Boston City Council

For people who have served as Councillors, see List of members of Boston City Council.

The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms, and there is no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve. Boston uses a strong-mayor form of government in which the city council acts as a check against the power of the executive branch, the mayor. The council is responsible for approving the city budget; monitoring, creating, and abolishing city agencies; making land use decisions; and approving, amending, or rejecting other legislative proposals.

Boston City Council
Seal of Boston
Logo
Type
Type	Unicameral deliberative assembly of Boston
History
Founded	1909 (current form)
Preceded by	Boston City Council (1822–1909)
Leadership
Council President	Ruthzee Louijeune (D)
Structure
Seats	13 officially non-partisan    9 district councilors    4 at-large councilors
Length of term	2 years
Elections
Voting system	First past the post in 9 districts; Nonpartisan Plurality-at-large voting for the at-large district.
Last election	November 2023
Next election	November 2025
Meeting place
Boston City Hall
Website
https://www.boston.gov/departments/city-council
Constitution
Boston City Charter

The leader of the City Council is the president and is elected each term by the council. A majority of seven or more votes is necessary to elect a councillor as president. When the mayor of Boston is absent from the city, or vacates the office, the City Council president serves as acting mayor. The president leads Council meetings and appoints councillors to committees.

Qualifications

Any person seeking to become a City Councillor in Boston must meet the following requirements:

• Be at least eighteen years of age
• Be a registered voter in Massachusetts

• Be a resident of their district for at least one year when elected

• Receive 1500 signatures from registered voters for At Large City Councillor
• Receive 200 signatures from registered voters for District City Councillor

History

Previous City Council

Main article: Boston City Council (1822–1909)

Prior to 1909, Boston's legislative body was bicameral, with an eight-member Board of Aldermen as well as a Common Council made up of three representatives from each of the 25 wards in the city. When the Boston City Charter was rewritten in 1909, the Board of Aldermen and the Common Council were replaced by a nine-member unicameral City Council.^[1] All nine councillors were elected at-large for terms lasting two years. The new charter also gave the Mayor the power to veto all acts of the City Council. The first council meeting as a unicameral body occurred on February 7, 1910.^[2]

The procedure for electing city councillors was changed by Chapter 479 of the Acts of 1924, which provided for the election of 22 city councillors, one from each ward, beginning with the biennial election in 1925. The procedure was changed again by Chapter 356 of the Acts of 1951, which provided for the election of nine city councillors, all at large, for two-year terms.^[3] In November 1981, Boston voters approved again changing the composition of the council, to 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members.^[4]

District representation

The 1981 referendum establishing the current 13-member composition of the Council did not indicate how the district lines would be drawn, only that the districts be of approximately equal population^[4] and district lines not cut across city precincts.

The Council created a districting committee to propose several different possible district maps and hold public hearings before presenting one plan to the council to approve.^[4] State law required the City Council to make a final decision on the districts within 90 days of being notified that the referendum had officially passed, meaning that the Council voting on the districts would be the 1982 Council, not the 1981 Council creating them.^[4] Then-president Patrick McDonough, who opposed district representation, appointed Rosemarie Sansone, a major advocate of district representation, as chair of the districting committee, but chose Frederick C. Langone, Dapper O'Neil, and John W. Sears as the other three members, all of whom opposed district representation.^[5] Both Langone and O'Neil would be returning to the Council in 1982, but Sansone did not run for re-election in 1981 and would not be able to vote on the district boundaries if the committee did not work quickly to present a plan to the council before the end of the year.^[4] Public hearings over possible district boundaries were full of heated debate between advocates of drawing lines to protect neighborhood unity and advocates of drawing lines to create two predominantly minority districts and give minorities a voice in local government.^[6] Contention centered around Dorchester and the South End. Dorchester, Boston's largest neighborhood, needed to be split into at least two districts.^[7] A simple split in half would create either a north and a south district or an east and a west district.^[7] An east district would be largely White (75% or greater) and a west district would be largely African-American. North and south districts would have less extreme majorities. Many residents were opposed to both divisions, stating that they would increase racial segregation in Dorchester and continue the political powerlessness of minorities.^[7] A more complicated split taking into account areas with large minority populations would create one predominantly minority district and one predominantly white district but treat Dorchester as several smaller neighborhoods to be divvied up among surrounding neighborhoods rather than as one community.^[7] In various proposals, the South End, due to its location, was grouped with either South Boston or Back Bay/Beacon Hill by advocates of neighborhood unity, or Roxbury by advocates of minority-dominated districts.^[5]

Two days before the 90-day deadline, freshman councillor Terrence McDermott, who had been appointed as Sansone's replacement for chair of the districting committee, presented a plan to the Council which was approved 7–2 (the dissenting votes came from Raymond Flynn and Bruce Bolling).^[8][9] Today's district boundaries are only slightly different from those adopted in 1982, with the South End and South Boston forming one district, and Dorchester roughly split into an east and a west district. The Council faced more challenges after finalizing the new districts, such as whether or not district councillors should receive a lower salary than at-large councillors^[10] and where office space for four additional councillors could be found in City Hall.

Party affiliation

By law, Boston municipal elections are nonpartisan in that candidates do not represent a specific political party. However, most city councillors have been members of the Democratic Party. John W. Sears was the first Republican elected to the Boston City Council, in 1980.^[11] Chuck Turner, who served during 1999–2010, was a member of the Green-Rainbow Party. Althea Garrison, who served during 2019,^[12] has identified as an independent since 2012, but formerly served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a Republican.

Acting mayors

When the Mayor of Boston is absent from the city, or vacates the office, the City Council president serves as acting mayor. The city charter places some restrictions on an acting mayor's authority:^[13] an acting mayor "shall possess the powers of mayor only in matters not admitting of delay, but shall have no power to make permanent appointments."^[14] Three presidents of the Boston City Council have served as acting mayors of Boston for extended periods after the Mayor vacated the office:

• John E. Kerrigan served as acting mayor from January 1945^[15] to January 1946,^[16] after mayor Maurice J. Tobin was elected Governor of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts legislature granted Kerrigan full mayoral authority.^[17] He sought election to a full term, but lost the November 1945 mayoral election to James Michael Curley.^[18]
  • In 1947, upon mayor Curley being sentenced to prison for mail fraud, the Massachusetts legislature passed emergency legislation to bypass council president John B. Kelly, who had recently been acquitted on bribery charges and was in ill health, and granted full mayoral powers to city clerk John Hynes until Curley's release.^[19]
• Thomas Menino became acting mayor in July 1993 upon mayor Raymond Flynn taking the position of United States Ambassador to the Holy See.^[20] Menino served as acting mayor until he was elected to his first full term in November 1993.^[21]
• Kim Janey became acting mayor in March 2021 upon mayor Marty Walsh taking the position of United States Secretary of Labor.^[22] Janey was an unsuccessful candidate in the November 2021 mayoral election.^[23][24]

In June 2021, the city council granted itself the authority to remove its president by a two-thirds majority vote.^[14] Should that action occur while a council president is serving as acting mayor, the role of acting mayor would be assigned to the new council president who would be elected by a simple majority of the city council.^[14] In 2022, the rule was removed. ^[25]

Membership milestones

• First female member: Mildred M. Harris (elected in 1937 special election)^[26]
• First African-American member: Laurence H. Banks (elected 1949, not seated until 1951 due to legal disputes)^[27][28]
• First African-American female member: Ayanna Pressley (elected 2009)^[29]
• First Latino member: Felix D. Arroyo (filled vacancy in 2003, elected 2003)^[30]
• First Latina member: Julia Mejia (elected 2019)^[31]
• First openly gay member: David Scondras (elected 1983)^[32]
• First Asian-American member: Sam Yoon (elected 2005)^[33]
• First Asian-American female member: Michelle Wu (elected 2013)^[34]
• First transgender member: Althea Garrison (filled vacancy in 2019)^[35]
• First female president: Louise Day Hicks (elected president 1976)^[36]
• First African-American president: Bruce Bolling (elected president 1986)^[37]
• First Asian-American president: Michelle Wu (elected president 2016)^[38]
• First African-American female president: Andrea Campbell (elected president 2018)^[39]
• First Muslim member: Tania Fernandes Anderson (elected 2021)^[40]
• First Haitian-American member: Ruthzee Louijeune (elected 2021) ^[41]

Districts and current council

Council districts

District[42][43]	Area[44]	Councillor[45]	In office since
District 1	Charlestown, East Boston, North End	Gabriela Coletta	2022 (May)
District 2	Chinatown, Downtown, South Boston, South End	Ed Flynn	2018 (January)
District 3	Dorchester	John FitzGerald	2024 (January)
District 4	Mattapan, Dorchester, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain	Brian Worrell	2022 (January)
District 5	Hyde Park, Roslindale, Mattapan	Enrique Pepén	2024 (January)
District 6	Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury	Benjamin Weber	2024 (January)
District 7	Roxbury, South End, Dorchester	Tania Fernandes Anderson	2022 (January)
District 8	Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway–Kenmore, Mission Hill, West End	Sharon Durkan	2023 (July)
District 9	Allston, Brighton	Liz Breadon	2020 (January)
	(At-large)	Henry Santana	2024 (January)
	(At-large)	Ruthzee Louijeune President	2022 (January)
	(At-large)	Julia Mejia	2020 (January)
	(At-large)	Erin Murphy	2021 (December)[46]

Committees

As of January 2020^[update], the City Council has the following committees:^[47]

Standing committees

Arts, Culture, and Special Events Census and Redistricting City, Neighborhood Services, and Veterans Affairs Civil Rights Community Preservation Act Education Environment, Sustainability, and Parks Government Operations Healthy Women, Families, and Communities

Homelessness, Mental Health, and Recovery Housing and Community Development Jobs, Wages, and Workforce Development Planning, Development, and Transportation Public Safety and Criminal Justice Rules and Administration Small Business and Consumer Affairs Ways and Means Whole

Special committees

• Special committee on Charter Reform

Salary

The salary for councillors is half of the mayor's salary. Every four years, the Council votes on whether or not to raise the mayor's salary, thereby also raising its own salaries or not.

In June 2018, the Council voted to increase the salary of the mayor from $199,000 to $207,000, effective after the mayoral election of November 2021 (term starting in January 2022); this increased the salary of councillors to $103,500, effective after the council elections of November 2019 (terms starting in January 2020).^[48][49]

City Council salaries since 1980

Year(s)	Salary	Ref.
1980	$20,000	[50]
1981–1986	$32,500	[51][52]
1987–1994	$45,000	[52][53]
1995–1998	$54,500	[54]
1999–2002	$62,500	[55]
2003–2006	$75,000	[56][57]
2006–2015	$87,500	[58]
2016–2019	$99,500	[58]
2020–present	$103,500	[49][59]

Presidents

(#) denotes different instances of a councillor serving as president

Year(s) Name 1910 Walter Ballantyne 1911 Daniel J. McDonald (1) 1912 John J. Attridge 1913 Thomas J. Kenny 1914 Daniel J. McDonald (2) 1915 George E. Coleman 1916 Henry E. Hagan 1917 James J. Storrow 1918 Walter L. Collins 1919 Francis J. W. Ford 1920 James T. Moriarty (1) 1921 James W. Watson 1922 David J. Buckley 1923 Daniel W. Lane 1924 John A. Donoghue 1925 James T. Moriarty (2) 1926 Charles G. Keene 1927 John J. Heffernan 1928 Thomas H. Green 1929 Timothy F. Donovan 1930 William G. Lynch 1931 Joseph McGrath (1) 1932 Edward M. Gallagher 1933 Joseph McGrath (2) 1934 John F. Dowd 1935–1937 John I. Fitzgerald 1938 John E. Kerrigan (1)

Year(s) Name 1939 George A. Murray 1940–1941 William J. Galvin 1942 Thomas E. Linehan 1943 Thomas J. Hannon (1) 1944–1945 John E. Kerrigan (2)1 1946–1947 John B. Kelly 1948 Thomas J. Hannon (2) 1949–1951 William F. Hurley (1) 1952 Gabriel F. Piemonte (1) 1953 Francis X. Ahearn 1954 Joseph C. White 1955 William F. Hurley (2) 1956 Edward J. McCormack Jr. 1957 William J. Foley Jr. (1) 1958 Patrick F. McDonough (1) 1959–1960 Edward F. McLaughlin Jr. 1961 Patrick F. McDonough (2) 1962 Christopher A. Iannella (1) 1963 Peter F. Hines 1964–1965 John J. Tierney 1966 Frederick C. Langone 1967 Barry T. Hynes 1968 William J. Foley Jr. (2) 1969 Gerald O'Leary (1) 1970–1972 Gabriel F. Piemonte (2) 1973 Patrick F. McDonough (3)

Year(s) Name 1974–1975 Gerald O'Leary (2) 1976 Louise Day Hicks 1977 Joseph M. Tierney (1) 1978 Lawrence DiCara 1979 Joseph M. Tierney (2) 1980 Christopher A. Iannella (2) 1981 Patrick F. McDonough (4) 1982 Christopher A. Iannella (3) 1983–1985 Joseph M. Tierney (3) 1986–1987 Bruce Bolling 1988–1992 Christopher A. Iannella (4) 1992 Dapper O'Neil2 1993 Thomas Menino3 1994–2000 James M. Kelly 2001 Charles Yancey 2002–2006 Michael F. Flaherty 2007–2008 Maureen Feeney 2009–2010 Michael P. Ross 2011–2013 Stephen J. Murphy 2014–2015 Bill Linehan 2016–2017 Michelle Wu 2018–2019 Andrea Campbell 2020–2021 Kim Janey4 2022–2023 Ed Flynn 2024–present Ruthzee Louijeune

1.^ Kerrigan served as acting mayor during a portion of this term as council president^[60]

2.^ O'Neil was elected council president after the death of predecessor.^[61]

3.^ Menino served as acting mayor during a portion of his council presidency^[62]

4.^ Janey served as acting mayor for a portion of her council presidency, and was absent from council proceedings during that time. Matt O'Malley presided over the council in her place.^[63]

Gallery of Boston City Council Presidents (partial)

Walter Ballantyne (1910) Daniel J. McDonald (1911, 1914) Thomas J. Kenny (1913) Henry E. Hagan (1916) James J. Storrow (1917) Walter L. Collins (1918) Francis J. W. Ford (1919) James T. Moriarty (1920, 1925) Daniel W. Lane (1923) Charles G. Keene (1926) John J. Herffernan (1927) Thomas H. Green (1928) Thomas F. Donovan (1929) William G. Lynch (1930) Edward M. Gallagher (1932) John F. Dowd (1934) John I. Fitzgerald (1935–1937) John E. Kerrigan (1938, 1944–1945) Thomas J. Hannon (1943, 1948) Francis X. Ahearn (1953) Joseph C. White (1954) Edward J. McCormack Jr. (1956) Patrick F. McDonough (1958, 1961, 1973, 1981) Edward F. McLaughlin Jr. (1959–1960) Christopher A. Iannella (1962, 1980, 1982, 1988–1992) John J. Tierney (1964–1965) Frederick C. Langone (1966) Barry T. Hynes (1967) Gerald O'Leary (1969, 1974–1975) Louise Day Hicks (1976) Joseph M. Tierney (1977, 1979, 1983–1985) Bruce Bolling (1986–1987) Dapper O'Neil (1992) Thomas Menino (1993) James M. Kelly (1994–2000) Charles Yancey (2001) Michael F. Flaherty (2002–2006) Maureen Feeney (2007–2008) Michael P. Ross (2009–2010) Stephen J. Murphy (2011–2013) Bill Linehan (2014–2015) Michelle Wu (2016–2017) Andrea Campbell (2018–2019) Kim Janey (2020–2021) Ed Flynn (2022–2023) Ruthzee Louijeune (2024–present)

Public records of Boston City Council

• City Departments' Annual Reports
• Complete stenographic machine record of the public meeting of Boston City Council
• Full text of Captions from Webcasts/Cablecasts of Boston City Council
• City Council page at boston.gov
  • Publications of Boston City Council
  • Communications of Boston City Council distributed by email
  • Communications of Council Committees

See also

• List of members of the Boston City Council, 1822–present
• Boston Board of Selectmen, 1630s–1822
• Boston City Hall, seat of municipal government 1969–present
• Old City Hall (Boston), seat of municipal government 1865–1969
• Suffolk County Courthouse, seat of municipal government c. 1841–1865
• Old State House (Boston, Massachusetts), seat of municipal government c. 1830–1841

References

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6. Ashbrook, Tom (December 15, 1981). "Dorchester speakers spar over districting proposals". The Boston Globe. p. 1. ProQuest 294105725.
7. Radin, Charles A. (January 24, 1982). "Districts – A clash of plans". The Boston Globe. p. 1. ProQuest 294125017.
8. Powers, John (March 7, 1982). "Neighborhood boy remaps city; Terry McDermott solved a political Rubik's Cube". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved March 1, 2009 – via pqarchiver.com.
9. Jordan, Robert A. (February 25, 1982). "COUNCIL OK'S 9 DISTRICTS". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved February 26, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
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12. Valencia, Milton (September 6, 2018). "Finally, Althea Garrison will be a city councilor". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
13. DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (January 22, 2021). "What's actually the difference between being mayor and acting mayor?". Boston.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
14. McDonald, Danny (June 9, 2021). "Boston councilors pass rule change that would allow them to remove a council president, including Acting Mayor Janey". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
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16. "Congressman Takes Job as Boston Mayor". The Tampa Tribune. January 8, 1946. Retrieved March 15, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
17. Doherty, Joseph (January 26, 1945). "Kerrigan First World War II Vet to Head City Government". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved June 11, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
18. "Curley Elected Mayor Of Boston 4th Time". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 7, 1945 – via newspapers.com.
19. "Hynes Is Temporary Mayor: Curley Starts Prison Term in Danbury, Conn. City Clerk Sworn In as Legislature Enacts Law By-Passing Kelly". The Boston Daily Globe. June 27, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved June 11, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
20. McGrory, Brian (July 13, 1993). "Menino, 'a neighborhood guy,' now at center stage". The Boston Globe. p. 12. Retrieved June 11, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
21. "Mayor Menino through the years". Boston.com. March 28, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
22. Gavin, Christopher (March 22, 2021). "Kim Janey becomes Boston's acting mayor, makes history as first Black person, woman to hold the office". Boston Herald. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
23. Gavin, Christopher (April 6, 2021). "Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey enters race to seek a full term". Boston.com. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
24. "Unofficial Election Results". Boston.gov. October 3, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
25. "City Council rules". July 2, 2016.
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27. Herman, Jennifer L. (2008). Massachusetts Encyclopedia. North American Book Distributors.
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31. "Julia Mejia Sworn In As Boston's First Latina City Councilor". CBS Boston. January 6, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
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38. Encarnacao, Jack (January 5, 2016). "Michelle Wu takes reins as Boston City Council president". Boston Herald. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
39. "Andrea Campbell to be the next City Council president". The Boston Globe. December 9, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
40. Bedford, Tori (November 3, 2021). "Tania Fernandes Anderson Makes History As Boston's First Muslim City Councilor-Elect". WGBH. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
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54. Aucoin, Don (December 22, 1994). "City councilors get a pay raise; Little public outcry heard as officials vote themselves 21 percent increase". Boston Globe. p. 30. ProQuest 290723825.
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Further reading

• Irons, Meghan E.; Ryan, Andrew (October 24, 2015). "Councilors insist their far-flung trips benefit the city". The Boston Globe.
• Sutherland, James; Chisholm, James (April 18, 2016). "Four arguments for four-year Boston City Council terms". commonwealthmagazine.org.
• "Firsts From the Women of the City Council". boston.gov. March 9, 2018. There has been at least one woman on the Boston City Council for the past 41 years, since 1974. The current makeup of the Council includes the most women ever in history! In honor of Women's History Month, here are some firsts being represented by the current women of the City Council.

External links

• City Council page at boston.gov
• City Council Committee hearing transcripts at Boston Archives (index)