Joining a growing field of city council hopefuls in next year’s municipal election, David Halbert of Dorchester announced last week that he will again seek an at-large seat on the panel.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the support our campaign has seen so far.  It’s clear that our vision of greater representation and ambitious public policy makes our city stronger, more progressive, and more inclusive, which speaks to this unique moment in Boston’s history,” Halbert said in a statement. 

If elected, Halbert, who says he has raised $25,000 in campaign funds from grassroots supporters, would become the first Black man on the council since 2011, when Tito Jackson won a seat in a special election.

A number of candidates are now in the race for council seats, tantalizing targets now that two sitting councillors – At-large member Michelle Wu and District 4’s Andrea Campbell – on the 13-member body have announced mayoral campaigns.

Other at-large incumbent councillors — Annissa Essaibi George, Michael Flaherty, and Julia Mejia, who was elected in 2019 with a margin of one vote— are expected to seek re-election.

Halbert, who worked for former Gov. Deval Patrick, currently sits on the boards of the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council, East Boston Main Streets, and the East Boston Project Advisory Committee (PierPAC).  

Alex Gray, currently a policy analyst at City Hall, was the first to announce his campaign for a citywide council seat, doing so in early November. The 36-year-old Democrat from Jamaica Plain hopes to become Boston’s first-ever blind elected official. He, too, previously served as an adviser to former Gov. Deval Patrick.