Last updated on August 12, 2025
After only her first as an at-large Boston City Councilor, Ruthzee Louijeune had earned the respect of her fellow councilors, to be chosen as the council’s president.
Before being elected, among different career roles, Louijeune was a housing attorney representing tenants and homeowners in housing court, many of who faced language barriers and threat of displacement. She also ran a weekly eviction clinic to help tenants without legal representation complete paperwork to preserve their legal rights. She’s taken her mission to help as many people as possible to the Council.
Born and raised in Mattapan and Hyde Park, where she currently resides, Louijeune spoke about her Council accomplishments, rat and trash, and how the city can fight back against current federal administration policies, and more.
Can you talk about your connection to Jamaica Plain and how you’ve been involved in the community?
Louijeune: I was raised spending a lot of time in Jamaica Plain. My family and I often walk around Jamaica Pond, a place I’ve grown deeply fond of over the years. When I got my first job as a MYTOWN Youth Tour Guide, I loved sharing the story of the Southwest Corridor Park. I was inspired by how the people of Jamaica Plain and other neighborhoods organized to stop the construction of I-95 through their neighborhood. Their years-long, community-led effort ultimately transformed the area into a public park which is a lasting example of grassroots activism.
What has been your greatest accomplishment as an At-Large Boston City Councilor?
Louijeune: Since being elected as Council President, we have been able to:
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Invest in affordable housing and housing vouchers for families, with unprecedented wins in this year’s budget process.
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Support our immigrant communities by reaffirming our commitment to the Trust Act and the boundaries between the work of the Boston Police Department and civil deportations and by amending this year’s budget to include increased funding for organizations providing legal guidance to people with immigration issues.
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Legalize beekeeping in the city of Boston
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Help obtain more liquor licenses for vibrant neighborhoods in Boston
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Advocated and achieved more high-dosage tutoring for our students at Boston Public Schools
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Engage in discussions with Boston Public Schools to ensure that the school budget prioritizes improved school buildings, students’ mental health, behavioral health, and support for multilingual learners.
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Hold hearings on trash collection and rodent control to ensure that Boston’s communities are safe, healthy, and well-maintained. We are also frequently in neighborhoods across our city working on these issues.
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Continue the work of democracy-building, increasing information about early voting and advocating for ranked-choice voting to make sure that the candidates who are elected are supported by the majority of voters.
What from your professional career and personal life have made you a good at-large Boston city councilor?
Louijeune: My professional and personal experiences have prepared me to serve as an at-large Boston City Councilor. I’ve always been rooted in the community, especially in neighborhoods that face systemic challenges.
As a housing attorney, I represented tenants and homeowners in Boston Housing Court, many of them immigrants who faced language barriers and the threat of displacement. I also ran a weekly eviction clinic to help tenants without legal representation complete paperwork to preserve their legal rights.
In my first two terms on the City Council, I’ve worked to make Boston a more equitable, inclusive, and affordable city. I’ve championed housing reforms to expand opportunity in every neighborhood, advocated for fair pay for educators, and secured investments in school counselors and new facilities across Boston.
I’ve also prioritized racial justice, community safety, and violence prevention by working to center public safety efforts around healing and collaboration. My goal has always been to bridge gaps, bring resources to every neighborhood, and uplift the voices of those too often left out of City Hall.
Before serving on the Council, I worked as Senior Counsel on Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential and Senate campaigns and have long advocated for progressive values– as an attorney, activist, and member of grassroots efforts to address Boston’s housing crisis, expand homeownership, and tackle food insecurity.
As you visit Boston neighborhoods, what are the top 3 issues you are hearing about, and how are you addressing those issues?
Louijeune: Housing: It’s expensive, and (a) we need more rental vouchers. Also, to close the racial wealth gap and create wealth and community stability among working class families (b) through first-generation homeownership grant-based programs targeted to communities that historically experienced blockbusting and redlining; and (c) using more public land for the development of affordable housing and homeownership.
Education: (a) robust funding for pre-K and early college access programs for high school students; (b) building a Boston School Building Authority to speed up the work of building schools with a dedicated revenue source; (c) more emotional and tangible support for students, such as more school counselors and social workers.
Qualify of Life Issues: Rats and Trash. We need our residents to feel good about the neighborhoods they live in. I helped with a pilot program in Jamaica Plain to help decrease the rodent population with rat birth control. We’ve fought for increased trash pickups to deal with the issues of rodents and trash, and we are trying to hold absentee landlords accountable because this is a big complaint that we get. In this year’s budget, we won additional funding for rodent-resistant trash cans and more overtime for city staff to work on enforcement and issue code violations.
How would you address Boston’s growing housing affordability crisis?
Louijeune: Expanding affordable housing must go hand-in-hand with preventing displacement. I support using City-owned land for deeply affordable and mixed-income housing, scaling up the Office to Residential Conversion Program, and advocating for a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing. We must expand direct protections like right to counsel, eviction prevention, and tenant opportunity to purchase, while centering the voices of tenant organizing groups in our policy decisions.
I would increase and publicize property tax assistance and exemptions for seniors, and expand partnerships with nonprofits to make homeownership more attainable for working-class and first-generation buyers. We should also study a vacancy tax and consider alternatives like a land value tax (LVT) or VAT to discourage speculation and keep housing stock active and accessible. Finally, development decisions must be guided by community-led planning rooted in housing justice.
What is your opinion on increasing investor purchases of single/double/triple-family homes?
Louijeune: I do not support increasing investor purchases of family homes. We want these homes in the hands of families, not investors. When investors purchase housing, they remove properties from the market and exacerbate affordability issues – especially for lower income residents. At a time when we are facing a generational housing crisis, we need to prevent investors from exacerbating housing affordability challenges and adding to an already speculative and extractive market. Instead, we should invest in programs that make homeownership accessible for our residents and prevent displacement.
Do you support rent stabilization or rent control measures? Why or why not?
Louijeune: Yes. I think the current proposed law passed by the City Council and currently on Beacon Hill was a reasonable cap on rent increases that was a compromise for both tenants and landlords. We are advancing legislation that is right now what we think can hopefully pass on Beacon Hill. This is going to help level the market and make it more predictable for tenants and landlords.
What role should the City Council play in improving Boston Public Schools?
Louijeune: The City Council should fight for resources to make sure that education can really be the great equalizer. This means supporting school budgets that prioritize meeting the needs of our students and establishing minimum standards for more equitable schools. It also means building more schools where our children can have a safe space for learning.
What specific concerns do you have about how changes in federal funding could impact Boston, and how would you address them?
Louijeune: We are in an extremely challenging time at the federal level. I support Mayor Wu’s decision to join multi-city lawsuits against the federal administration, such as the legal challenge to HUD’s unlawful attempt to withhold $48 million for housing and homelessness services. In moments like these, it’s essential that we defend our values through legal action and regional coalitions. I would continue to support litigation, legislative advocacy, protests, and public messaging to push back on federal overreach. At the same time, we must build a responsible and resilient city budget, one that safeguards critical services, accounts for fiscal uncertainty, and protects vulnerable programs from politically motivated threats. We also need to increase our partnerships with philanthropy, now more than ever.
We need to continue to protect critical services and advocate for a budget that reflects the values of Boston residents. I support a budget that continues to prioritize housing and food insecurity and to protect diversity and inclusion.
