Councilor Liz Breadon of Allston-Brighton narrowly won the Boston City Council presidency Monday in a dramatic, down-to-the-wire deliberation on the council floor, setting the stage for the new, two-year term with the city’s first openly lesbian councilor at the helm.
“It’s incredibly humbling for me to be here, I didn’t know I would be standing here this time yesterday,” said Breadon as she accepted the nomination to lead the council. “That said, I am ready to lead.”
“At the federal level, we face deep uncertainty, attacks on democratic norms, on civil rights, on the social safety net that so many Bostonians rely on,” she said later, after winning the presidency on a 6-7 vote. “In this context, cities matter more than ever, Boston must continue to lead by protecting immigrants, by advancing racial and economic justice, by investing in public education, by treating housing as a human right, and by standing firmly by our LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive freedom, and the dignity of all people.”
Breadon’s election came just hours after the presumed president-to-be, East Boston Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, suddenly withdrew from consideration. Coletta had previously announced she had the necessary votes to win, but fellow councilors were still reportedly jockeying for votes and committee assignments behind the scenes.
In the immediate aftermath of Coletta Zapata’s withdrawal announcement Sunday night, multiple outlets reported that Dorchester Councilor Brian Worrell seemed to hold the necessary seven votes to win the presidency. But on the council floor Monday, Breadon emerged as a candidate after a nomination from Jamaica Plain-West Roxbury Councilor Ben Weber.
Multiple councilors criticized each other for a lack of transparency heading into the vote Monday.
“What we’ve seen in the last 24 hours is a lot of backroom dealing, and I want this council to be up front with people and not be picking favorites,” said Weber making the nomination for Breadon. “She has impressed me with her ability. To bring people together and to be a voice, in an often-tempestuous storm, for calm, and I hope that she can bring calmness and deliberation to this body so we can address the really difficult challenges that we have facing us.”
Councilor Julia Mejia, who was reportedly also seeking the council presidency, suggested Breadon’s candidacy was fostered by an unspecified, unethical, unseen force.
“The only person that has made a real concerted effort in this process to demonstrate what leadership is going to look like under this term has been Councilor Worrell,” said Mejia, later adding that Breadon’s admission of not knowing she’d be a candidate should cause concern.
“The fact that also, Breadon just announced that she just learned that she was going to be up for this position should let us in behind the veil in terms of how politics is getting done in this day and age,” Mejia said, failing to clarify why she felt the late candidacy presents a problem. “Are we an independent body willing to take a stand and speak up? Or are we going to continue to allow other people to dictate how this body functions?”
Breadon, who was first elected to her seat in 2019, reached the required seven by voting for herself along with councilors Coletta Zapata, Sharon Durkan, Ruthzee Louijeune and Enrique Pepen, Henry Santana and Weber.
Worrell voted for himself, and also received votes from councilors Ed Flynn, Erin Murphy, John FitzGerald, Julia Mejia and newcomer Miniard Culpepper. Worrell did not immediately respond to GBH’s request for comment on the vote.
The narrow victory margin against Worrell suggests the council is not unified in its leadership and direction heading into the 2026-2028 term — presenting potential problems for the body that is partially tasked with acting as a check on Mayor Michelle Wu, who won re-election to a second term unchallenged.
Following her inauguration speech, Mayor Wu declined to answer whether Coletta Zapata’s withdrawal was a surprise and if she was backing any specific candidate for the presidency.
Sources familiar with the council dealings suggested that Breadon, who has mostly maintained a low profile and quietly earned a reputation as a peacemaker, emerged as a consensus candidate amid the council’s power jockeying. In her floor speech moments before the vote, Breadon, an Irish immigrant, said she her background as a physical therapist has made her acutely aware of the inequalities facing Boston communities and that she considers herself an ally for people of color and that she is ready to lead amid a trying time for the city.
“What I have to offer this body as the next elected city council president, if I am so lucky to be elected, is to be fair,” said Breadon, adding that the federal government’s “systematically disinvesting” in Boston presents challenges for the next term.
“We don’t know what further cuts are going to be made to our budgets, et cetera, but we have to work together,” Breadon said. “I feel that in this position, as a long-serving counselor from Northern Ireland who appreciates that political difference is very profound at times, we cannot let political difference and ideology or misunderstandings get in the way of doing the work for the people of Boston.”
