Julia Mejia

Julia Mejia is an At-Large City Councilor in Boston, Massachusetts. Elected in 2019, Mejia is the first Latina elected to the council.

Early life and career

Born in the Dominican Republic and raised by a single mother, Mejia came to the United States when she was five years old. She graduated from Dorchester High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Ida College.

Mejia worked as a reporter for MTV covering the 2000 U.S. presidential election and an organizer with Massachusetts Charter Public School Association. She is the founder of Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network (CPLAN).

Boston City Council

Mejia has served on the Boston City Council since early 2020. She is regarded to be a progressive member of the Democratic Party).

First term (2020–2021)

Mejia ran for one of four at-large Boston City Council seats in November 2019 in a field of eight candidates. After a recount, she won the fourth seat by one vote. Mejia took office on January 6, 2020, becoming the first immigrant to serve on the council.

In June 2020, Mejia (along with Ricardo Arroyo, Andrea Campbell, Kim Janey, and Michelle Wu) was one of five members of the Boston City Council to vote against Mayor Marty Walsh's 2021 operating budget for the city. Mejia wrote, "I am no longer interested in having drip-drop incremental changes that expect us to continue to hope and pray and wait some more about finally having the type of budget that really reflects the needs our people find themselves in today."

In 2020, the ''Boston Magazine'' named Mejia the year's "best city politician", writing that she had, "fought back against racist harassment after taking office in early 2020," and, "also worked to improve bilingual communications in Boston and even made a series of TikTok videos with her daughter to liven up the mood at City Hall during the early days of the ovid-19/nowiki> pandemic."

Second term (2022–2023)

In 2023, a city council attorney filed an internal complaint against Mejia and fellow councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara accusing all three of bullying and lambasting her during an April meeting.

At a City Council meeting in October 2023, Mejia opposed holding vote on a resolution proposed by Michael Flaherty on the October 7th Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Then Council President Ed Flynn had taken the docket our of order to discuss it immediately following the approval of the previous meeting's minutes. In response, Mejia said, "When resolutioncalls for things such as this, I believe there's an opportunity for us to consider pulling this into a committee so that we can unpack it further, very similar to the treatment that we provided to the conversation around Cuba," referencing suggestions made by other Councilors at the time that the council was not "focusing on city business" in holding a vote on legislation regarding another country. Councilor Coletta separately recommended that the resolution be considered in committee. It was then referred to committee of the whole. During regular business, Mejia expressed support for a resolution filed by Tania Fernandes Anderson calling for a ceasefire to the War in Gaza, referencing the experience of living in New York City following 9/11.

Mejia, Ricardo Arroyo and Brian Worrell introduced an ordinance to create an Office of Cultural Affairs in the city. While the city council passed the ordinance in October 2023, leaving it awaiting Mayor Wu's signature or veto.

Third term (2024–present)

At the January 2024 start of the new city council term, the previous council president Ed Flynn nominated Mejia for the council presidency. However, she declined to seek the presidency and Ruthzee Louijeune was unanimously elected to the position.

In early 2025, Mejia co-sponsored a home rule petition that was introduced by Council President Louijeune seeking approval for Boston to adopt an instant runoff voting (IRV) system of ranked choice voting. In mid-May, the council voted 8–4 to approve the petition, advancing it to the mayor's desk. If the mayor approves it, it will still need to state government passage in order to be enacted.

Personal life

Mejia lives with her daughter, Annalise, in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mejia, Julia
Boston City Council members
American politicians of Dominican Republic descent
Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States
Hispanic and Latino American city council members
Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
Mount Ida College alumni
People from Dorchester, Boston
Politicians from Boston
Massachusetts Democrats
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Women city councillors in Massachusetts
21st-century Massachusetts politicians
21st-century American women politicians