Gov. Deval Patrick may tend to stay out of contested primaries, but his wife, not so much. First Lady Diane Patrick is headlining District 7 candidate Tito Jackson's campaign kick-off Monday night.

The kick-off starts at 7 p.m. at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury.

Jackson, a former aide to Gov. Patrick, is among seven candidates running for the open seat, left vacant after the City Council voted out Councillor Chuck Turner because of his bribery conviction.

This wouldn't be the first time First Lady Patrick endorsed a candidate while the governor stayed out: When U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano was waging a primary campaign for U.S. Senate, the governor remained neutral while his wife endorsed him.

Asked by the Reporter earlier this month whether he would be campaigning for Jackson, the governor said, “I love Tito,” but added that Jackson had not asked for a formal endorsement yet. And, Patrick quipped, he has been “admonished” to stay out of contested primaries.

The other candidates running for Turner's seat include Cornell Mills, a former homicide investigator; Natalie Carithers, ex-aide to former state Rep. Willie Mae Allen; Danielle Renee Williams, a former aide to state Rep. Gloria Fox; Haywood Fennell, a write-in candidate and community activist; and perennial candidates Althea Garrison and Roy Owens.