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.[1]

Julia Mejia
Member of the Boston City Council
at-large
Assumed office
January 6, 2020
Preceded byAlthea Garrison
Personal details
BornDominican Republic
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materMount Ida College
Websitejuliaforboston.com

Biography

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[2] and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Ida College.[3]

Mejia worked as a reporter for MTV covering the 2000 U.S. presidential election[3] and an organizer with Massachusetts Charter Public School Association.[4] She is the founder of Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network (CPLAN).[5]

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.[6] Mejia took office on January 6, 2020, becoming the first immigrant to serve on the council.[7]

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."[8]

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 [Covid-19] pandemic."[9]

Mejia lives with her daughter, Annalise, in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.[2]

Electoral history
2019 Boston at-large City Council election
Candidate Primary election[10] General election[11]
Votes % Votes %
Michelle Wu (incumbent) 26,622 19.4 41,664 20.7
Annissa Essaibi George (incumbent) 18,993 13.8 34,109 17.0
Michael F. Flaherty (incumbent) 18,766 13.7 33,284 16.6
Julia Mejia 10,799 7.9 22,492 11.2
Alejandra St. Guillen 11,910 8.7 22,491 11.2
Erin Murphy 9,385 6.8 16,867 8.4
Althea Garrison (incumbent) 9,720 7.1 16,189 8.1
David Halbert 6,354 4.8 13,214 6.6
Martin Keogh 6,246 4.5  
Jeffrey Ross 5,078 3.7  
Priscilla Flint-Banks 4,094 3.0  
Domingos DaRosa 2,840 2.1  
Michel Denis 2,108 1.5  
William King 1,809 1.3  
Herb Lozano 1,510 1.10  
all others 766 0.6 704 0.4
Total 137,380 100 201,014 100
2021 Boston City Council at-large election
Candidate Primary election[12] General election
Votes % Votes %
Michael F. Flaherty (incumbent) 41,299 15.0 62,606 17.4
Julia Mejia (incumbent) 38,765 14.1 62,058 17.3
Ruthzee Louijeune 33,425 12.2 54,898 15.3
Erin Murphy 22,835 8.3 43,076 12.0
David Halbert 16,921 6.2 42,765 11.9
Carla Monteiro 18,844 6.9 39,876 11.1
Bridget Nee-Walsh 15,118 5.5 27,591 7.7
Althea Garrison 16,810 6.1 25,078 7.0
Kelly Bates 12,735 4.6  
Alexander Gray 11,263 4.1  
Jon Spillane 11,155 4.1  
Said Abdikarim 7,725 2.8  
Domingos DaRosa 7,139 2.6  
Donnie Palmer Jr. 6,823 2.5  
Roy Owens Sr. 5,223 1.9  
James Colimon 4,671 1.7  
Nick Vance 3,943 1.4  
Write-ins 845 0.3 1,350 0.4
Total 274,694 100 359,294 100

References
  1. "Julia Mejia Sworn In As Boston's First Latina City Councilor". CBS Boston. 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  2. "Julia Mejia for City Council At-Large". Julia for Boston. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  3. "Julia Mejia". Boston.gov. 2020-01-07. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  4. Jonas, Michael (2019-12-11). "Riding high on 1-vote win for City Council". CommonWealth Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  5. "OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM". CPLAN. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  6. Ebbert, Stephanie (13 January 2020). "How Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia found her voice". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  7. Valencia, Milton J. (January 7, 2020). "Boston ushers in historic diversity with new City Council". The Boston Globe. p. B6. Retrieved March 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  8. Gavin, Christopher (June 25, 2020). "The Boston City Council passed the $3.6 billion operating budget amid controversy. Here's a breakdown of the debate". www.boston.com. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  9. "The People Who Gave Us Hope". Boston Magazine. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  10. "City Councillor at Large" (PDF). City of Boston. September 24, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019 – via boston.gov.
  11. "City of Boston Municipal Election – November 5, 2019 - Recount City Councillor at Large" (PDF). www.boston.gov. City of Boston. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  12. "Unofficial Election Results". Boston.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
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