Come January 2020, Boston’s City Council welcomes its most diverse city council to take office in history, with minority candidates making up the majority, with eight of the 13 members women, and the first-ever openly LGBTQ woman, Liz Breadon of Allston-Brighton and an immigrant from Northern Ireland, taking her seat at the table.
“Boston has a vibrant LGBTQ community, yet for nearly three decades there was no openly LGBTQ person representing the community on the council,” said Mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, in a recent statement.
“While the city has a strong record on advancing LGBTQ equality,” Parker stated, “nearly every issue that comes to the council affects LGBTQ people in some way, making it essential an LGBTQ perspective is part of the conversation. This historic victory for Liz ends the long absence of LGBTQ voices – and we know all of Boston will benefit from her service.”
In addition, the recount is on to see if longtime community advocate Alejandra St. Guillen will become the first openly LGBTQ Latinx woman to serve on the council, with a gap of a mere eight votes (after the tally reduced an initial post-election gap of 10) between her and fellow Latinx community leader Julia Meijia.
Reports NPR’s WBUR 90.8 FM:
If the unofficial results hold, Mejia would join at-large incumbents Michelle Wu, Annissa Essaibi-George and Michael Flaherty, and she would replace Althea Garrison, who moved onto the council after Ayanna Pressley won a seat in Congress. Garrison, a self-described conservative, finished seventh on Tuesday [Nov. 6].
Said Mejia, as her supporters waved Dominican flags Tuesday night: “My mother, who I cleaned offices with in this city, who was undocumented, was able to cast a ballot for her daughter. That goes to show what the American dream really is all about.”
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