspect in her assault and charging that an investigator hired by District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s campaign told her she would be part of a political scandal.

Kevin Hayden has always been regarded as a man of high principal and character. It is disheartening to see Black activists turn on a member of the community.

The next Suffolk County district attorney will face a challenging question: Is Boston equipped to handle a rising tide of hate crimes and white supremacist activity?

District Attorney Kevin Hayden and City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo presented their visions for criminal justice reform at a forum sponsored by the Ward 12 Democratic Committee.

There is one office that requires special qualifications, and the voters alone have to determine which of the candidates is most likely to serve the public interests the best. That post is district attorney.

Surrounded by elected officials and supporters in Roslindale Square on Tuesday, District 5 City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo announced he is running for Suffolk County District attorney.