Setti Warren, the former mayor of Newton, died at his home Sunday at the age of 55, incumbent Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced.
Warren served Newton as mayor for eight years, from 2010 to 2018, becoming the first popularly elected Black American to serve as mayor in Massachusetts.
Before his death, Warren was an adjunct lecturer and the director of the Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, according to the school’s website.
Setti launched an unsuccessful bid for Massachusetts governor in 2017, dropping out of the race months later due to difficulties he said he had faced in financing a competitive campaign.