MassVoter.com← BostonMunicipal votes · 2022–2023 Council
Boston City Council
How the Boston City Council voted, from the City Clerk's official minutes. 13 councilors: 4 elected at large and one from each of the city’s 9 districts. Sworn in January 3, 2022. Council President: Ed Flynn (elected January 3, 2022, with all 13 votes). Lydia Edwards (District 1) resigned effective April 30, 2022; Gabriela Coletta won the May 3, 2022 District 1 election and first appears in the minutes on May 18, 2022. Kenzie Bok (District 8) resigned effective April 28, 2023; Sharon Durkan won the District 8 special election and first appears in the minutes on August 30, 2023. Several 2022 and 2023 meetings are missing from Legistar (see the records note). Covers 56 meetings, January 3 to December 13, 2023.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the City Council do? It is the city’s lawmaking body. It passes local laws (ordinances), votes on the yearly budget, and approves borrowing.
The mayor runs the city day to day and proposes the budget.
Sources: Mass. General Laws c. 44 § 32 (city budgets)Council sessions
Coming up
- Tue, Oct 13 · 2:30 pmCity Council →
From the agendas Boston posts on its official site. Agendas can change; the posted agenda is the official one.
Councilors
Ricardo ArroyoCouncilor · District 5 · at 54 of 56 meetingsFrank BakerCouncilor · District 3 · at 51 of 56 meetingsKenzie BokCouncilor · District 8 · at 37 of 38 meetings · until Apr 2023
Liz BreadonCouncilor · District 9 · at 55 of 56 meetings
Gabriela Coletta ZapataCouncilor · District 1 · at 39 of 41 meetings · from May 2022
Sharon DurkanCouncilor · District 8 · at 11 of 11 meetings · from Aug 2023Lydia EdwardsCouncilor · District 1 · at 12 of 13 meetings · until Apr 2022Tania Fernandes AndersonCouncilor · District 7 · at 51 of 56 meetingsMichael FlahertyCouncilor · At-large · at 54 of 56 meetingsKendra LaraCouncilor · District 6 · at 52 of 56 meetings
Ruthzee LouijeuneCouncilor · At-large · at 53 of 56 meetings
Julia MejiaCouncilor · At-large · at 51 of 56 meetings
Erin MurphyCouncilor · At-large · at 56 of 56 meetings
Brian WorrellCouncilor · District 4 · at 51 of 56 meetings"At X of Y meetings" counts the roll call at the start of each meeting in this record. Councilors who step out are listed on each meeting page.
Meetings
About missing minutes
Loaded: every full City Council meeting with minutes on the city’s Legistar site, from September 15, 2021 through September 30, 2026 (159 meetings, regular and special). The Legistar calendar also lists committee hearings and working sessions; those are not loaded, and committee polls taken during council meetings are not shown as council votes. Not here: City Council minutes before September 2021, which are not on Legistar (the city’s older website had text minutes for 2005 to 2010; minutes from 2011 to August 2021 are not online; MassVoter is asking the City Clerk for January 2018 to August 2021). Some meetings are missing from Legistar altogether even though later minutes approve their minutes, including September 14, October 5 and December 7, 2022; April 26, May 17, June 7, August 9 and September 27, 2023; January 28 and August 5, 2026. Boston’s minutes list each docket item and what the council did with it. Items referred to committee, placed on file or left in committee are not votes and are not listed. Most actions are written without a count (“the rules were suspended; the order was passed”, “Passed under suspension of the rules”); for those MassVoter shows the result only and never assumes the vote was unanimous. Roll calls are written as a count, often with names (“yeas 11, nays 2 (Flynn, Murphy)”; since 2026 every yes voter is named too). When the names and the count add up to the councilors present, we show each councilor’s vote; councilors listed as “not present” or “absent” for a vote are left out of it. When they do not add up, or a councilor named in the vote is not on the attendance line, we show the count only and add a note. Elections of the Council President and of the City Clerk show the result only, with a note quoting who voted for whom. We will ask the City Clerk to confirm any noted vote.
Votes where councilors disagreed
Most council votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one councilor voted no or abstained, newest first.
Dec 13Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to…Motion: On the motion of Councilor Baker, the rules were suspended; the…Passed · see note
December 13, 2023: Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $816,000.00 in the form of a grant for the Electric Blue Bikes Adoption grant...
On the motion of Councilor Baker, the rules were suspended; the order was passed.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“On the motion of Councilor Baker, the rules were suspended; the order was passed..” (Motion: Baker)
Dec 13Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to…Motion: The rules were suspended; the order was passed.Passed · see note
December 13, 2023: Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $30,000.00 in the form of a grant for the Mayor’s Civic Summit, awarded by the...
The rules were suspended; the order was passed.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“The rules were suspended; the order was passed..”
Dec 13Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to…Motion: The rules were suspended; the order was passed.Passed · see note
December 13, 2023: Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend an in-kind donation of food and event space, valued at $20,000.00, donated by Boston University....
The rules were suspended; the order was passed.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“The rules were suspended; the order was passed..”
Dec 13Ordinance Establishing Protections for the City of Boston Tree…Motion: The report was accepted; the ordinance was passed in a new…Passed · see note
December 13, 2023: Ordinance Establishing Protections for the City of Boston Tree Canopy
The report was accepted; the ordinance was passed in a new draft.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“The report was accepted; the ordinance was passed in a new draft..”
Dec 13Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to…Motion: The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent…Passed Unanimous, 12 present · see note
December 13, 2023: Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $1,358,100.00 in the form of a grant for the FY22 Assistance to Firefighters Grant...
The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson).
The minutes list Tania Fernandes Anderson as not present for this vote.
From the minutes
“The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson)..”
Dec 13Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to…Motion: The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent…Passed Unanimous, 12 present · see note
December 13, 2023: Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $250,000.00 in the form of a grant, for the FY23 COPS Accreditation Project...
The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson).
The minutes list Tania Fernandes Anderson as not present for this vote.
From the minutes
“The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson)..”
Dec 13Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to…Motion: The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent…Passed Unanimous, 12 present · see note
December 13, 2023: Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $47,890.47 in the form of a grant, for the FY22 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant...
The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson).
The minutes list Tania Fernandes Anderson as not present for this vote.
From the minutes
“The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson)..”
Dec 13Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to…Motion: The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 7, nays…Passed 7–5 · No: Arroyo, Lara, Louijeune, Mejia, Worrell
December 13, 2023: Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $175,000.00 in the form of grant for the FY23 COPS CD Micro-Grant-Community...
The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 7, nays 5 (Arroyo, Lara, Louijeune, Mejia, Worrell), absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson).
Yes: Baker, Breadon, Durkan, Flaherty, Flynn, Murphy, ZapataNo: Arroyo, Lara, Louijeune, Mejia, WorrellThe minutes list Tania Fernandes Anderson as not present for this vote.
From the minutes
“The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 7, nays 5 (Arroyo, Lara, Louijeune, Mejia, Worrell), absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson)..”
Dec 13Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to…Motion: The order failed to pass; yeas 6, nays 6 (Arroyo, Breadon,…Failed 6–6 · No: Arroyo, Breadon, Lara, Louijeune, Mejia, Worrell
December 13, 2023: Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $13,317,200.00 in the form of a grant from the FY2023 Urban Area Security...
The order failed to pass; yeas 6, nays 6 (Arroyo, Breadon, Lara, Louijeuene, Mejia, Worrell), absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson).
Yes: Baker, Durkan, Flaherty, Flynn, Murphy, ZapataNo: Arroyo, Breadon, Lara, Louijeune, Mejia, WorrellThe minutes list Tania Fernandes Anderson as not present for this vote.
From the minutes
“The order failed to pass; yeas 6, nays 6 (Arroyo, Breadon, Lara, Louijeuene, Mejia, Worrell), absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson)..”
Dec 13Message and order: Order to reduce the FY24 appropriation…Motion: The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent…Passed Unanimous, 12 present · see note
December 13, 2023: Message and order: Order to reduce the FY24 appropriation for the Reserve for Collective Bargaining by $145,545.00 to provide funding for the Boston Public Schools...
The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson).
The minutes list Tania Fernandes Anderson as not present for this vote.
From the minutes
“The report was accepted; the order was passed; yeas 12, absent 1 (Fernandes Anderson)..”
From the Boston City Council’s official minutes, posted on the city’s Legistar meeting calendar (linked from the City Council page on boston.gov). We check every vote against the councilors present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Councilor photos: City of Boston (boston.gov), from the official headshots on the City Council page. Former councilors show initials.
How to read these pagesWhere the votes come from, how we check them against the official minutes, what isn't included yet, and how to report a mistake.About city pages →