Boston City Council Swears In Gabriela Coletta Zapata as District 1 Councilor

BOSTON -- May 18, 2022, Boston City Council swears in Gabriela Coletta Zapata as District 1 Councilor and votes to oppose state school receivership. Mayor Michelle Wu administered three oaths of office to Coletta Zapata, who won the May 3 special election to fill the seat vacated by State Senator Lydia Edwards, representing East Boston, Charlestown, and the North End. The council accepted the certified election results in Docket 0632 before the ceremony. On a roll-call vote, the council passed Docket 0643, a resolution opposing any state receivership of Boston Public Schools, with Councilor Mark Baker casting the lone no vote and Councilor Michael Flaherty declining to sign on but not blocking passage under Rule 33. Sponsor Councilor Julia M. Mejia cited DESE's track record in Lawrence, Holyoke, and Southbridge, now ranked among the state's worst-performing districts, as evidence that receivership "simply does not work." The council also referred a hearing order by Councilor Lara to examine creating a civilian construction detail program, with sponsors estimating that 42.71 percent of detail requests went unfilled in 2020, representing roughly $71.5 million in annual wages for Boston residents.