Last updated on August 3, 2025
Julia Mejia has lived in Boston for several decades. Those decades of living in Boston has taught her about all of Boston’s neighborhoods, not just Dorchester, where she currently resides.
But Mejia’s first five years of life were spent in the Dominican Republic, and it’s her family’s experience of immigrating to the U.S. that helps her greatly as an at-large Boston City Councilor.
Mejia became the first Latina elected to the Council after she won in 2019. Mejia spoke about her desire to transform closed BPS facilities into affordable housing, what it was like growing up with a mother who was undocumented, and more.
Can you talk about your connection to Jamaica Plain and how you’ve been involved in the community?
Mejia: Jamaica Plain holds a special place in my heart and personal story here within the city of Boston. As the child of an undocumented mother from the Dominican Republic, we lived all throughout the city, but Jamaica Plain was the first place we landed when we came to this country. It was in this community where I felt most seen, heard, and affirmed, likely due to the vast amount of first-generation Dominican-Americans who also called this neighborhood home. To make my ends meet post-college, l was a waitress at Bella Luna, before their expansion of the Milky Way. Moreover, my aunt Demaris Pimental is the proud owner of Ultra Beauty, a salon and community gathering space where I often got my hair done. In other words, my roots in JP run deep.
I believe that JP is the center of the city which is why in 2019 during my first election, I decided
to have my campaign office in Hyde Square. While in office, we have been leaning into Jamaica
Plain—particularly Jackson Square—which has maintained its identity as a diverse neighborhood through the ebbs and flows of gentrification.
I also love connecting with the JP community at events. Recently, I attended Batey Comunitario
at Mozart Park, hosted by Hyde Square Task Force, dancing and engaging with residents. Wake Up the Earth, produced by Spontaneous Celebration, is another staple event in my calendar that I look forward to attending. All in all, I love Jamaica Plain, otherwise known as home of the Latin Quarter, for what it is and what it represents citywide: culture, history, activism, and joy.
What has been your greatest accomplishment as an at-large Boston city councilor?
Mejia: My greatest accomplishment as an at-large Boston City Councilor has been shifting the narrative of government and redefining what leadership can look like. I do not come from a position of privilege and access; I have had to push hard to get a seat at the table and be unapologetic about speaking truth to power, always with the intention of creating space for others to step into theirs.
My work in office thus far speaks to the fact that when we do this, incredible things are possible. In the last five years, our office has led or co-sponsored over 20 pieces of legislation, creating dozens of new departments and city-positions, and securing millions of dollars for investments in communities. We’ve created the Office of Black Male Advancement, the Office of Cultural Affairs, codified the Office of Immigrant Advancement and the Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement. We have created opportunities for small business development from your home through our Retail Residential Kitchen ordinance. Every single law we have created was done so in lock-step with community, and achieved through a co-governance model we have fostered over the years.
What from your professional career and personal life have made you a good at-large
Boston city councilor?
Mejia: As someone who was raised by a single mother who was previously undocumented, and as the first person in my family to graduate high school and college, I understand the pressing challenges many Bostonians face to make their ends meet. As a longtime community organizer
and former nonprofit director, I’ve dedicated my life to dismantling systems of oppression and
amplifying voices too often sidelined by special interests.
My career in community organizing began with directing a city-wide HIV/ AIDS youth and development initiative called Protect Teen Health, designed to train and produce the next
generation of youth peer-leaders.
After working with young people, I decided to move to New York City where I landed a job at
MTV. In 2000, I was an on-air reporter for the channel covering the 2000 presidential election
and trying to amplify the issues impacting urban youth across the country. Lastly, right before
being elected to the City Council in 2019, I started my own non-profit called the Collaborative
Parent Leadership Action Network (CPLAN). The mission of the non-profit is to inform, inspire,
and empower parents to advocate for a more equitable education for their children. All of these experiences took me deep into the core of the issues we face as resilient, yet underrepresented people. They codified a belief in me that those experiencing the brunt of inequity must be the ones shaping the solutions, and that nothing about us, without us, is for us. That belief is what ultimately drove me to run for office, and continues to guide my work every single day on the Boston City Council.
As you visit Boston neighborhoods, what are the top 3 issues you are hearing about, and
how would you address that issue?
Mejia: The top three issues I hear about most include:
Housing: I want to make intentional policy decisions that will help slow gentrification and prevent
displacement; we must explore alternatives such as land trusts, co-op housing, and tenant-to-
owner models. I have supported progressive housing legislation such as rent stabilization,
reforming real estate transactions, and increasing homeownership opportunities. I will take bold
leadership to work on passing policy to increase the IDP percentage.
Educational Justice: One of my top priorities for improving BPS is reinstating an elected school
committee to restore accountability to the people, not any one administration. Student well-being directly affects classroom success. I’m appalled by the unsanitary conditions many students—mostly Black and Brown—are forced to learn in. I’ve fought hard, and will continue to, to ensure meaningful action is taken to improve school facilities, especially Madison Park, which has been waiting for decades for improvements. As an immigrant, I understand the unique challenges faced by students arriving at BPS from overseas. I am committed to increasing resources for English Language Learners and closing the opportunity gap for them. Ensuring all students—regardless of background—have access to clean, safe schools and quality support systems is essential to their success and our city’s future.
Increasing protections for targeted populations: As the only sitting At-Large Councilor who
served under Trump’s first term, I know what it takes to continue meeting this moment for all
targeted populations. Only weeks after his inauguration, my office convened over 70 community leaders for an Immigration Roundtable talk; we had legal experts, faith leaders, academics, elected officials, and organizers come together and discuss how we can asset map our resources and use them to support one another in these times of uncertainty. From that meeting, we also decided to audit Boston’s Trust Act (the law which bars cooperation between the Boston Police Department and ICE for civil detainer requests) and are now working to strengthen it and close any existing loopholes.
Moreover, our office is leading the effort to establish an accountability and oversight council composed of LGBTQIA2S+ residents. This groundbreaking ordinance emanated from a cohort
of Trans Latinas, Black Trans Women, and over 40 other LGBTQIA2S+ identifying advocates
who face layered attacks under the current Presidential administration.
We also are reviving the effort to create a Municipal ID because every resident, despite their
gender, status, income level, or experience with homelessness, deserves to access critical city
resources and feel a sense of belonging here in the city of Boston.
How would you address Boston’s growing housing affordability crisis?
Mejia: We want to have more serious conversations about holding all players accountable who
contribute to the growing affordability crisis through rampant development that displaces our
long-time residents. My commitment is to preserve existing affordable housing, expand deeply
affordable housing options, support Additional Dwelling Units, create pathways to affordable
homeownership opportunities, transform closed BPS facilities into affordable housing, and
produce multi-generational housing stock.
What is your opinion on increasing investor purchases of single/double/triple-family homes?
Mejia: For too long, low-income and working-class communities have felt the impacts of LLC’s buying up entire blocks, driving up prices, and shrinking the supply of available housing. It is time to shift the narrative. Boston is home to thousands of long-time residents who do not yet realize that they themselves have the power to be investors. Instead of handing over our neighborhoods to outside interests looking to maximize profit off the backs of our people, we must invest in our communities so that they can own, shape, and thrive in the communities they’ve built. I do not support the increase of medium-large scale by corporate LLC investors purchasing homes here in the city of Boston.
Do you support rent stabilization or rent control measures? Why or why not?
Mejia: YES! I support rent control measures because focusing solely on market-based “supply and
demand” solutions to drive costs down has not worked. Simply building more and crossing our
fingers has not worked. There is still a massive need to bring the cost of rent down in our city,
and as a governing body, it is our duty to meet that need. I proudly support the ongoing advocacy taking place at the State House to lift the ban on rent control measures and will continue to do so.
Moreover, we have been creating noise about the need to localize our Area Median income (AMI). What is tragic about this federally-set metric is that it groups together the incomes of all of Boston plus wealthy suburbs. This is wrong. We need to zoom in on the diverse lived realities
of people in our city; incomes in Beacon Hill are not the same as Mission Hill, and the standards
for what constitutes affordable rent should be adjusted accordingly.
What role should the City Council play in improving Boston Public Schools?
Mejia: As it stands, the City Council has limited binding authority over Boston Public Schools as the majority of decisions are handled by an appointed school committee. That said, I have been
the loudest voice on the Council in advocating for the restoration of participatory democracy in
our school systems through bringing back an elected school committee. We strongly push for
an elected school committee because we believe that true accountability can be reached when
decision-makers are chosen by AND answer to the people. We have seen the harm done by an
appointed system; from trying to move the O’Bryant to West Roxbury, to pure neglect for much
needed Madison Park renovations, Black and Brown students are consistently overlooked, and
their voices and those of their families must be elevated in order to change that.
Moreover, advancing an elected structure would mean honoring the will of the people. In 2021,
we put this very question on the ballot, and it received nearly 80% support from Boston voters. We then filed and passed a home-rule petition on the Council to honor the voters’ mandate. Unfortunately it did not make it past the mayor’s desk. Despite that reality, we are still pushing for greater accountability both through bringing back the elected school committee and through other avenues. In 2024, we also passed a resolution aimed at halting the relocation of the O’Bryant out of concerns for transportation equity. This year, we have been outspoken about the need for Madison Park to receive necessary renovations this year as initially promised by the administration. In budget hearings with BPS, we spoke up about the lack of metrics measuring our students’ long-term success after leaving ELL programs, and more. All in all, while our oversight of the Boston Public Schools is indeed limited, we must continue using our microphones to push bold, community-driven solutions that prioritize student equity, transparency, and long-term investment.
What specific concerns do you have about how changes in federal funding could impact Boston, and how would you address them?
Mejia: I have immense concerns about what this could mean for those in our communities who rely on food stamps, medicare, and social security. I also have grave concerns over how cuts to funding could impact early childhood education and special education.
One effort I am championing alongside community is establishing a municipal Inspector General, which would increase transparency and accountability in city government, but also could help us identify much needed dollars to stand in the gap of federal funding cuts. Municipal Inspectors General have proven to be financially effective in other cities; for example, Baltimore’s Office of Inspector General found almost $17 million in waste/savings in 2024, according to their annual report.
Moreover, as a community organizer at heart, I do understand that the government alone
cannot fix everything; that is why our office deeply engages with community partners to build
mutual aid infrastructure to support our most targeted populations, such as pooling resources to
help low-income families afford groceries.
